hey all just picked up a 34 ford pickup. plan is to just throw it together on a new frame stab a small block and possibly a manual trans. my question is the motor i have as a donor came out of my dads 57 chevy with manual 3 on the tree, i was thinking of picking up a junkyard t5 out of late model camaro. it should bolt up to the bellhousing but im not sure if any different clutch/ flywheel arrangement is needed. any info out there on doing manual swaps?
The 57 SBC will have a 168-tooth flywheel, and a big clutch. The Camaro/Firebird used a 153-tooth flywheel. You will need to source a big clutch with the Camaro T5 splines in the hub. They are out there. The Camaro/Firebird T5 will bolt up, after you enlarge the bellhousing bolt holes. Stock T5 holes are Metric. Google the tail housing. The T5 in an F-Body is mounted on a tilt. You will need to accommodate this. 18-degrees. In the stock application the rear mount is flat. If you put it on a traditional bellhousing, the rear mount will be tilted 18-degrees.
If he’s sourcing a yard T5, then he could also snag the BH as well? I guess the FW if in good shape also.
That bell uses a hydraulic slave cylinder. If that works for him, and the donor car was from the two-piece rear main seal years, he'd need the starter, too. Then a stock or equivalent F-Body clutch could be used.
Lots of info here. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-ultimate-t-5-article.171291/ You will likely need a S10 tailhousing and shifter.
The 15* rotated GM F-body setup was only in the bellhousing, so leave that behind and the T-5 will bolt up just like any other, and to a "normal" SBC bellhousing. The vent tube for the F-body T-5 is long and funky, and not really needed when the trans is rotated to the normal "straight up" clocked position.
Nice but realistically at today's prices you are going to have 1000 and way up in a Muncie or Saginaw 4 speed setup once you buy transmission and shifter and they don't give Hurst Compe***ion plus shifters away. Running a 4 speed isn't in the throwing it together league anymore it is in the "That's what I want, I don't give a **** what it costs" league. The T 5 setup can usually be had within reason price wise but still not exactly cheap unless you are an experienced bargain hunter.
And considering how long that T5 has been in use, after a rebuild (if unable to do it oneself) would about rival the cost.
If your throwing it together use the three speed with a floor shift conversion. Much cheaper than a T5.
They should, 'Cause they ain't worth a Fiddler's **** anymore! You're better off getting one from a swap meet!
Considering the last two new ones I've bought (I kind of) agree, they aren't tight right out of the box like they used to be.
Mine got hung in 2nd gear every time I semi-aggressively shifted. Had to tighten it up with spare part's I had laying around! A COMPLETE Horse**** solution for a brand new shifter, IMO!
Neither are many things, but one has to be inclined to do so. Also have the ability. Not like you could have the counter help at a mini mart rebuild it.
T5s are getting scarce in junkyards. Plus they are marginal for V8 power. An option for SBC is get a NV3500 5 speed out of a 4.3 V6 or V8 S-10 or 1/2 ton full size. These have an integral bellhousing (chevy pattern) and hydraulic throwout bearing. 153 tooth flywheel. They can handle moderate power, better than T5. Just requires hydraulic vs mechanical clutch setup. Don't get the 4 cylinder version, NV1500. Not only weaker, but also wrong bellhousing bolt pattern. There's also a bigger NV4500, you don't want that either. It's bigger and slower shifting. The NV3500 is kind of sweet spot for size and power capacity. Technically there are 2 different versions of NV3500 with slightly different ratios S-10 vs full size. But close enough either will work.
True, but I'm ***uming an S-10 tailhousing swap is also in order for a '34 Ford pickup, as with the F-body tailhousing, the shifter tower would roughly protrude through the middle of the seat. I purchased this shorter/S-10 style shifter rail when I swapped my F-body tail for an S-10 unit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/285290143980
Also need to know if your planning on recessing the firewall any for the SBC? You can get it in there without doing it, its a tight fit. You will need the S10 tail with the shifter as far forward as possible. Even without touching the firewall. F body setups have the shifter way too far back. My 33 pickup had a Saginaw in it when my grandpa bought it originally, they had cobbled together a Z bar and linkage to work the fork. It worked but not that great. On the chopped 34 pickup we had, it used a 61-66 Chevy pickup dual chamber master cylinder to use a hydraulic setup for the clutch.
I've got my old one that my dad bought me for the M21 that was in my 48 in the late 70's for my birthday with linkage hanging in the shed and it is one of the things my kids will have to figure out what to do with some day. I've run a full syncro Saginaw 3 speed with a Hurst shifter that I got used for years and with the right rear end gear those are nice transmissions behind a mild engine. If money was tight that is what I would run.
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