Best Std Trans for My Truck

[rednaxela]

I am looking to get a different trans for my 1971 swb and i was wondering what would be a good trans for it.
I have been looking on Craiglist in my area and i have found a Muncie m20, and some BW T5, and T10s i would like to keep as good fuel eff. as possible
would the T5 be ok behind a 350 with one of these trucks or are they to heavy. I am about to put a different rearend also and i think i will go with a 308

[earlthegoat2]

A T-5 would be nearly ideal I would think. I would like to find one for my own.

An NV3500 would also be OK as would an M20 which I would also take if I could find one. Maybe you should evaluate your new transmission before you switch rears. Overdrive can make a mighty big difference on a 3.73.

[rednaxela]

it has the rear from a 1970 and it also has a 1970 front end so i am going to get the correct rear and front suppension. So the T5 would be able to handle in one of the trucks without problems?

[rednaxela]

one listed says it for a v 6

[rednaxela]

if you would like there is a shop in San Antonio and there number is 210 887 7615 and the have the T5 rebuilt listed for 695 + T5 core

[LockDoc]

-
.. with Earl. To high of gear ratio along with an overdrive trans can actually hurt your mileage rather than help it....

LockDoc

[jocko]

You're probably gonna want to limit T5 purchases to a World Class T5 with a 350 engine, anyway) - and even then, you will need to drive it sanely. If there are any heavy burnouts in your future - don't bother with a T5, WC or not. but if you're gonna drive it without heavy shifts or, more importantly, heavy accelerations, it's good to go.

Here's a link with some info on the T5 - it's my trans swap in a 66 - but the links within it it might prove more helpful than the article.

Lots of things to consider - but if you have a bench seat, you'll need an S10 tailshaft housing and shifter (or aftermarket shifter). S10 WC T5's are not common. More common is a Camaro main case attached to an S10 tailshaft. MOST Camaro T5s were WC, while MOST S10 T5s were non-WC.

Another consideration - if you use an S10 main case - will require a spacer between trans and bell hsg to compensate for the S10's slightly longer input shaft. Camaro main case is ok with no adapter plate. THey can be made or purchased.

I really enjoy my T5. Hope this helps:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=482069

Also keep in mind - for M20/1/2, the shifter is very far aft - sometimes can work with a bench but difficult.

As for rear end gears - most T5's are geared for acceleration in 1st (S10s are as high as 4.0something or other :1) But with the O/D 5th, you don't want a really small (numerically) rear gear either as it will lug the engine except at rather HIGH speeds... Good compromise rear is anywhere between 3.24 - 3.73. I prefer 3.73. 3.73 causes one to need to shift into second right away, but the O/D ratio is manageable. A 3.24 would be the other way around, you could go a little further in 1st but have to be a little higher speed (than a 3.73) before you shift into 5th. But both or anything in between works great (my 2 cents).

[Dingfodgy]

Jocko has it pretty much nailed. W/C T5's are fine for a sanely driven street truck. The Muncie's and T10's are probably stronger units, but with no OD won't gain you anything in the fuel mileage without a diff swap.
You didn't mention what your budget was, but for about $2500 you could put in a used T56 out of a 4th Gen. Camaro or late model GTO. With the double overdrive a 3.73 rear would almost be ideal or even 3.90's would work.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I have put S-10 T-5s behind 350s in 2 trucks. They do fine as long as you drive right.

[GRX]

Tremec TKO 600 5-Speed

[406 Q-ship]

Careful on a S10 T5 to what engine it was behind. NEVER use the S10 T5 that was behind a 2.8 V6, those trans have the weakest gear set of any T5. When I was doing 4.3 conversions back in the 1980's (yes before GM put the 4.3 in the S10's) the manual trans trucks had to really babied when applying power in the 1st to 2nd shift. You can literally strip the teeth off the gears. I am not sure which trans the 2.5 I4 S10's had but I would say that it would be the same as the 2.8 V6. T5 are not a very strong trans which is why GM never put the 350 and the T5 together in the Camaro either, a hard driver in a 305 TPI IROC can destroy a WC T5 (Mustangs tore them up with only 215/225 hp in a 3000 lbs car). The T10 and M20 will not help the highway RPM due the 1 to 1 final drive ratio, and 1st gear isn't really deep enough either to get away with anything taller than a 3.55 rear axle ratio (in a truck).