Another T5 in a C10

[Cris]

I've been road testing my 63 C10 after installing a T5 five speed transmission. This has bee a nice upgrade to the Muncie three speed (on the tree) that was in it. I thought I'd post a few photos of my install to add to the archives of T5 installs.

First, a big thanks to Lugnutz. He has a blog (https://lugnutz65chevystepside.weebly.com/) that pretty much goes through every detail of installing a T5 in a C10. His info was incredibly helpful as I started down this road.

My truck is a 63 short fleet with a 230 inline 6. I chose the T5 because it is a small, modern transmission that would comfortably handle anything my 230 could give it. I also wanted the overdrive so I could cruise at 70 without the motor feeling like it was about to explode. I ended up with a rebuilt world class T5 with a gear set that went from a 2.95 first gear to a 0.64 overdrive. It has an aftermarket tail housing that puts the shifter in the S10 forward position.

For the shifter I took a stock S10 shifter, cut it open (lots of stuff on the web on how to do this), straightened the handle with a little blacksmithing, milled a flat and drilled and tapped holes for a hurst style stick, then reassembled. When I reassembled, I used screws to hold the upper plate on the shifter. This way I can easily disassemble if need be.

The T5 fit perfectly under my low hump tunnel. On my 63, the hump is removable and this made the install a little easier. Unlike other installs I've seen, I did not need to modify my e-brake crossmember or any of the e-brake linkages. I did drill out the rivets to the crossmember and made it a removable piece to ease in the installation and servicing.

I did not add a crossmember to hold the tail of the transmission. Instead I used the stock configuration with the bellhousing engine mounts and the transmission hanging of the bellhousing. The T5 is a small box and not much heavier than the Muncie three speed that was stock. I'm certainly not the first to go this route.

Here's a bunch of pics of the install: