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T5 transmission swap

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T5 transmission swap Empty Re: T5 transmission swap

Post by Tim_D Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:33 pm

A couple of other items to consider for this swap:

- The slip yoke is a fairly common piece, it's a 27-spline yoke that also fits TH350s, M20 and M21 Muncies, and later Powerglides. However, these use a 1310 u-joint.
- The driveshaft will have to be shortened, so a 1310 tube yoke can be added to mate with the slip yoke.
- The '88-up Camaro T5s were world class units rated at 300 lb-ft. The world class units were lubricated by ATF instead of gear oil.
- Look for mechanical speedo units. These use the same speedo "bullet" as TH350s as well.
- Here's a nice link with lots of T5 info: http://www.thirdgen.org/forums/transmissions-drivetrain/444098-t5-faq-everything-we.html
- LOTS of floor mods required!

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Post by Tim_D Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:38 pm

Here's a few floor mod images from my '62. Less can be done than this, but I added a safety loop as well (which was definitely overkill!)

T5 transmission swap IMG_0294_zps092892a7

T5 transmission swap IMG_0300_zpsd4b21e8e
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T5 transmission swap Empty T 5 swap

Post by z1parker Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:40 pm

How many people on this site has done this swap
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Post by Bill Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:12 pm

As far as I know Tim and Woody are the only ones here doing it. Not sure if anyone else has.
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Post by keithg Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:22 am

@TimD Are the floor mods required if the car came with a 4sp from the factory? I have a Muncie T10 from a 69 Chevelle in mine right now and am curious. Recently replaced the clutch with a diaphragm style and am contemplating my next project. If floor mods are required, I am not able to do that as I have no welder nor skills.

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Post by Tim_D Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:07 am

keithg wrote:@TimD Are the floor mods required if the car came with a 4sp from the factory? I have a Muncie T10 from a 69 Chevelle in mine right now and am curious. Recently replaced the clutch with a diaphragm style and am contemplating my next project. If floor mods are required, I am not able to do that as I have no welder nor skills.

Sorry for the late response, I don't check this forum very often anymore!

Unfortunately I can't comment on whether or not the mods are required from a stock floor. My floor was badly hacked up and modified when I bought the car. I rebuilt it based on 1) strength and 2) ease of construction of the shape, when using simple flat sheet metal.

Sorry I probably didn't provide much help -
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Post by keithg Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:57 am

Still thinking about this and wondering a bit about fitment
From scouring the web, I think what I want is a Mustang V6/V8 85-93 because:
1) the mount flange sits square to the transmission
2) it has a mechanical Speedometer
3) it is WC for better shifting
4) the shifter is in about the right spot (1/2" longer)
5) it has a 10 spline input shaft (mates to my new clutch)
The driveshaft will have to be shortened, most probably, as the tail stock is 1.125 longer and the yoke will probably bind against the housing at full suspension compression.
The tail mount will have to be modified as the mount flange is not in the same location (0.3" longer)
Do I have all this right?
I am guessing that a Camaro/Firebird WC may be the next option but will require drilling and tapping the bell housing.
What I am wondering is if my stock 4SP tunnel will need to be modified to fit the housing. I am guessing the shifter hole may need to be modified, but that is not scary as I can do that w/o welding, I think.

Please, anyone, poke holes in this if I have anything wrong.

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Post by Tim_D Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:13 am

keithg wrote:Still thinking about this and wondering a bit about fitment
From scouring the web, I think what I want is a Mustang V6/V8 85-93 because:
1) the mount flange sits square to the transmission
2) it has a mechanical Speedometer
3) it is WC for better shifting
4) the shifter is in about the right spot (1/2" longer)
5) it has a 10 spline input shaft (mates to my new clutch)
The driveshaft will have to be shortened, most probably, as the tail stock is 1.125 longer and the yoke will probably bind against the housing at full suspension compression.
The tail mount will have to be modified as the mount flange is not in the same location (0.3" longer)
Do I have all this right?
I am guessing that a Camaro/Firebird WC may be the next option but will require drilling and tapping the bell housing.
What I am wondering is if my stock 4SP tunnel will need to be modified to fit the housing. I am guessing the shifter hole may need to be modified, but that is not scary as I can do that w/o welding, I think.

Please, anyone, poke holes in this if I have anything wrong.

Hi Keith, I'll try my best to help out here. As I said previously, my floor had already been (poorly) modified, so I can't get specific as to the mods that will be needed on an unmolested floor. But here are a couple statements that may help:

Regarding the shifter location stock vs. T5, the stock location is offset towards the driver's side. This is because the stock shifter was external to the stock transmission and mounted on the side. A T5 trans has an internal shifter, which is along the centerline of the transmission. This means the shifter hole will have to likely move both front-back AND side-side.

I have some experience with Muncie transmissions, and have run these in some Chevy builds in the past. The Muncie and BW T10 (stock to the Skylark) are pretty close to the same exterior dimensions, so they are direct swaps for each other, in a general sense. And my experience with the Muncie is that it didn't seem to be significantly larger or smaller than the T5... Which is a long way of saying that, other than the shifter location, I can't think of a specific area of the floor that would need much adjustment. This is my hypothesis, anyway.  Very Happy

As far as the mount ears between the Ford and GM T5 versions, I had a GM F-Body WC T5 in my 1962 Skylark, using the stock Buick 215 bellhousing. It mounted right up with no mods. I think the Ford bell mounts are a different location than the GM bell mounts, so I'm fairly confident that a Ford T5 will NOT directly mount to a stock 215 bellhousing.

Finally, you didn't mention wiring, but the T5 neutral and backup light switch will have to be modified to accept the stock setup. My car didn't have backup lights, and I ended up fabbing a start switch off the clutch pedal stop, so the car wouldn't start unless the clutch pedal was depressed. I used a typical GM brake light switch for this function.

Also, I've added a link below to my photobucket account, which details the entire build. Maybe sifting through some of those pics will jog something for you. Some of the earlier phots in the bucket show the trans crossmember mods needed for the F-Body T5.

https://app.photobucket.com/u/Tim_D_63wagon/a/a5cb52c8-95b3-4f7e-ad9e-3bcecf207606
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Post by keithg Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:45 am

So, the best would be an 88-92 Camaro/Firebird V8 for mounting up to the bell housing *and* being a WC for better shifting. The 85-87 are NWC according to what I read. These are getting hard to find. Looks like 1k-1.5k if you can find one.
Also, why are there so many maroon 62 hardtops?

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