T5 swap for beginners

[agnes the dog]

Mods- If this should be in another forum, please feel free to move it.

Last Spring (2013), I swapped my old 3 speed column shift for a T5 floor shift out of a Camaro. I wrote this right after I did the project, but forgot to put the pics in and post it. I hope this helps someone considering a T5 swap.

My truck is a 59 3100 that had already had a 1984 SBC 305 swapped into it. It has the stock rear end and driveshaft.

It literally took me months to figure out if and how I wanted to do this. I bought the transmission in the fall of 2012 and thought about it, probably way too much, all winter. I also bought an S-10 T5 with the intention of swapping the tail housings. I actually swapped them out, but swapped them back because I switched to buckets that had integrated seat belts. This was my first major transmission swap of any kind and I was really nervous. Being done, I know now that I really had nothing to worry about. I found that there were lots of posts on lots of sites, but I was never able to find a “how-to” on the swap. Here’s my journey in pictures…..



Disclaimer – This is my first attempt and I made some mistakes. You probably will too. I’m not a mechanic , but have some decent tools. My methods may not be by the book, but they worked for me. These posts are meant for those who have never done something like this before, so please don’t be critical….

My first task was to get the truck up in the air. I had to make sure that it was high enough to get the transmissions out/in without interference with the body panels. I found that the axles were the best points for the jack stands…

I then removed the driveshaft. Piece of cake. Four bolts and a good tug and it was out. You can see that the driveshaft slides into the rear of the transmission.



The bolts were on the u-joints on the differential. Pulling on the driveshaft toward the rear of the truck will get it out of there. Don’t worry, it’s really not as heavy as it looks.

I used an old motorcycle jack and some ratchet straps as a transmission jack. It worked pretty well and was free. I supported the old transmission with blocks of wood and a ratchet strap and removed the four bolts that hold it to the bell housing. I wiggled the transmission back and forth while pulling toward the rear of the truck and the transmission came right out. I lowered it and moved it out of the way.



The next task was getting the bell housing out of the way since I needed to change my flywheel and clutch. My old flywheel had hard/slick spots and caused the truck to shake like an earthquake on fast starts. My bell housing is a beast. It’s cast iron and weighs about as much as the transmission. The previous owner also utilized it as the rear motor mounts, so it was a little more involved. I had to remove all the bolts and support the engine. The good part about the bell housing is that it has the same bolt pattern as the T5 I put in. Pretty convenient (and lucky) since I couldn’t use the bell housing from the Camaro. I wouldn’t have had any rear motor mounts.



My next chore was to remove the pressure plate. Six bolts and it was off. The clutch came right out too. Six more bolts and the flywheel was off. This is where my first challenge emerged. I bought the flywheel for the motor, a 1984 C10 305 V8. It called for an 11” flywheel. Apparently, the book was wrong. It wouldn’t work with my starter, so I had to find an alternative. Off to the parts store and found a Camaro flywheel (bonus- it was about 1/3 of the weight of the old one). Of course, they didn’t have it in stock, so it was time to have a beer or two.



End of day 1.

[agnes the dog]

Day 2….

Went to the parts store first thing to get the flywheel. Installed it with the six bolts. Installed the clutch disc and pressure plate. I put the bell housing back on and lowered the engine into place. The new throw-out bearing didn’t fit very well on the clutch fork, so I opted to use the old one. Big mistake because I failed to check the thickness. (More about that later)

I slid the T5 onto the jack and moved it into position. Getting the transmission lined up was the most difficult part of this job. It took a while and a lot of sweat to get it in, but it went.

The T5 and the old transmission had different numbers of output splines, so the old yoke wouldn’t work. Off to Pic-a-part. It was a great day to be crawling under junked cars. It had rained all night and everything was sitting in puddles. I found an 82 Pontiac with a TH350 (same spline count) and pulled the driveshaft. I also grabbed a speedometer bullet since my T5 didn’t come with one. I love junk yards, so I spent a few extra minutes wandering through the treasures.

I had to have the driveshaft shortened. This isn’t something that I felt like I could do since it needed to be balanced. I found a local shop that slid in new u-joints and shortened the driveshaft for $100. I was really impressed because they did it, did it right, and did it in just over an hour. Shameless plug for Indy Rack and Axle – great guys.



