283 or 307 with t5? for a 63 longebd

[neverwinter]

hey all,
well i sold off some other items so i can keep my 63. ive done so much to it and already would take a beating if i sold it so why not keep it!

anyway now that i am driving it more ive noticed 2 things:
1 - the front seal by the mainshaft is leaking pretty good.
2 - the truck is at what feels like crazy rpm's in 3rd gear ta 30 mph.

i have swapped the old 63 rear axle out with one from a 72 c10 4 speed with a 250. i dont know that one's ratios. my truck has its stock 283 with 4 speed granny transmission.

1st gear is useless other than if i want to tear down a tree. 2nd is ok for about 100 feet until i am 3rd. and 3rd is only good to 25-30 mph without feeling like the truck will grenade. 4th is good from there on and cruises fine. im not about to push my luck on the highway.

anyway i have a 91 T5 from an s10 that is just sitting in my garage. i located a supposedly rebuilt 307 with new edlebrock intake and holley carb for 300. i am thinking i may grab that setup and install my T5 then do the swap. i dont need to go 100mph but i'd like to have at least few useful gears.

i also think the 307 being underpowered would be ok for the T5.

does this sound like decent plan or should i just go 350 crate and be done? anything special to do to bolt the T5 to a 307 - do i still need an adapter plate?

- jason

[66redw/white]

id say the t-5 would be ok behind the 307. wouldnt do to many crazy burnouts though. for the t5 your gonna need a clutch for the car that the trans came out of. and a flywheel that works with it. as far as i know you will also need the spacer. technically you could just cut the input shaft but might not have as much engagement on the splines. much past that your solid.

[Warrens69GMC]

Why would the 307 be underpowered?

[scottveazie]

Sounds like my setup...283 with 4 speed granny. I went to 16.5" rims and that dropped the rpms some, enough that I can do about 70-75 max on the highway but that's as much as she gives. My rearend ratio is 4.56.

[neverwinter]

thanks all -
Scott - are you having crazy rpms in 3rd gear? maybe this is just how the truck is supposed to drive. i just dont know enough to be able to tell. it shifts fine and there are no noises, etc from the engine. just loud rpms at a whopping 35 mph!

[scottveazie]

yup, she's pretty much through all the gears by 4th. It's just that way, start in 2nd, get through the intersection, use 3rd until about 30-35, then into 4th. I had to change how I drive my in that I have to downshift earlier for going around corners at about 20. I change from the 2 barrel to a 4 barrel which has smaller primaries than the 2 jets on the 2 barrel.

[scottveazie]

I also dont' have a tach, but I can tell you it's turning some rpms. If you aren't worried about originality, I'd get a rear end with like either 3.73 or 3.42 ratio, would be good for cruising. I dont' think you'll see a huge bump going to a 307.

[neverwinter]

ok that makes me feel MUCH better. i will prob still grab the 307 as its freshly dressed and essentially the same cost as a new carb and intake for the 283. i only said underpowered meaning compared to a new 260 hp crate engine. for 300 plus the cost of the adapter plate and a clutch i can build the eng/trans combo outside the truck then drop em in. go get a real exhuast done and just drive it!

[1enick72]

T5 with the 283 or 307 will be good. When I first did the T5 swap I still had the 6 cyl and it made the truck soooo much better to drive. For swap and make it easy get the disc for the 91 S-10, adaptor plate and a drive shaft (if you get the one from an S-10 you can have it sized by a drive shaft shop). You can use all the other original parts.

[neverwinter]

thanks 1enick. which adapter plate company do you recommend?

[66redw/white]

http://vintagemetalworks.blogspot.co...ter-plate.html
this is where i got mine from. 140 bucks i think and it showed up super fast

[1enick72]

I bought one from Hamilton Intakes.

http://hamiltonintakes.com/products/...5-swap-adapter

It was very good quality and worked very well.

[brokenspoke]

The T-5 in my 65 is one of the best improvements I have made....check out post by Jocko for lots of info

[jocko]

thanks for the plug brokenspoke!

Here's the thread on my swap neverwinter: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=482069

307 or 283 will be fine with the T5 as long as you're not hot doggin it too much.

For your setup, you'll need a spacer, either vintagemetalworks or hamilton intakes will work, or you can make your own (see thread).

Other considerations:
Does your T5 have mech or electronic speedometer hookup?
You'll need a longer speedo cable
Once all done with install - THEN measure for your driveshaft length per your local driveline shop's measuring directions
Stock flywheel is fine
As for clutch/pressure plate - HIGHLY recommend buy an 11" clutch and pressure plate AND release bearing as a kit in order to keep the correct stacking height of the components within the bell hsg. (proposed part number for the kit is in the thread (Oreily))

More details in the thread, let us know if you've got more questions.

Good luck - you'll enjoy the swap.

Btw, 1st is useless because your stock 4-speed is a granny 4-speed, so 1st is supposed to be useless except for the aforementioned occasional tree pulling.

Would be worthwhile for you to bounce the T5's tag number off the ID links in the thread above to determine your T5's gear ratios. Being an S10 T5, it will likely have a high 3.xx or low 4.xx 1st gear ratio - so 1st gear will still be a bit useless - but much, much more useable than your current setup. Also, would be good to determine your rear end ratio - then we can give you a reasonable expectation of your new combo's driveability. Suffuce it to say that whatever you do, you'll enjoy it much more than your current setup. And personally, I'd stick with the good ol 283.

[66redw/white]

jocko is the fin man aint he?

[neverwinter]

awesome all!!! and Jocko i've read that thread a million times to try and absorb it all. well written and very informative. much appreciation for it.

- jason

[bighunting]

Neverwinter,

If you're looking to unload the 283, please let me know. I'd be interested.

Thanks
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[dantimdad]

I have a 307(69 chevelle)/t5 (from an 86 IROC). Before I tore the truck down to refinish it, it drove incredibly well and would do 80 no problem.

Steven