engine to transmision question

[the rocker]

hi guys i'm new here just joined up , i see a great deal of knowledge and info here so wondered if i could get some of that , i'm eyeing up a 54 GMC 3/4 ton truck and need to know what parts to use and where to get em and method to fit a 350 small block chevy motor to the original 4 speed floor change gear box as i'd like to keep it manuel ( unless of course there is superior knowledge out there ) thanks pete .

 

[ccharr]

Welcome aboard enjoy the ride, got photos.
I kept the inline 6; a lot of the members will be able to help you soon. As far as tranny's go the sky and your pocket book is the limit. We have members here that build some serious machines for other arena's. Get the G and let the rebuild begin.

 

[ol' chebby]

The easiest way is to grab a late model v8 and manual trans out of the same vehicle. I would look into a 5 speed, overdrive is definately the ticket. Look for one out of an s10, 86-89 are some of the best, before the speedo went electronic. This will mount to the stock 6 bellhousing with an adapter, use the stock pressure plate with an Astro van clutch disc.

 

[coilover]

The overdrive suggestion is a good one. You would still have a manual shift tranny with the lever sticking up through the floor and you can splice your old shift lever to the T5 to really keep it cool. If you do a search on "T5 transmission" you can get step by step how to. If you want to keep your present trans you can get adaptors from places like Trans-Dapt, Adaptors Inc., or Bendtsen's in Minnesota. The drawback here is you will still have the 4.56 gears in the rear which means that even with a 350 around 60mph is all you can reasonably push it to on the highway. You could then go with a 3.73 rear from up to a 1972 3/4T and run highway speeds. With the right T5 your final in 5th gear would be 3.20 which is an excellent road gear. If the 350 you use is a healthy one the S10 T5 would have to be pussy footed to hold up or you could go with a World Class T5 that is designed for V8's.

 

[the rocker]

engine to tranny match

hi guys thanks for the info and advise , so do i take it the s10 T5 isnt such a good tranny ? or am i reading that wrong and do you mean a 350 from a later truck ? which would already be a manuel or would it be auto and then fit a flywheel , i get the astro friction disc in order to mate to a T5 right ?
thanks again , pete .

 

[Blueflame236]

Look at my posts about the T5 and matching rear end

Welcome aboard. There is a lot of good information on the subdject in earlyer threads. Make a search and you will find everything you want on this forum.