Another T5 question (Astro Van)

[treeboy97]

I acquired an Astro T5 tranny and was wondering if anyone else has attempted this. I know there are many threads concerning the adaptation of the T5 to V8 and L6s, I have looked at many. There is not much talk about the Astro T5 though.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted this T5 to a L6 250 Chevy.

It doesn't have a bellhousing, so will I need to find an Astro Bellhousing or will another adapt to the 250? I plan to remove the Astro shifter and replace with a S10 shifter to help with positioning.

My truck is a 70 C10 long bed.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[Zeke's Garage]

I'm not certain that the Astro T5 is any different than any other T5. The only question is whether it is a World Class or not, and the location of the shifter.

I'm about to put an S10 T5 into my '67 with a 250 L6, and it looks like I'll need to cut down the input shaft a bit, and perhaps shorten the collar as well. I'll see if I can dig up the photo information I have and post it here for clarity.

[LockDoc]

-
I just completed the S-10 install in my '67 with a six cyl a while back. It works great! I purchased the spacer plate and used the '85 Astro van 11" clutch disk. I didn't have to use the adapter ring in the bell housing locator hole, it was the right size for the S-10 front bearing retainer.

http://hamiltonintakes.com/products/...5-swap-adapter

Here is where the shifter is in relation to the bench seat. I bent the shift lever straight up from where the sharp bend was and it worked pretty good. It isn't as close to the dash as it looks. The shifter on it now is off of a full size pickup 5 speed and it is too big to screw on the shaft and too long. I just slid it down over the shift lever so I could test drive it.

The yellow circle shows where the original shifter hole was and the new hole is about 8-1/4" back.

LockDoc

[Old Bluey]

Pics would definitely help. I'd love to see what the offset shifter looked like in those Astros. I'm going 2 two years strong on my S10 swap. Still planning to hybrid a camaro trans.

Bellhousing is the same as a small block. What trans have you got in there now? I re-used mine off the SM465 that was on the truck when I got it. To my knowledge World Class was only for Camaros and Mustangs. I picked up a basic hot rod adjustable crossmember that fit great too (depending on which trans you're pulling out)

Zeke - I know I had to trim my collar, but I can't remember about the input shaft. Good luck with the swap.

[Old Bluey]

More great info here (it was a guide for me and looks like it's been added to since)

http://www.flatheadv8.org/ernie/ernie-t5.htm

Good gear sets in those Astros - Check your tag numbers (If the tag is still attached)
Astrovan – 3.76 Gearset – 170, 180, 190
Astrovan – 3.50 Gearset – 101, 148, 149, 164, 179, 189

[treeboy97]

Thanks for all the posts.

I am currently running a Saginaw 4 speed, but it is geared real low. I am trying to get all this done before the Hot Power Tour in June. I will try and post a few shots of the Astro T5 to show the offset shifter.

[raycow]

Originally Posted by treeboy97

It doesn't have a bellhousing, so will I need to find an Astro Bellhousing or will another adapt to the 250? I plan to remove the Astro shifter and replace with a S10 shifter to help with positioning.

It depends on what year the transmission is. The later Astro T-5s have the Ford bolt pattern and if yours is one of those you MUST use an Astro 4.3 bellhousing unless you want to pay for an aftermarket bell or adaptor plate. You will know as soon as you compare the bolt pattern with your old transmission. If it has the GM pattern you can use your stock 70 bellhousing with a centering ring to make up the difference in bearing retainer diameters. You can get the ring from Novak, Advance Adapters, McLeod and this outfit:
http://dennymac.com/mod.php?mod=user...103&page_id=54

My transmission was sold to me as an S-10, but I think it is actually an Astro with an S-10 shifter because it has the 3.50 1st gear. The ID tag was gone when I got it. Anyway, the shifter swap appears to work just fine, and it has been in the truck for several years now with absolutely no problems.

Ray

[treeboy97]

I ran the tag numbers. I have an 86 4.3 V6 Astro tranny.

That makes sense, the bolt pattern threw me off. Now time to search for a bellhousing.

Anyone have an Astro bellhousing laying around?

[raycow]

Originally Posted by treeboy97

I have an 86 4.3 V6 Astro tranny.

That makes sense, the bolt pattern threw me off. Now time to search for a bellhousing.

You have an 86 and it doesn't have a GM bolt pattern?

Ray

[treeboy97]

Here is the pics of two T5 I have.

Pic one is of the two, Astro 86 4.3 and the other is from a 85 camaro 2.8

The front views.
Astro on the right as you view it.

[treeboy97]

Pics failed. Astro on the left as you view it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...hotostream/ed: Here is the link:

Link 2 show both.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/


Close up of Astro T5 bolt pattern


http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/


Close up of Camaro 2.8 bolt pattern

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/

[screamin_c10]

Originally Posted by treeboy97

Pics failed. Astro on the left as you view it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...hotostream/ed: Here is the link:

Link 2 show both.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/


Close up of Astro T5 bolt pattern


http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/


Close up of Camaro 2.8 bolt pattern

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5702754...n/photostream/

Your photos are marked private....

[LockDoc]

Lets see if this works...

The first picture looks like the Ford pattern and the second is the Chevy.

LockDoc

[treeboy97]

Thanks LocDoc

The first pic is the GM 4.3 86 Astro
The second is the GM 2.8 85 Camaro

[raycow]

You are absolutely correct. The one with the Astro shifter has the Ford bolt pattern. I didn't know Astros had that as early as 86. Camaro and S-10 didn't get the Ford pattern until 93. This is good news though, because it means there are more bellhousings around of the kind you need.

