I am building a 1940 ford and putting a 392 hemi in it and i can get adapters for it that will bolt up to early chevy small block bellhousings so i am trying to find a 4 or 5 speed transmission that I like but I do not know much about trans. I have been looking at the muncie 4 speed because I was told the saginaws arent built for higher horsepower and I will probably have around 450hp. I have been looking for 5 speeds tho out of vehicles but i am not sure when they changed there small blocks over to different bellhousings. Does anyone know what year, they changed over to different bellhousings, or know what good 5 speeds could handle that kind of horsepower. I know Richmonds are nice but way out of my price range, I have seen NV3500s out of 88 and later, or iroc camaro T5 ******s that fit 82-92 camaros, but not sure if those blocks were the same. If anyone is knowledgable with transmissions I could use your advice.
Up to 1998 when the LS motors were introduced they were the same. The t-56 from an ls motor will work too
Would a t5 out of like an small block 92 camaro be strong enough to run behind an engine like a mild hemi, or could it be strengthened to do so?
a new venture 4500 was used in 3/4 to 1 ton pickups do't think it would work in a car app. too good,a 5 spd bw out of a early iroc would work
Here is some good info I had saved from advanced adapters. Chevy Bellhousings: When selecting a Chevy bellhousing for your engine conversion, you must make sure the inside diameter of the bellhousing will be compatible with the clutch you are going to use. We recommend that you use the 11" pressure plate and flywheel, which will require the large inside diameter bellhousing. In order to verify that the bellhousing will fit the large flywheel, you must make sure the inside diameter will clear the 14" diameter flywheel. These bellhousings are more common on truck applications, but there are several car-type applications that also have the larger diameter. Once you have established the larger inside diameter, you must then verify the transmission register diameter. GM offers two different diameters. The large diameter is limited to late model trucks and the small diameter is usually found in Chevy p***enger car applications. If a bellhousing adapter plate is going to be used, we supply a bearing retainer on the front of the adapter plate that will index into the 4.686" diameter. If you purchase a bellhousing that has the 5.125" diameter, then you can order our index ring PN716078 that has the larger diameter for the 5.125” bellhousing index. GM has always used the same transmission bolt pattern up until 1993 when they introduced the NV4500 5 speed transmission. In 1996, GM bellhousings started to incorporate the internal hydraulic release bearing and, once again, they changed the transmission bolt pattern on the bellhousing. You must be careful when selecting a NV4500 transmission to make sure that you obtain the proper bellhousing. We offer numerous bellhousings that will fit most applications. The engine block bolt patterns have always been the same for the Chevy small block and big block engines. The bellhousings are aligned by two dowel pins that are normally on the engine block. Without these dowel pins, severe misalignment of the bellhousing and transmission will occur. On all Chevy applications, the starter motor locates on the engine block with exception of the very early 265 V8s. When using the stock bellhousing, no special starter will be required. We recommend that you try to retain the 168 tooth flywheel for all conversions using stock GM bellhousings. Our conversion bellhousings are designed to work with a stock Chevy starter nose cone. We have found that some GM starter nose cones will cause interference inside our bellhousing. If your stock starter is interfering with our bellhousing, you may need to grind on the bellhousing a bit or purchase a hi-torque starter which does not have a nose cone. When using a 168 tooth flywheel with our conversion bellhousing for the 1987-2005 stock Jeep transmissions, you will be required to use a hi-torque starter. We carry a hi-torque starter for the Chevy V6 and V8 under PN22-0001 stagered pattern, and a hi-torque starter for the Vortec blocks under PN22-0002 and a hi-torque starter for the straight bolt pattern under PN22-0003.
...there are a couple of Corvette type t56 on ebay this week... You might also look at the AX15. Some info on my web site. .
I don't know but I think the clutch would be my first concern. Until you get 600 or more most 4 or 5 speed would be fine. I put a T5 out of a 99 s-10 behind a 283 and it fits fine.
s10 t5 are cheep and easy to come by. they will work ok up to around 250 hp maybe 300 if you never snag on it. the T56 Is a little more costly, not hard to find and a much better setup to handle the hemi power and torque. My advice for what its worth.... dont wast your time and money on the t5. you gona regret it...JMO
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