another t-5 question

[BB77551]

i know the t-5 swap is everywhere on here but i have not found an answer to my question yet .. i have a 66 chevy 1/2 ton with a 250 six , i want to do the t-5 swap .. it will be an everyday driver , it will pull a small trailer or boat from time to time " in other words she will be used as a truck ... " the 250 will be mild with dual carbs headers and a small cam .... my question is wich t-5 is the best ,,,,,, one out of a camaro or an s10 , i already know what needs to be done to both for the swap . i just need to know about the best gearing option . one person said he went with a camaro because he pulled a boat another one said the s-10 would work fine and someone else said a few years had gearing that would not work good with a stock geared rear end ....... so can some one help with my decision so i can hit the junk yards ..... thank you ..

[LVPhotos]

I would look for a V-8 t-5, don't count out Mustangs. I used a s-10 tail shaft to move the stick forward. The torque rating is low on these the aluminum housing being the weak point.
Head over to Tremmic web for ideas. I have pictures in the projects and builds, also on cardomain follow my link on signature.

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by LVPhotos

I would look for a V-8 t-5, don't count out Mustangs. I used a s-10 tail shaft to move the stick forward. The torque rating is low on these the aluminum housing being the weak point.
Head over to Tremmic web for ideas. I have pictures in the projects and builds, also on cardomain follow my link on signature.

I'm curios as to how you could mate a mustang T5 to a Chevy 250. The case is different and will not bolt onto the factory bell unless I'm missing something. The S10 gearing would be ok but search for one with the 0.72 (or is it 0.76???) OD gear. The 250 should be well within the torque specs. I am doing the same with my 250 and I have a Camaro V8 T5.
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[LVPhotos]

Though my t5 came from a Trans AM 1985, still on flat bed when the yard pulled it, running the serial brought out a mustang code. I might be wrong but check the ears. Aftermarket bellhouses can also be used. Like I said refer to the Tremmic web.
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[geezer#99]

Some links.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=169265

[BB77551]

yea i was told somewhere in the early 90's tremec started putting out the t-5 and it had a ford bolt pattern even in the chevys they used a ford bolt pattern on the trans and the bell housing was chevy pattern . from what i understand i need a 86 to 90 model t-5 with mech.speedo ... and if i dont want a adaptor plate and want to retain the 10 spline orignal clutch in my truck ,,, all i need is a camaro t-5 with a s-10 tail shaft and a late 80' to early 90's jeep t-5 in put shaft ... it is identical spline to my orignal 250 .. then i will have a frankintrans ...lol.... but it will slide right in .. is there a way to find out what speedo gear i need before i install the trans ?

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by BB77551

yea i was told somewhere in the early 90's tremec started putting out the t-5 and it had a ford bolt pattern even in the chevys they used a ford bolt pattern on the trans and the bell housing was chevy pattern .

Tremec bought out the T5 tranny from Borg Warner (BW). Around 1994, maybe 1996, I can't remember, Chevy started using a T5 with a Ford bolt pattern case (without the ears).

Originally Posted by BB77551

from what i understand i need a 86 to 90 model t-5 with mech speedo

An early 80's S10 up through 1986 should have the mechanical drive tailshaft housing. After 1986 I think the S10 went to electric speedo drive. I have a 1988 T5 from a V8 Camaro and it has a mechanical speedo drive, but the shifter location is in the wrong place for my bench seat, so I swapped in a 1989 S15 electrical speedo tailshaft housing to move the shifter forward.

Originally Posted by BB77551

if i dont want a adaptor plate and want to retain the 10 spline orignal clutch in my truck ,,, all i need is a camaro t-5 with a s-10 tail shaft and a late 80' to early 90's jeep t-5 in put shaft ... it is identical spline to my orignal 250 .. then i will have a frankintrans ...lol.... but it will slide right in

If you want to eliminate the adapter plate, you need a 6.5" input shaft (measured case to end of shaft). The V8 F body GM cars from 1988 through about 1992 have the 6.5" input shaft with 26 splines. I'm not sure what length the shaft of the V6 cars was. The pre 1988 V8 and V6 F body cars might have the 6.5" input shaft too. The S10 shaft is 7.25" and is too long and thus needs an adapter plate. I don't know anything about the Jeep input shafts but I think it might not be as simple as swapping the shaft.

Originally Posted by BB77551

is there a way to find out what speedo gear i need before i install the trans ?

A good tranny shop can get you the correct plastic output shaft gears if they know what size rear tires you have and the rear end ratio.

Things to consider
- The GMC S15 truck is the same as the S10 and had the T5 during the same years.

- The adapter plate costs around $150. Count that into the total cost of the tranny if you go with the S10 or S15 tranny.


- I was told by a tranny shop that the Ford T5 gear sets can be swapped into the Chevy cases but I have not verified this at all. In other words - you can run a Chevy case with all FORD gears inside. You just need to remember that the WC case needs WC gears and the NWC needs NWC gears.

- Autometer now makes a GPS speedometer drive. You don't hook anything up to the tranny at all. You just hook their GPS device to the electronic speedo in your dash and calibrate it. That's it. Unfortunately it doesn't help those of us who want to keep the original cable drive speedo.

- Please visit my website and review the info and pictures in the T5 Info Page section listed at the top. I have tried my best to only give info that can be verified. The web is full of mixed info and much is unreliable and often just plain wrong.