Now I am thinking my T-5 didn't come out of an Astro, but rather just has the Astro 3.50 gearset in it.

Ray

[treeboy97]

raycow,

Do you have a suggestion on the correct bellhousing. I have looked around for an Astro bellhousing but they are hard find. What would be a good substitution for a ford T5 bolt pattern to a chevy 250 motor? Anyone else have a suggestion? I am sure they are out there.

[raycow]

Originally Posted by treeboy97

raycow,

Do you have a suggestion on the correct bellhousing. I have looked around for an Astro bellhousing but they are hard find. What would be a good substitution for a ford T5 bolt pattern to a chevy 250 motor?

Treeboy, I apologize for the delay in responding. I was away from home and didn't have any internet access.

The only other factory bellhousing I am aware of that has even a hope of working is the 4 cyl Jeep housing shown in post #4 on this thread.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=420423

It has at at least two problems when compared with the Astro housing. First is that it is made for a 153 tooth flywheel. This one won't be too bad, because those flywheels are very easy to find. You will also need a 153 tooth starter.

The center hole is going to be more of a challenge. I believe Jeep used the Ford size, 4.848", which is approximately 0.162" larger than the Chevy T-5 bearing retainer. This means you will either need to get a thin spacer ring made with about a .081" wall or else have the center hole bored out to 5.125" so you can use one of the commercially available Chevy truck rings.

There is also a potential third problem, which is that the Jeep housing may be no easier to find than the Astro part.

If no luck on the Jeep housing, there is another possible solution. Go here:
http://www.transmissionadapters.com/for_sale.htm
and scroll down to "Misc. Items" near the bottom of the page. The third item down is a Ford to Chevy adapter plate. This would normally have a Ford size center hole on the transmission side, but I talked to Bob at Bendtsen's and he says he also makes them with the Chevy size hole (about 4.686"). If you want, he will also put a 5.125" ring on the bellhousing side so you can bolt it to your 70 truck bellhousing without needing to use a separate spacer ring.

Good luck in your search, and please post back here with what you find, as it will likely be of help to others who have run into the same problem.

Ray

[treeboy97]

Thanks roycow,

I may just tear the tail housing off the Astro T5 and put it on a Camaro T5, looks like they may be the best way to go. I will just end up selling the main body on the Astro T5.

I have two T5 and that may be the easiest and cheapest way to go. I hate to spend too much on a T5 and then in a few years install in a V8.

thanks again for your advice.

[treeboy97]

Well after much thought and more research, I went with the suggestion from Bob at Bendtsen's and drilled a 70 250 bellhousing to fit the Ford bolt pattern of the Astro T5. All was going well unto I tried to install the Astro 14 spline 11" clutch disk.

It was too big, I need to have a 10" or smaller 14 spline clutch disk.

I have found the 89 S10 four cylinder hade a 9 1/8 clutch disc with the correct 14 spline.

Has anyone else run into this problem? Will the 9 1/8 work?

Thanks for the advice.

[treeboy97]

After several months of internet research I finally started my T5 (Astro Van) transmission conversion.

It was a total of two complete Saturdays and a few other days of gathering the much needed parts and dropping off/picking up parts at various locations.

Also there was a few items picked from NAPA, Dennis W. McLeod of Toolcraft Co., Inc. and ebay.

I picked up a standard 70 chevy straight 6 bellhousing to try all the modifications, I dropped it of at Wiseman Fabrication in Beaver Ohio with my T5 to fabricate and drill the new bolts holes for the Ford boltpattern.

This is the finished product:

This also show the ring that was purchased from Dennis McLeod.

They also made a bar on the T5 to help with the bottom bolts that would have hanged below the bellhousing.

[treeboy97]

This is a complete shot showing the T5 installed to the bellhousing.

For the clutch to match up I had to research on Napa's site to find a 10 inch or less clutch disc with a 14 count spline. I ended up with a 84 S10 clutch disc it was 9 11/16".

Also note that the camera had the wrong date.

[treeboy97]

We started aligning all the parts under the engine and all was well till we noticed that there was not enough clearance for the T5 to fit under the low hump of the C10. This could be that the cab mounts are 40 years old.That when we found out that we had no steel blades for the Jig Saw, so a ten minute drive to the local parts store and after all that we were cutting the floor out. With a little sheet metal and pop rivets we were back in business.

All parts seemed well, the newly cut driveshaft was the correct length and everything looked for a start of the engine.



We put the old shift bar on, a new one is laying around the barn somewhere, and ran through the gears. We put in some shell synco oil, whatever Chevy is running in their manual transmissions now. We started the truck on the engine and tranny through the gears on the jack stands and all went well.

We lowered the truck and took it for its test drive.

All seemed well with the transmission except for first gear had some noise (sounded like a WAW-WAW-WAW, a little noise in second, not much, all other gears ran great.) One has to remember this was an 1986 used transmission from Craigslist for 60 bucks. I will replace the oil with some Amsoil 75W-90 next weekend and hope this may quiet it down. If not, I will still run it this year and maybe rebuild it in the winter of 2012. Opinions?

There was a huge difference in engine RPM headed down the road, this will work out great for the Power Tour.

[treeboy97]

This is a photo with the previous 4 speed shifter location

This is the new location, it moved it around 4 inches.

[camaney]

just what I was looking for
thanks

[Chevrolet4x4s]

How much did the adapter ring run you?
Shane