Help make my mind up: Trans Swap/Rebuild

[SayBye]

Finally found some motivation to get going on my inline 6 64 again yesterday, took it for a spin around some back roads and man did it feel good!

My 3 speed goes into first and third fine and will hold position, however when shifted into 2nd gear itll hold til about 2500 rpm then pop or jump out of gear.

So at this point Im pondering on whats gonna be the best bang for my buck and what im gonna be happier with in the long run. My column shift is basically worn slap out, so more than likely if I do do the rebuild, Ill be looking at going to a floor setup. With that said, Im not opposed to going with an automatic, and honestly might be happier with it in the long run.

This is a rusty patina truck, some of yall have seen my project thread a while back. Whats gonna be my cheapest option? I heard these 3 speeds weren't very expensive to rebuild. But a used automatic might be around the same price? What automatic will bolt right into these trucks?

What automatic trans will bolt right in to these I6's?

[TJ's Chevy]

700 R4 4 speed is a great option cause you get an over drive. Or a cheaper option(kinda) would be a T5 swap. This would be a closer ratio trans and is better for 6 cylinders because they hate wide ratio trannys. Personally I'd do the T5 swap...I like shifting my own gears and as long as your not going to do 3rd gear burnouts...then you'll be fine.

[SayBye]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

700 R4 4 speed is a great option cause you get an over drive. Or a cheaper option(kinda) would be a T5 swap. This would be a closer ratio trans and is better for 6 cylinders because they hate wide ratio trannys. Personally I'd do the T5 swap...I like shifting my own gears and as long as your not going to do 3rd gear burnouts...then you'll be fine.

i also enjoy switching gears. What's involved in a t5 swap? Guessing no electronics or wiring for sensors and it just bolts right in?

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by SayBye

i also enjoy switching gears. What's involved in a t5 swap? Guessing no electronics or wiring for sensors and it just bolts right in?

LugNutz65 is the man to talk with on the T5 swap. He's done it but here's what I know. There is an adapter required and I can't remember the name of the company off hand. I'll check into it. And the T5 has to be the v6 version from 1988 or earlier I believe. But the man to talk to is LugNutz65 as he has a page on doing this swap. He's on quite often so finding him won't be hard. On my 292 hotrod 6 I'm going with a TKO600 which is much more expensive but I can pound that thing to the death. lol

[SayBye]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

LugNutz65 is the man to talk with on the T5 swap. He's done it but here's what I know. There is an adapter required and I can't remember the name of the company off hand. I'll check into it. And the T5 has to be the v6 version from 1989-95 I believe. But the man to talk to is LugNutz65 as he has a page on doing this swap. He's on quite often so finding him won't be hard. On my 292 hotrod 6 I'm going with a TKO600 which is much more expensive but I can pound that thing to the death. lol

Sounds good I'll look him up thanks!

[vince1]

Overdrive would be nice with 3.73 gears.

[SayBye]

Are the turbo 350's not good swap candidates? Might be the easiest to find in my neck of the woods!

[markeb01]

If an automatic is desired, a Powerglide or Turbo 350 are the same overall size as the 3 speed stick, and 4 speed passenger car transmission. Won't even need to change the driveshaft or yoke, unless swapping in a new Richmond 4 speed.

[SS317]

I did the 700R4 upgrade and I love it. My truck is mostly a cruiser. The overdrive is really nice and there are tons of write ups on the install here. I have 3.73 gears and a 350. Column shift, I have the original column and cannot go into 1st manually but I never need to with this truck, that's what the diesel if for. So far it's the best mod I've done to my truck, but I am about to add power steering here in the next week or so.

[NEWFISHER]

I have both. A 250 with a 700r4 and a 235 with a T5. I cant say which is better because they both are fun. Heres what I did to go T5. Either one you do will be about the same time, the auto will cost a little more for a cooler and shifter assmebly.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=644565

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

Sounds good I'll look him up thanks!

Here I am. I'm easy to find, LOL! An adapter plate is optional for a T5 installation. There are ways to get around it. Basically, a V8 or V6 Camaro T5 do NOT need an adapter plate but need an S10 tail housing swap if you want the shifter to be in front of the bench seat. An S10 T5 can be adapted to eliminate the adapter plate by swapping out the input shaft.

I have researched this thing nearly to death. If you have a 230, 250 or 292ci inline six and plan to drive NORMALLY, then a 0.73 overdrive gear is a terrific match for a 3.73 rear diff. It can work well with a 3.42 rear diff as well.

The swap has several variables but they aren't too bad to deal with. A T5 will NOT withstand abuse. It's just fine for normal driving.

I hope you'll review my web page that describes my installation of a T5. The swap can be more simple than what I show. Basically, swapping the input shaft can allow you to keep your original 10 spline clutch kit which saves time and money. We all like that.

The hardest part of a T5 swap is finding a way to keep the factory speedo working. For that, you need a T5 with a cable speedo connection. The best solution is to find a 1988 or earlier S10 that has a cable connection. They are pretty rare. If you have modern guages, then the whole swap is super easy.

[NEWFISHER]

I run a Cable X box that takes the vss signal and drives a small motor inside thier box and it drives the speedo cable so you can use your og cluster.

[SayBye]

Excellent write up lugnutz!

So it sounds like the best route is an 88 or earlier t5? ill have the tail housing I need already bolted on and the right speedo connection? Basically unbolt the 3 speed and bolt the t5 in...

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

Excellent write up lugnutz!

So it sounds like the best route is an 88 or earlier t5? ill have the tail housing I need already bolted on and the right speedo connection? Basically unbolt the 3 speed and bolt the t5 in...

Yes, but no. Doing the Jeep input shaft swap is the ultimate fix. It eliminate the need for a new clutch kit. Just use the 10 spline disc and pressure plate you have. The Jeep shaft also eliminates the need for an adapter plate. Look on my website for a brief DIY write up on the Jeep input shaft swap.

[ljackson]

I'm thinking about going to the t 5 also. If you decide to go that route, here is an article I found online that talks about changing the tail housing to fit better with a bench seat. It also addresses moving the speedo gear.

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...n-193450.xhtml

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by ljackson

I'm thinking about going to the t 5 also. If you decide to go that route, here is an article I found online that talks about changing the tail housing to fit better with a bench seat. It also addresses moving the speedo gear.

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...n-193450.xhtml

Thanks for that link. I'd not seen that article before. Pretty accurate too. They show how to combine an S10 tail housing with a Camaro T5. That way you get the shifter up in front of the bench seat. It is the same exact thing I did, only I included a rebuild of my Camaro T5. My swap does not include the shim because I didn't need it. That's only needed for some swaps. Here's my T5 rebuild web page.

My only comment is that most V8 Camaro World Class T5s have a 0.63 OD which is pretty tall for a truck with 28" or 29" tires and a 3.73 rear diff, unless you have a lot of HP up front. I calculated RPMs using a 0.63 OD gear, 28" tire, 3.73 rear diff and came up with 1833 RPMs at 65 MPH. That's pretty low RPMs. A 29" tire would have 1770 RPMs at 65 MPH. I was worried my 250ci would bog on any sort of incline so I opted for a T5 with a 0.73 OD gear. The 0.73 with a 28" tire gives me 2124 RPMs at 65 MPH and 2051 RPMs with a 29" tire. I was much happier with the slightly higher RPM numbers.

[ljackson]

Lugnutz, that makes sense. I will consider that. I have the original 283 that we rebuilt.

[SayBye]

My neighbor, literally next door has a t5 from a 92 s10 that I just found out about today. Issue is, pulse speedo. What are my options for getting an electric speedo in my truck? Has anyone used the pulse speedo t5 and also swapped their speedometer?

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

My neighbor, literally next door has a t5 from a 92 s10 that I just found out about today. Issue is, pulse speedo. What are my options for getting an electric speedo in my truck? Has anyone used the pulse speedo t5 and also swapped their speedometer?

So that 1992 S10 T5 will be a NWC unit. It will have either a 0.72 or a 0.86 OD gear. The 0.72 is the better choice.

It can at some future time be converted to a cable speedo by swapping an S10 tail housing that has a cable speedo connection.

To get your speedo working again for pulse (VSS) output units, you can
1. Buy modern gauges
2. Use a GPS instead
3. Cable-X conversion box

Some modern gauge sets are very expensive, so watch your budget before you jump in that direction. Nice thing is that you can just use a GPS until you save th money needed to go modern gauges or tail housing swap.
A recent thread showing gauges is HERE.

Here's a digital gauge I saw last fall at the Charlotte Auto Fair that looks like an original gauge when the power is off.

[NEWFISHER]

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

I run a Cable X box that takes the vss signal and drives a small motor inside thier box and it drives the speedo cable so you can use your og cluster.

Posted this for you in this thread.
http://www.abbott-tach.com/cablex.htm

[SayBye]

I'm still going to pick that other t5 up that you looked at lugnutz. Just kinda weighing the project from both directions!

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

I'm still going to pick that other t5 up that you looked at lugnutz. Just kinda weighing the project from both directions!

That's exactly what I did. As I looked over my options, I chose to go with a cable speedo style tail housing. It will increase in value over time as long as it remains undamaged. It was cheaper than a new set of modern gauges too. It made sense to me from an economics standpoint and I had already restored my original gauge cluster and was anxious to use it. I think modern stuff is cool too and gives you all the info right there in front of you without adding on extra gauges. That's a nice advantage and money well spent. Here's the thread I followed to do the gauge cluster resto.

[SayBye]

Since we're on gauges, my temp gauge isn't working? Where should I start with my trouble shooting?

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

Since we're on gauges, my temp gauge isn't working? Where should I start with my trouble shooting?

I'm gonna pass on that question. Others will give better advice than me.

[SayBye]

Alrighty!