66 k10 newer 5spd tranny?

[amccomb]

I have been doing some research about putting a newer 5spd, in my k10 to replace the original 4spd saginaw that whinies like crazy, and gets me crap mileage. What trannies would be compatible with the 350 thats in my truck now, out of a 70 pickup? With the divorced transfer case I can use any 2 wheel drive tranny correct? The rear end gears are 3.73 if that matters.

[brokenspoke]

Google T-5 tech

[Captainfab]

A NV3500 is a pretty decent 5 spd trans, but the 2 issues with those is they are setup for a hydraulic clutch, and the speedo drive is electronic.

The T5 does not have those issues, but I don't remember just what the torque rating is on them. The NV3500 is rated at 300 lbft, but GM still installed them behind the L31 Vortec which produces 330 lbft.

[Rat66]

amccomb I am researching the exact same thing. I am leaning toward the T-5 WC (World-Class) model to go with my 350. The following link has a ton of good info on the T-5's.

http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/...feature25.html

[brap999]

I run the world class T5 behind my inline 6, with 3.73's and 27" tires. It's a good street transmission, and you can easily convert it to mechanical speedo if you find one that has the electronic speedo on it.

The only limiting factor on them is that they are only rated to 300 ft/lb of torque give or take.

Also, be sure you get yourself an 8 cylinder T5, not the 6 cylinder. There are a lot of the 6 cylinder t5's and as I learned people try to pass them off as the 8 cylinder ones.

[amccomb]

If I am reading the article correctly any 83-92 t-5 from a V-8 will work? I am new to this whole thing.

[Rat66]

I am not sure if the first couple years (83-85) are the WC models. In the article it mentioned that the non-WC units were from 1982-85. But it also says that Ford started using the 2nd gen WC units in 1983. It also mentions that the WC (GM) units have the 26 spline shafts where the non-WC units have the 10 spline. It says that the 1983-92 coupled with the V-8s have the 26 spline. So I am assuming that the answer to your question is Yes.

Maybe someone else can verify this?

[mani]

I put a T-5 (gear half) from a v8 camero (with a S-10 tail shaft section) behind my I6 250. 26 spline is correct for a V8. I used the old bell housing from my 3onthetree, clutch fork blah blah and all works just fine. Did it 8 yrs ago and still going strong. All you need to do is make sure you source the correct 26 spline clutch disk to go with the pressure plate you have. That's a research project in itself to find the right yr/vehicle that had what I needed (google the clutch mfgs for info - I think I used centerforce's catalog). Other good note is you can rebuild the T-5 until the cows come home for pennies on the dollar - parts are cheap compared to other trannies. There are 10s of thousands of these trannies around, Chevy&Ford variants, all pretty damn good.

[Rat66]

Awesome info mani! So just to clarify even more, for me that is, are all 26 spline (83-92) World-Class models?

[koda360]

Ideally, you'll want a T-5 from a V8 car (Camaro, Firebird) and a T-5 from an S10/ S15. You'll need to mount the tailshaft and tail housing from the S10 trans, to the V8 trans. This locates the shifter forward, almost in the stock 60-66 location.
As for the clutch, just buy it for the car you got the V8 trans from. I think this will only work if you run the hydraulic clutch from the car as well..... Not sure.

[Billett]

I looked into it for a while but decided against a t5. They are only rated to around 300 ft lbs depending on WC or non WC. If you're using it as a daily then I might go for it, but if you have any kind of power at all in that 350 I'd save up for something more durable.

[Rat66]

I like the fact that the T-5's are a dime a dozen and that parts can be sourced very easily and cheap. What other alternatives are there for a 5 speed and are they common and inexpensive?

[koda360]

Originally Posted by Billett

I looked into it for a while but decided against a t5. They are only rated to around 300 ft lbs depending on WC or non WC. If you're using it as a daily then I might go for it, but if you have any kind of power at all in that 350 I'd save up for something more durable.

I agree, but also consider in a truck with no weight in bed, it's not gonna hook up like a 10.5 car and pull the front wheels. Unless your towing, or drag racing it with huge wrinkle wall slicks, the T-5 should hold up just fine, and you can easily exceed those "maximum torque ratings". My biggest concern would be the 5000+ lbs the truck weighs, and trashing on it a lot, which will wear more on the clutch than the trans.
But once you've completed the swap, there are aftermarket T-5s that would make for an easy upgrade down the road....

[Billett]

But with the cost of an upgraded t5 you could have bought something more stout in the first place. Also, isn't it the housing that always goes on them not the internals? I do agree that for daily use it would save a ton of gas and be a lot more pleasant to drive, but I have a friend with the 4.3 s10 that tore his apart just from horsing around a few times... I guess if you go for it just be careful! they are pretty cheap and as you said they are about the only cheap 5 speed for these trucks, just don't blow it! haha

[Rat66]

Good points! I am still leaning toward the T-5. I don't plan to drag race or do anything crazy. I do have a mild cam in my 350 but it is not that aggressive. I think it should work for a while.

[jocko]

Gents, here a build thread on my 66's T5. It's a 93 WC T5. Picked it up at a swap meet for $400 and it was in good shape.

The thread highlights some of the considerations - Camaro vs S10, etc. Bottom line is this - if you use an S10 T5 (which I did), you will need a spacer plate because the S10 T5's i/p shaft is a bit longer than what you need. However, if you simply drop a Camaro T5 (which has the correct i/p shaft length and needs no spacer) in, the shifter will come up under a bench seat. So, the best of both worlds is a Camaro main case with an S10 tailshaft housing. but if the only way to do that is to buy 2 transmissions, it's much cheaper to use a spacer plate on an S10 trans and just buy 1 trans. S10 tailshaft housings are getting HARD to find btw.

Another note - WC T5 in an S10 wasn't available until '93 (MAYBE some in 92) - but they aren't common. And they require a mech speedo to be added in place of the electronic pickup. I got lucky, the 93 I bought is a WC and it already had a mech speedo conversion done to it.

If you are gonna stomp on it, don't bother with a non-WC T5. If you're gonna REALLY stomp on it, don't get a T5 at all, spend more up front for the Tremec or Keisler RS400, etc. Trust me, although it's not a painful install, you only want to do it once...

If you're gonna drive it normally, then a T5 is just the ticket. More info in the thread below along with how I made a spacer from scratch (with the help of the local machine shop). All you NEED is an aluminum plate and the correct index ring diameter of your bell housing, the rest is measured/drilled real-time (will make sense when you read the thread). I only spent $80 on my spacer, then I finish drilled for the mounting holes after a little rattle can magic... Let me know if any questions, I'd say if there are any hiccups in the swap, I may have found them all, unfortunately. You'll enjoy it when you're done, it's a great swap. All parts and options I could think of are in the thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=482069

One more note - my truck is 2WD, I'm not certain all the considerations of doing this on a K10 with a div t-case.

[Rat66]

Great info Jocko! Your thread answered most questions I had about the T5 install. I think the hardest part now is sourcing all the parts. Not finding any T5s on CL locally. Checking yards right now.