The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk late model 5 speed in a 55 2nd series

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I cannot locate it through search. A camaro T5 transmission is for sale locally. What parts are needed to install this transmission behind a a Small block in my 55 2nd series. I plan on keeping the stock front suspension (upgraded brake system of course). I already have a Turbo400 auto trans, but will part with it if I can piece together the parts need to install the manual trans. More specific questions are what crossmember, can I keep the stock pedal location, what bellhousing to use, which shifter assembly, will it affect the location of the master cylinder and any other things you experts can think of.

Thanks

I don't have all the answers about what it'll take to adapt the T-5 to your truck, but looking at the motor you're running, I don't think it'd take too many full power runs before you had a box of neutrals. T-5s aren't the strongest transmissions around. If you really want a 5-speed, a Tremec 3550 is a great choice and can handle a lot more power than a T-5. I've had both and I prefer the Tremec by a LONG ways over the T-5.

The other choice might be a T-56, but I have no experience with them at all.

Yup the t5 might be a little puny, but it held up in my truck well, a heck of a lot cheaper than the tremec. There are several places here that will tell you all you need.

Gazim, look at his planned engine, T5 ain't gonna hold up to 430+ ft-lbs of torque for long, just a fact. Look here for his engine details

gofstbuick, try a search on "T5 Task Force" for lots of info. But here's the simple stuff.

Stock Bellhousing with no crossmember as many have done. Or a $50 tubular crossmember from any of the vendors or a piece of stock tubing with a plate drilled for the mount will work fine.

The camaro puts the shifter way too far back, you'll need to read the inliners.org article about putting an S10 tailshaft on.

Your pedals will be okay.

You'll need a 26 spline clutch.

If I had my heart set on that engine, I'd stick with the Turbo 400 and beef up the frame. I don't think this truck is going to be as much fun as you think with that engine and a stock suspension. I still say tune down the engine to an appropriate power level for that truck. You are not gonna be able to get the power to the pavement.

come on guys
if you generically talk T5 and you refer to S-10 4 cylinder T5 as being a low budget tranny NOT capable of handling toooooo much power
you would be right.
but not all T5's were used in 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder autos.
If you buy a T5 for cheap and it has 167,000++ miles on it and it came from an astro van ....(family auto w/ tons of errends run and kids going everywhere) ..... it probably won't last. i've seen some notes on this site where guys have paid $40.00 for one and thought they got a good deal. they did I guess by some standards. You get what you pay for.
Halton liked his hybrid T5 alot.
me
i want to put one in and forget about pulling it out .......... in 30,000 miles. I learned a very long time ago if i bought an after-market water pump for my datsun 510 wagon @ +*&$@?"}~? flaps store it would last 6 months. the stock one costs a little bit more but lasted 149,000 miles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

posted 22 March, 2006 18:51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JT-5 vs 3550 tremec vs T56 & NV4500
http://www.5speeds.com/tremec.html
http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/tr-3550.html
http://www.cobracountry.com/southern/tremec.html
&
http://medusa.ih8mud.com/cruiser/NV4500.html
http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/5sp_comparison.html
http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/frame.html?/BorgWarner/bwt56.html

see:: http://www.classicchevy5speed.com/important_tips_Tremec_Purchase.htm


posted 29 March, 2006 18:29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
if you are serious about building a BIG A$& motor then you may think of another stronger tranny for getting you out of the hole faster..
you want the stock front end and probably disc's, a better master, but will your frame & rear end handle the HP and just what are you doing w/ the truck? hauling a$$ or daily driver w/ umph!!! impress the girls or drag racing? all questions you should address when picking what to install in your truck.

Now seriously, come on Jim, I know you love the T5 and post that same 6 paragraphs of bandwidth every time one of us poo poos it, but... We are not talking about a leisurely drive on Sunday afternoon with an inline 6. Again, I implore you to read his build list.

As you said in your post "We don't race or go too awfully fast either. I may built a tear-drop to haul... maybe. we don't pull too very much w/ this truck and it has a 292" because you truly know if you dump the clutch and powershift into second, that T5 is gonna blow and first gear in the camaro trans makes getting moving with a full load difficult.

gofstbuick is going to be pumping out in excess of 430 ft-lbs of torque across powerband with the power in his engine being made between 2300rpm and 6500 rpm and requires the use of a 2800 stall speed converter in an automatic application. That is not the engine we are normally talking about on this forum, nor do most of us here care about or are impressed by such an application.

jack halton is awesome and his tech tip has helped plenty of guys, but he is not running anything close to the 383 described above in his Jimmy, but it is ten times cooler than any v8 truck I can think of.

