Doing the T5 Transmission swap, a few questions

[brap999]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums. Bought a '63 C10 (230 l6 with the 3 speed trans) a little over a month ago and just picked up a T5 out of a '86 Firebird with the V8

I've read the many how to's on doing this swap so I don't want to repeat the same questions, but there are a few things that I haven't found answer to yet that maybe someone could clear up.

1) The t5 I bought at the salvage yard was from a '86 firebird v8. After looking up the Tag number on the transmission, it is reported as an '85 T5 ... no problem. So this should be a non-wc transmission, correct? One of the how-tos I read said the Non-wc transmission had the analog speedo output, but this one has electronic outputs, so is this trans a WC or Non-WC? It was my understanding that WC came out in '88 or so. That brings me to question 2 ...

2) One How-To said there is a $300 part you need to convert the electronic speedo output to analog. Another how-to said you can buy the analog output and swap it into the space where the electronic is. I'd imagine that is the cheaper option, but where do I find this analog part. I've been searching around and can't find it. Maybe I suck at googling ...

3) The yoke off the C10 drive shaft, will it fit the T5? I didn't see that mentioned in the write up. A guy down the street said I might need the Yoke off the Firebird, so now I'm confused.

4) In one of the photos from the How-To, the shifter shown was much taller than the stock one that comes out of the Camaro/Firebird. What brands/models provide taller shifters? I see a bunch that appear to be for the Camaro/Firebird, but I'd imagine those will be too short. I have bucket seats in my truck, so I'm not worried about bench seat clearance issues.

5) What other drive shafts from trucks can i used for this combination to cut short? I rather not cut and shorten my stock drive shaft, just in case one day I feel the need to put back in the 3 speed.

Again, I'm sorry if I'm beating a dead horse. The How-To's on this site are excellent and answered 95% of my questions, it's just these 5 that I'm not sure of.

[M5-]

Originally Posted by brap999

hey guys, i'm new to the forums. Bought a '63 c10 (230 l6 with the 3 speed trans) a little over a month ago and just picked up a t5 out of a '86 firebird with the v8

i've read the many how to's on doing this swap so i don't want to repeat the same questions, but there are a few things that i haven't found answer to yet that maybe someone could clear up.

1) the t5 i bought at the salvage yard was from a '86 firebird v8. After looking up the tag number on the transmission, it is reported as an '85 t5 ... No problem. So this should be a non-wc transmission, correct? One of the how-tos i read said the non-wc transmission had the analog speedo output, but this one has electronic outputs, so is this trans a wc or non-wc? It was my understanding that wc came out in '88 or so. That brings me to question 2 ...
What is the 1352-xxx number on the tranny? Follow the link below and look it up. It'll tell you what you have.

http://www.britishv8.org/articles/bo...t5-id-tags.htm



2) one how-to said there is a $300 part you need to convert the electronic speedo output to analog. Another how-to said you can buy the analog output and swap it into the space where the electronic is. I'd imagine that is the cheaper option, but where do i find this analog part. I've been searching around and can't find it. Maybe i suck at googling ...

A more serious problem than the speedo is the shifter location. You will need the tail housing from an gm s10 to move the shifter forward for your truck application. This tail housing if it comes from a nwc should have an analog speedo. I'm just in the process of figuring this out for my truck. I have a 93 wc tranny from an s10 that i would like to get the analog tail section for.

3) the yoke off the c10 drive shaft, will it fit the t5? I didn't see that mentioned in the write up. A guy down the street said i might need the yoke off the firebird, so now i'm confused.

I believe the truck drive shaft will slide right in

4) in one of the photos from the how-to, the shifter shown was much taller than the stock one that comes out of the camaro/firebird. What brands/models provide taller shifters? I see a bunch that appear to be for the camaro/firebird, but i'd imagine those will be too short. I have bucket seats in my truck, so i'm not worried about bench seat clearance issues.

Hurst makes one i believe

5) what other drive shafts from trucks can i used for this combination to cut short? I rather not cut and shorten my stock drive shaft, just in case one day i feel the need to put back in the 3 speed.

