T5-T transmission and open driveline question?

[Blueflame236]

I have a 1955 235 CU engine . What are you guys experiences with the T5-T transmission/adapter plate combined with an open driveline mentioned below ? What combination would be the best?

- 1955 - 1962 Chevy 1/2 Ton , ratio 3.90
- 1963 - 1986 1/2 Ton and some 4 wheel drive (check Ratio) 3.73
- Jeep Cherokee 1986? 3.92
- 2009 - 2011 Chevy Colorado 3.42 * (*not the best ratio but O.K.)

Matinius.

 

[SinclairChevy]

Martinius,

I don't know if it's the *best* combination, but I chose:

235 Engine (1958 block, 1961 head)

1986 T-5 transmission (S-10 truck, 2X4)

198*? Rear axle from a 4X4 S-10 truck

The dimensions of this axle are very close to stock and only require a small wheel spacer on each side.

As I mentioned before, I don't know if this is the best combination, but from the research I conducted, it seems to be a popular combination. Hope this helps.

Damon

 

[ccharr]

I have a 1955 235 CU engine . What are you guys experiences with the T5-T transmission/adapter plate combined with an open driveline mentioned below ? What combination would be the best?

- 1955 - 1962 Chevy 1/2 Ton , ratio 3.90
- 1963 - 1986 1/2 Ton and some 4 wheel drive (check Ratio) 3.73
- Jeep Cherokee 1986? 3.92
- 2009 - 2011 Chevy Colorado 3.42 * (*not the best ratio but O.K.)

Matinius.

Matinius,
The 342/1 is good if you only want to fly the highways and not pull trailers, the 3.73 would be an all around ratio if you want to still hall and pull trailers over mountain and hills and stay up with others. I have a 342/1 and would not trade it at all, because I do not pull trailers very often with it. Good Luck with what ever you choose.

Charles

 

[coilover]

What is the overdrive ratio on your transmission? They had T5's with ratios from 18% od to near 30% od. Mark your input and output shafts and turn the input shaft ten rounds (with the trans in 5th gear) and count how many times the output shaft turns. If it's an 18% od then a 3.90 would give a final drive of 3.20 while a 30% od would give a final drive of 2.73---a big difference. On a 3.42 with a 30% od you would have a 2.39 which is very shallow but a 2.80 with the 18% which is okay.

 

[Blueflame236]

T5-T transmission and open driveline !

Thanks for the advices guys.

I have `nt bought the tranny and the open driveline yet but i am looking for the best options here before i decide what i am going for !

I understand that the T5-T tranny have different ratios and quality but i dont know there spesifications yet ? What do you recommend ? Will the bench inside the cabin be in the way when thinking of the shifter stick ? What other modifications are needed to do the install of the T5 -T and open driveline ?

Martinius.

 

[vwnate1]

T5 Tranny Ratios

They're marked (IIRC) by grooves cut in the input shaft , I know this info of which one means what is out there but I know not where as these are way too new for me .

Ask around , maybe on some Hot Rod sites ? .

Don't ever listen to the " oh . that one is hard to find " Bull crap ~ every time I go to the junkyards , there's 45 +S-10's there , I am told that's where they source these trannys .

Others here will chime in with more exact information .

 

[SinclairChevy]

Martinius,

There are two basic groups of T-5 transmissions World Class (WC), and Non-World Class (NWC). The first group is found in later Mustangs and other performance cars. The ones in the second group are what you want. They make for a relatively painless installation into our pick-ups. Yes, the WC models can be used, but they require modification. The WC transmissions are slightly beefier than the NWC models, and have different synchros in them (if memory serves). The shifter location is also different than the NWC. The WC transmission can be used, but the tail cone and shifter from a NWC transmission must be swapped onto the WC unit for use in our trucks due to the shifter location.

Here are some great links for researching the T-5 transmission swap:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=623998

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171291

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169265

Lots of reading there. Grab some coffee (or a beer) and enjoy.

Damon

 

[Blueflame236]

Thanks guys for all the information!

I am going to look into it. Thanks Damon , Nate , Charles and Evan for the contribution. The sources Damon has provided are good and detailed.

Thank you all , have a good summer.

 

[SinclairChevy]

Martinius,

I forgot to mention another important difference in the transmissions. Anything built up to 1988 will have a cable-driven speedometer. The S-10s had a digital dash option in 1989, so there were some '89s that had an electronic speedometer pick-up. In 1990, these became standard. I bought a 1985-6 transmission (with the cable speedometer), as I wanted to use the factory style speedometer. There is a conversion kit available if you'd like to use the later transmission with the cable speedometer, but it's quite expensive.

Here is another link that will help you identify candidate transmissions:

http://www.inliners.org/

Click on "Tech Tips" - then "T-5 Tranny" At the bottom of that page, there's also a link on how to convert the car floor shifter to the truck floor shifter.

Damon