Hey guys, I'm going to be running a T-5 in my A roadster. I'm running a '55 331 Cadillac. What T-5 should I be keeping an eye out for? Tag numbers?
Call Mike Johnson, owner and operator of Speedway Transmission in Ontario. Mike is very cool and if he can't help could then send you in the correct direction. Here is the contact information and the man himself. Good luck.
I think you need to identify your want/needs more specifically before just picking a tag number based on a 331 Cadillac in an A. For example: What rear end ratio are you running? Rear tire size? What bolt pattern is on your bellhousing? How deep is the bellhousing to pilot hole? What shifter location is best for you? How do you plan on driving it?
Hi, I am not an expert but researching a T5 transmission for my 40 Ford. It currently has a 1956 Chev 265 bolted to the original drive train. The 56 engine came with the car and would be a fit for a late 50's hot rod. One thought was to return the engines appearance to original to look as if it was just pulled & transplanted. Keep it, warm it up with a cam & a different intake/carb combination. It has an Edelbrock intake with a 4 bbl but I think a 2 x 2 or a 3 x 2 may look good on that engine. The owner was an older gentleman who was recreating a car that he drove to high school in 1958. He was a life long rodder & he told me that he had 4 40 Ford convertibles in his life. My first instinct was to pull the engine as he gave me a Chev 350/350 engine that a racer friend built for him. The more I learn on traditional hot rods the more respect I have for the set up. Would rather have had a 283 out of a 58. My friend had his grandfather's 58 Chev with a 283 that he just beat on and it took everything he threw at it. Here are some links to good information on T5's. This is a link to a British V8 group's excellent guide to identifying T5 transmissions. T5's are popular upgrade over there for British sports cars and rods. http://www.britishv8.org/articles/borg-warner-t5-id-tags.htm This is a guide to taking a World Class T5 transmission and swapping in an S10 T5 tailpiece to move the shifter forward and how to keep the speedometer drive. It was one of the sources that I read on selecting the transmission ratios. They recommend the 2.95 first gear which seems mainly World Class transmissions. There is a really good article on the HAMB on this conversion as well & you can search for that. I have been squirreling away all these sites on my favourites & bookmarks. http://www.inliners.org/Jack/T5tech.html Here is a vendor that sells all the speedometers gears for T5's. There is an amazing amount of information and knowledgeable souls on this site that you can lean on. Adapting it may be easy. Should it be a challenge to mount the trans to a Cadillac. Here is a brilliant builder, Zibo building an adapter for his Cadillac in a 40 Ford. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...oupe-and-fab-everything-else-possible.335174/ A T5 will take the 331 Cadillac hp fine. Good luck with your quest. Glenn
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