I heard that you can get one from an astrovan but don't quote me.

Again, i'm sorry if i'm beating a dead horse. The how-to's on this site are excellent and answered 95% of my questions, it's just these 5 that i'm not sure of.

m5

[mr andrerson]

brap999.... once you get going on the conversion you will see its pretty easy. and BTW you might as well cut the 3spd driveshaft, once you have the t5 you'll never go back!!

[brap999]

After hours of searching and researching on other sites about T5's, I was able to answer one of my own questions. It is possible to convert the electronic speedometer output on the T5 to a mechanical gear driven type. I'll list it here in the hopes it helps someone else out in the future looking for this same info.

Basically you need to find a GM T5 Speedometer housing, which doing a quick search I found for sale on a few websites as well as Ebay. You will also need to get a Driven Gear for a GM T5 and a Drive Gear for a GM T5. The Driven Gear is apparently the hard part to find, as it seems not many places have them. Actually I wasn't able to find any. There are Ford T5 Driven Gears for sale, but I'm not sure these will work.

Fortunately, there is another solution. You can use the Speedometer housing for a Chevy TH350 auto transmission, and a Driven gear for the Chevy TH350, with the Drive gear for the GM T5.

Note that only the Chevy TH350 transmission parts will work, I saw this noted at the site I purchased my parts from. So don't go looking for TH350 parts from the Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Cadillac TH350

Next you will need to determine what size driven gear, and drive gear you will need. To determine this you need to know your rear end gear ratio, and your tire size.

Once you have these values, use the calculator found here: http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/calculators.html

It will tell you which size Driven Gear you will need. Here is a hint, it appears you will most likely use a 7 tooth GM T5 Drive gear, the only other option is a GM T5 9 tooth drive gear, but it seems it's not as commonly used.

I purchased the TH350 Speedometer housing, TH350 Driven Gear, and the T5 Drive Gear from this site: http://www.transmissioncenter.net/sp...n_______va.htm

A lot of the information I learned from another site and they also discuss how to install the parts, here: http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tr...ve-driven.html

Keep in mind, when they are discussing what size driven gear to use, they are using the rear gear and tire sizes on their Camaros & Firebirds, so make sure you use the information from the calculator linked above as it will give you the proper values for your truck setup.

[Heater63]

A World Class T5 will have a bearing race, with stampings, like a Timken bearing, around the edge, near the input shaft. A Non World Class will just have a plain pressed in expansion plug. The easy quick way to spot them.

Call around to tranny shops, most good sized city's have a shop or two that do a lot of T5's and they can not only answer your questions, but modify yours to get the gear ratios. speedo output you want, and provide a yoke if needed.

Have a driveshaft shop shorten and balance your driveshaft...about $100 usually. No need to save it...you won't go back to the 3 speed!

[brap999]

Thanks for all the replies! I have heard from many people what a difference the T5 makes, so I'm anxiously awaiting the remaining parts.

This thread convinced me to not worry about the replacement drive shaft, and I'll just go ahead and shorten the stock one. I can't imagine ever wanting to drive that 3 speed anymore, it's just too cumbersome, especially as a daily driver like mine is.

[boucher racing]

I recently swapped over from the 3 tree. I think I blew out the trans after a spirited drive, plus the turbo increased the power.

Since I am using the original bench seat and wanted a World Class T5, I found a WC and a non-WC from a S10. I then swapped the tailshaft extensions so that I could have the shifter location forward. I researched / read alot on the net and there is some bad info out there. My experience was that it was super simple swap, if you buy the right trans. I even bought an adapter plate and didn't even use it.

The WC bolted right up with the original bell housing and the input shaft on the WC was the exact same length. All I needed to do was buy a new 10.5" clutch with a 26 spline.

I had my driveshaft cut 3" to fit, around $90 with new joints. The difference in trans is night and day. I have to be on the interstate to even think about getting into 5th gear. I am very pleased.

Here is a pic of my trans, this is the freeze plug, in the front below the input shaft, if you have a WC.