Try f-body.org or thirdgen.org for their opinion if you don't like mine. Sorry, but a T-5 cannot handle that power for long. He will have to wind the engine up or it will be a pig down low, when he does wind it up, that kind of torque is gonna munch the transmission when the rear spings wind up on him.

I've installed a bunch of T5s for guys and think it is great behind a 235 or 250 (or jeep 258). I like the S10 for the low first gear, but if I was building a hot rod, I would opt for the camaro close ratio with the high first gear. I ran the 4 cylinder T5 behind a 235 after I munched second gear in a saginaw, I really like it. I am not bigotted against it, its a good transmission in the right application, this isn't it.

As I said before, I've had both transmissions. I had 2 T-5s: one of the "puny" ones in an 83 Camaro V6 and one of the "V8" models in an 83 Z-28. The LG4 (standard performance 305) in the Z-28 was more than the T-5 could stand. The mainshaft bearings were toast and it made noises like cement mixer in neutral.

I've also had a Tremec 3550 in a 67 Camaro with a 375 hp 355 V8 and it never missed a beat. One of the smoothest, best performing transmissions I've ever abused.

T-5s (especially WC) are good trannys...for non-performance applications. The overdrive is great. The one we had in the V6 Camaro never misbehaved once. But it wasn't putting up with any power to speak of.

A fella can do what he wants, but I sure wouldn't want to try it behind a 400+ hp motor.

Btw, I'm not wonna them guys who buys into every "scary story" that I hear. For example, a common story about a TH700R4 tranny is that you'd burn 'em up inside 100 miles if you didn't have a proper method of locking up the Torque Converter Clutch. So I tried it. I put a TH700 (an earlier model, not the 87 or newer "improved" trans) into a different 67 Camaro and ran it for 6 years behind a mild 350 motor without ever connecting the TCC circuit. I did it just to prove a point.

I also ran HEI distributors when everyone said that they ran out of power at 4500 rpm. We found out that as long as they had a full 12v to them, they ran fine...all you had to do is eliminate the resistor wire or ballast resistor.

And the old story about 400 smallblocks always overheating: sure, they'll overheat if you run CamelHump heads on 'em and don't drill steam holes. But I've got 2 406 motors right now that never run over 190.

So I'm not going by "old wives' tales" or "everybody knows" type of reasoning. I'm using my own experience as a basis for suggesting that a T-5 (even a WC) is less well-suited to high performance application than a 3550.

4.3 and chevyasylum, You got me there. and i won't print that piece again. promise.
I fully agree that gofstbuick is pumping out HP. I also gave him (just in case he has not seen those other sites about 3550, T56's &nv4500's, as this is about learning). It's his choice and I hope I'm not driving any one to get a T5 or any other part. Hell I'm learning something new every day thanks to you guys. and boy have I learned alot.
I sometimes wonder when reading topics and we sometimes never know who is coming from where. so I just provided info. when I started asking questions to learn, I learned that I'm going to get lots of different answers, some I may like and others I'll do research on. we all read how some guys bought a $40. T5 and others still use sm420's, i did and it finally broke, along w/ my 3 speed.
so if gofstbuick is building such HP I wondered why he even thought of picking up a T5 in the first place??

But that's what the forum is for, asking questions and learning. I gave him lots to think about w/ those links.
I'm sure when my T5 blows I'll trade it in for something else w/ more *$#@}?+++.

Ps, and I did NOT say he should use a T5 !!!!!

The reason I asked about a T5 because there is a camaro T5 for sale locally. I just didn't know what kind of hp or torque that trans could withstand. I attended the local county fair yesterday and met a guy who has a 10 bolt pontiac GTO posi with 3.31. I think that is the route I will take for the rear. I have searched your site and found differential widths and narrowed my search from there. This site has a great wealth of information and I'm using the search alot . I inquired about manual trans because my wife likes the original look of the manual on the floor. I suspect I still may end up keeping my T400 (with 2800 stall), but it is nice to explore other options. My intention is not to beat my truck to death, but because of the time, money and effort I put into the last SBC I'll ever build (If it goes, it's cheaper to buy a BBC crate) this engine will eventually find its way in to my truck (I couldn't bear to let an engine like that go when I sold my 70 chevelle, no one would appreciate that engine until he/she opened the bottom up to reveal a 4340 cola crank). My truck is nice running vehicle with some nice ammenities and I have plenty of time to pick the appropriate drivetrain for it. My intention is to gather information from the experts on this board so this project will turn out well and your board has been a lot of help.

I also had a 1983 z28 with a T-5, and those HO305's only put out 195 hp. Its sad that the transmission did not hold up well to such a weak engine.