The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop swingin' 60s pedals

i was poking around some old trucks at the junkyard this weekend, and noticed a 60-62 chevy truck that had a neat hanging pedal setup with a combination master cylinder for juice brakes and a hydraulic clutch. this could solve a few problems for me, as i hadn't exactly figured out how to adapt a master cylinder to my stock pedals, or how to even mount the darn things.

can anyone tell me:

1) are hydraulic clutches any good? ie, are they harder/easier to shift than a mechanical linkage.

2) will that bellhousing bolt up to a 1984 camaro t5 transmission?

3) is the clutch/pressure plate setup any different than using a mechanical linkage?

thanks!
ed

I have had some experience with a 60 GMC with the same setup,no matter what bellhousing you use you will have to make a adapter for the 5 speed it has a different bolt pattern. That setup would solve clutch linkage problems,the clutch parts are the same as with the mechanical linkage. I wish I would of thought about that setup before I bought one of the modified bellhousings from Jim Carter,only problem I see with that is single resevour mastercylinder. Jeff

if the hydraulic bellhousing has the same bolt pattern as the 55-62 passenger car bellhousing, it has the same bolt pattern as the t5. the t5 has the same pattern as a saginaw 4-speed.

thanks for your input on the hydraulic clutch. i plan to pull the bellhousing and pedals from that truck once the rain clears.

if anyone in the philadelphia area is looking for 60-62 truck parts, there are two such trucks in the yard... not much left, but there is a 235 with an 848 head, a good tailgate, and a good cab.

A T5 having the same bolt pattern as a saginaw 4speed hummmm that sounds interesting. Are all five speeds T5s? cause a local rodder had to make a adapter to put a fivespeed behind a 250 in his 38 panel. What do T5s come out of,if the shifter is not too far back it might work in my 37.

jeff-

the gentleman you mentioned was probably using a f**d t5, as they have a different bolt pattern than the chevy t5. the chevy variant has the same offset 4-bolt pattern that's on the older chevs. the one i pulled from an '85 camaro bolts up to my '57 bellhousing. the bolt holes on the t5 need to be drilled out slightly as they are sized for metric bolts, but after that everything fits great.

for your '37, you want to look for a t5 from a chevy s-10 pickup, as it will have the optimal shifter location... or, if you want the best setup, take the main body from a camaro t5 and combine it with the tailshaft from the s-10 t5. that's what i'm doing for my '31. t5's are extremely modular transmissions, so you can swap parts around like crazy. i'm not sure about the 250, but with a 235 you need to trim 1/4" from the face of the t5's input shaft to make things work.

if you're interested in this swap, i suggest you check out inliners.org's tech section for a good write-up on the swap. i can also mail you a photocopy of the instructions and drawings that brian logan from the hokey [censored] message board sent me. his instructions are very thorough. also, you can ask me questions... i may not be your best source though, as i'm only about halfway through the swap, but i'm learning a lot.

for more information on the t5, check out:

www.5speeds.com/t5/index.html

ps. while the camaro t5's can be hard to find and expensive, the s-10 t5's are all over the place. the local u-pull it yard has two for $70 each.

pps. you'll have to go to an open rear.

I wish I could get a S10 T5 for 70.00,everyone around here wants at least 150.00 for them. All the cheap yards I frequent do not have any vehicles that new so I will have to look in the tradin post type papers. I cant wait to get rid of the torque tube rear and trans,they will be free for anyone wanting that useless bunch of steel when I pull it. Jeff

well, later this week i'll be grabbing at least one of those s-10 t5's, as well as the pedals mentioned above. i have a three week old infant, so the last three weeks have been, well, busy.

let me know if you need any t5 information.

ed