I have a few questions, very basic for you, most likey, but bear with me please......I'm green. I just picked up a 57 Chevy 2dr. It came with a freshly built 307 with small chamber 305 heads and standard rebuild pieces. The intake is a an Edelbrock Performer with a Quadrajet 4 bbl. It has been started and broken in, just not ran on the street yet........Now, I'm not familiar with the Chey trans, but I was told the four speed in it is a Muncie, but wait.......now I'm told it's a Saginaw.....It is aluminum case and has the Borg Warner logo on the side....I'm quite sure it's a 4 speed , but lack the skills to identify the brand...... Now, if somebody out there says, "get rid of that 307 and put in a 350", that is possible too. I have a '69 350 Four bolt main block, never rebuilt from a Chevy pick up Now my other question....I picked up a 86 Camero Z-28 with 5.0 and 5 speed...engine doesn't run, no biggie...I don't really need a 305........but I thought if I sell this 57 it might appeal more to the Chevy crowd if it had a 5 speed in it....The cars is not worthy of a restoration but a fun gear banging street car would make it more of a deal.....plus, I can use this P case posi unit I have for a little extra "whoa" factor.... Also, I could benefit from it's potential and take a few midnight passes on the local bvld. What do I need to mate this 5 speed? I have the bell housing and can fab the hydraulic clutch components, do I need the pilot bushing from a particular Chevy? Will the clutch pressure plate bolt in? I have the drive shaft so that is a no isuue item....and I can fab a tranny crossmember... Anybody done this? Can I find a website with pics and pointers?............ Thanks for your help.......El In The Closet Chevy Nut....
Unless you have plans of for sure selling it... then I would drop the 350 in... more cubes if ya have the chance!
Okay...lets try to handle these one at a time here! Aluminum case means it ain't a Saginaw...it'll either be a Muncie, or a T10. The Borg Warner mark makes me think it's a T10 four speed. Roughly equal to an M21 Muncie in strength, and more than stout enough for the engine you have. The 5-speed behind the 305 in the Z28 is far weaker...GM only offered it behind the 305 for years, and wouldn't put it behind the 350 engines in the Camaro/Firebird models back then. That said, you sould be able to adapt it to the older car and engine with little trouble...having the donor car on hand to rob clutch actuation, driveshaft yoke, and other incidentals out of will really help you out. The 5-speed has internal shift linkage, so the shifter may be in an awkward location in a 57 Chevy...I don't know! It should bolt up to the 307 using the flywheel, throwout bearing and clutch from the Z28, and you'll have to fab the mount and hydraulic clutch riggings, as you stated. All told, I think the four speed will live longer, and it's already in the car to boot! No overdrive most likely, but it'll handle more power, and save you a few days worth of work! The five speed might be fun, but you'd be further ahead to sell of the dead Z28 piece by piece and channel the money into other aspects of the Chevy, or other projects!
Thanks, fellas..any info helps in my decision......I did forget to mention that... I wouldn't mind keeping the four speed for a Hemi powered project I'm currently, along with a host of others, building now..... So the time and effort installing the 5 speed would be worth it.......as long as I stay the path and not lose focus ....focus...focus...focus
There were two types of 5 spd in those camaros. One is the "World Class" type that came in the camaros with 305 Tuned port motors. If it had a throttle body then it is the weaker 5spd. Even the WC version is only rated to something like 345 ft. lbs. It will last if the 350 is not a firebreather or if you are gentle. I'm not sure on which cars, but some of those 5spds were canted a bit for clearance. might wanna look closely at the bellhousing.
don't forget the extra weight of a real car over the the f-body when you try to use that torque to get moving
Borg-Warner built two four-speeds: A 2:54 low and a 2:20 low...the 2:20 low will have a short throw to second...it's known as a stout racing tranny...but they can be broken just like anything else...I've cleaned off the third gear teeth twice in two separate tranmissions...I'd keep the 4-speed in the '57 and bolt in the 350"..the '57 could be the keeper! R-
Radshit, Sell the T5 on eBay. You should be able to get $150+ for it if you advertise correctly. Maybe try the local Penny Saver if you don't feel like/can't ship it. I have a chart on my website that you can use to check if it's a WC or not: http://home.earthlink.net/~edmurder/t5s2.htm Ed PS- Chevy never offered the T5 behind a 350 -- not even in the 80's, when 350's were pathetic. That's proof enough for me that I wouldn't even put one behind the built 283 in my hot rod.
Yea, 40StudeDude...as odd as it may seem....( I'm a True Blue Ford guy....well...almost ) ...The 57 could posibly be a keeper.....I've been saving this '69 truck block for a special project...and that, with the fuelie heads I got from Killer a while back...... I could see a nice 57 with the beans to make for some fun driving.....stop light to stop light
Thanks Edmurder......I'll look it up.........The T-5 may be more valuable as trading fodder....I believe the Camero is a Tuned Port car...... The rear axle and such will go in my Dodge Coupe....
Be careful Neal- unlike the 350's-some of the [manual trans]- 305's in the eighties and early ninetys are externally balanced so flywheels wont work on an older small block. they usually had a very small front harmonic balancer instead of the 8" one.......
Good point Kenny..I'll have to check into that....the 307 that is currently in the 57 has the big harmonic balancer....
Eds right about GM not putting them behind 350s. Any manual trans Iroc, z28 or trans am had to be a 305. But GM has to make sure they won't break so they over compensate a bit. If a 305 was at the very limit of what the WC trans could handle, then they'd have plenty of them comming in to be repaired when people really abused them. Still, It won't last long if you don't plan on babying the car around. Unless you really want O/D i'd use the 4spd too.
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