64 C10 - gets a T5 transmission

[Pappyx3!]

Originally Posted by Lugnutz65

I wanna say flush is OK. However, to be sure it really is in far enough, measure from the back surface of the bushing to the back surface of the bell. Compare that to the distance from the T5 case to the very front edge of the shaft splines. That's how we finally figured out what our problem was during my buddy's T5 installation.

That was a rough day, but one I really enjoyed!

Happy to report I drove the truck for about 4-5 hours Saturday with a smile on my face the whole time!

Thanks Lugnutz!

Pappyx5!

[mehoff400]

i took my T5 out tonight and taking measurements i dont believe the input shaft is hitting the pilot bearing. i am not sure what to think. i do have some marks on the top of the T5 from hitting the lip of the cab so i am wondering if that is stopping the T5 from making full contact

[akqj9]

Here are great photos on adapting an old look shift lever:

http://www.waywardgarage.com/tech/t5...t5shifter.html

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by akqj9

Here are great photos on adapting an old look shift lever:

http://www.waywardgarage.com/tech/t5...t5shifter.html

I'll add mine to the list although it is very similar. Mine used a factory short throw S10 T5 shifter that I modified.
My Shifter Mod

[akqj9]

Thanks for showing each step in detail. Great photos.

[akqj9]

How do I remove the old column shift lever? It looks like I just drive out a pin, but I don't want to wreck anything.

[Lugnutz65]

Yes, it's a roll pin. Just drive it out.

[akqj9]

Thanks, the pin is out. I saw a video where they used a magnet to get the spring out so it didn't fall down the shaft but it looked like a more modern column. Do I need to take anything else out?

[akqj9]

before and after: E-brake

[akqj9]

before and after - cross member

[akqj9]

I bought an old shifter at a swap meet. It had a bend aiming to the right. I bent it back to center some and also bent it back to clear my dash.

[akqj9]

I used a Sawzall to cut both shafts. Since there was no heat of welding I didn't need to take the pivot assembly apart.

[akqj9]

The test drive worked great. I'm surprised 1st gear is like a granny gear. Good for cruising parking lots, but I can easily pull 2nd gear starts from stoplights. The best part (besides no more crappy 3-on-the-tree-linkage) is hitting 5th gear on the freeway and not hearing my motor scream any more.

All I need is a shift boot and its all done.

THANKS for all the help! I hope my photos help the next guy.

[akqj9]

With the new cable my speedo works again but is waaaaaayyyy off. We have radar trailers around town and it said I was doing 36 and my speedo said 53. I will refer to the instructions earlier in this post to get it calibrated correctly.

[Lugnutz65]

Nice work. The very low first gear is a small trade-off and like you said, 2nd gear is usually fine for normal starts. Nice work on the shifter too.

[62stepside longbox]

Did some more work on the t5 install. I went to picknpull today because I previously bought the wrong slip yoke. Instead of searching online and paying big bucks I just pulled a camaro driveshaft from the yard that was the same 2.5'' diameter as mine and cut off the front end so that when I get it shortened I can get them to put on the front portion from the camaro. Also when I go to buy ujoint I just have to tell them it's an 86 Camaro

[akqj9]

My shortened drive shaft and box old old parts. I used Drive Shaft Specialist  
1117 W Foothill Blvd, Azusa, CA 91702. He did a great job.

[mehoff400]

Nice I just received my rebuilt and shortened drive shaft driveline NW did mine

[60chevyjim]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Did some more work on the t5 install. I went to picknpull today because I previously bought the wrong slip yoke. Instead of searching online and paying big bucks I just pulled a camaro driveshaft from the yard that was the same 2.5'' diameter as mine and cut off the front end so that when I get it shortened I can get them to put on the front portion from the camaro. Also when I go to buy ujoint I just have to tell them it's an 86 Camaro

with you welding skills you should be able to do the drive shaft your self.
I do them all the time with no special tools . a 4 inch angle grinder with a cutoff disc and a carpenters square and my mig welder .
you have to make shore the u joints line up at both ends .
you grind the weld off the Camaro driveshaft and knock the end out of the tube . make shore you cut your driveshaft to the correct length then check that the end of the tube is square .
then put the drive shaft on something flat and tap the end cap in making shore the u joints line up the same. then use the square to make shore you have the end cap is in square both ways .
tack one side check for square again then rotate it 90 degrees put another tack weld , check for square again . if its all square then finish weld it
try to keep your weld close to the same thickness all the way around .
and your done , best of all its free and you learned how to do it yourself .
I have done about 20 or more of them this way over the last 30 years .

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

with you welding skills you should be able to do the drive shaft your self.
I do them all the time with no special tools . a 4 inch angle grinder with a cutoff disc and a carpenters square and my mig welder .
you have to make shore the u joints line up at both ends .
you grind the weld off the Camaro driveshaft and knock the end out of the tube . make shore you cut your driveshaft to the correct length then check that the end of the tube is square .
then put the drive shaft on something flat and tap the end cap in making shore the u joints line up the same. then use the square to make shore you have the end cap is in square both ways .
tack one side check for square again then rotate it 90 degrees put another tack weld , check for square again . if its all square then finish weld it
try to keep your weld close to the same thickness all the way around .
and your done , best of all its free and you learned how to do it yourself .
I have done about 20 or more of them this way over the last 30 years .

Thanks for the advise Jim. I've had people telling me to do it myself and people telling me not to. The way I see it is I'll try doing it the way you said and if it works great, but if it doesn't work I just pull it out and take it to the shop and get them to do it only it'll be a 1/4'' shorter which is fine being that it has a slip yoke. A wise old man once told me that if it's already Broken, try to fix it and if it works you just learned something new, and if it doesn't work it's the same as it was before, broken.

[TJ's Chevy]

Good write ups!!! This should be a sticky thread.

[akqj9]

I couldn't have done mine without all the help here. It is great to get stuck, go post a question and have someone reply quickly to get things back going again.

[akqj9]

Originally Posted by Lugnutz65

Nice work. The very low first gear is a small trade-off and like you said, 2nd gear is usually fine for normal starts. Nice work on the shifter too.

I hate to admit this but the first time I cut the half lap on the wrong side of the shift lever. I kept thinking the stub sticking out of the base pointed backwards, so I carefully laid it out on my workbench, then cut it and it fit great... until I went to mount it and had it pointing the wrong way!

Fortunately I had a long enough lever to cut off a few more inches and do it right.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Good write ups!!! This should be a sticky thread.

good idea

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

with you welding skills you should be able to do the drive shaft your self.
I do them all the time with no special tools . a 4 inch angle grinder with a cutoff disc and a carpenters square and my mig welder .
you have to make shore the u joints line up at both ends .
you grind the weld off the Camaro driveshaft and knock the end out of the tube . make shore you cut your driveshaft to the correct length then check that the end of the tube is square .
then put the drive shaft on something flat and tap the end cap in making shore the u joints line up the same. then use the square to make shore you have the end cap is in square both ways .
tack one side check for square again then rotate it 90 degrees put another tack weld , check for square again . if its all square then finish weld it
try to keep your weld close to the same thickness all the way around .
and your done , best of all its free and you learned how to do it yourself .
I have done about 20 or more of them this way over the last 30 years .

Well I started on shortening the driveshaft today. I grinded the weld down on the camaro yoke till I could see a little crack then I tapped it with a hammer and it came right off, then I cleaned off the rest of the welds. Now I just need to measure and most importantly cut it square and carefully weld the camaro yoke to the original driveshaft