I headed home and installed my new axle and got ready for my first ride with the 5 speed. What a disappointment… Everything bolted right up, but the clutch wouldn’t engage. My first ride never got over 10mph and I was lucky to get it back in the garage. After a couple hours of thought, I figured out that the culprit was the throw-out bearing. I failed to note the thickness of the old bearing and new bearing. The old one was approximately ½” thicker than the new one. This additional thickness wouldn’t allow the clutch to engage, even when it was adjusted all the way out. So…. The truck ended up back in the air. I pulled the T5, swapped in another throw-out bearing, put the T5 back in and buttoned everything back up. Worked like a charm!!

I chose to use the S-10 shifter. Since I used the Camaro tail housing, the shifter was moved really far back. My fix for that was to take the shifter apart and simply turn the shifter shaft 180 degrees using this link as a guide -

T5 5 Speed Transmission Shifter Modifications -...

The new position is perfect for me and looks pretty cool.



It took a few shifts to get used to the new shifter position. I caught myself reaching for the column shift twice.

I originally didn’t put any kind of transmission mount on the rear of the T5, mostly because I didn’t want to do any more work at that point. My research was split on whether it was even needed, so I didn’t use one. I eventually thought about it and came to the conclusion that I probably should put one it. I made it myself out of 2” square tubing and the original Camaro rubber mount. The pictures show how I dealt with the 18* twist of the Camaro tail shaft.








I hope this helps anyone who is considering the swap. I would encourage anyone to do this swap. It was fun and really boosted my confidence. My first ride on the highway was incredible. No more worries that I will see a piston shoot through my hood just because I decided to go 60 mph. Please feel free to post or PM questions. I would be happy to help out.

JJ

[curmudgeon]

Thank you for the great write up, and of course pictures are worth a thousand words. The Camero T-5 WC will probably last longer behind the 305. I like your simple ingenious idea of flipping the shifter for a better position.

I am have the parts for the swap as well, but with an S-10 T-5 behind a stovebolt, however, I am considering looking for the Camero T-5 for the better ratios.

What did you do for your speedometer drive?

[agnes the dog]

I used a mechanical drive Camaro transmission tail shaft. I have a 4.10 rear axle, the reason for the Camaro T5. If you have highway gears or a different axle, you might want to keep the S10 for power off the line. Mine is great as it is. Just don't want you to pass on the S10 trans if you have 2.73 rear gears. You may not be as happy with the Camaro trans off the line with highway gears even with the 6cyl.

[TBS57]

Great write up. Been thinking about a T5 or. tko. How is the T5 holding up?

[mr48chev]

Somehow I missed the thread the first time around.
Well done article.

The next time someone asks if a Camaro T-5 will fit with a stock bench seat you are elected to post that shifter photo. It tells more than a page of typed words can.

[Black93GT]

I went on a slightly different path to shift my camaro t-5.

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by Black93GT

I went on a slightly different path to shift my camaro t-5.

Wow! Quite the shifter fabrication

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by TBS57

Great write up. Been thinking about a T5 or. tko. How is the T5 holding up?

I went with an electric speedo T5 out of an S10. SHould hold up no problem with my 6 cyl. Has a .72 OD so should be great with my 373 rear. If you get one out of a 93 S10 it is a World Class tranny that will hold more HP. Still has a good OD gear ratio

[Clarance J]

I installed a T5 out of a 85 S10 in my 55.2 and I'm really liking it. I didn't like the shifter at all so I fabricated up a new one.

The trans sits behind a 327 and has the 11" clutch disk from a Astro van. The trans came with the mechanical speedo. Just needed a longer speedo cable to finish the conversion.

Good write up agnes the dog. This conversion is well worth the effort.

Earl

[Black93GT]

Originally Posted by Jemezcrusher

Wow! Quite the shifter fabrication

Yea I had fun with it. I used a 3/8 drive universal joint to attach to the stick but it's a little loose so it makes the shifting a little sloppy. I think I'll cut it off and use a breaker bar that has a tighter joint.

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by Clarance J

I installed a T5 out of a 85 S10 in my 55.2 and I'm really liking it. I didn't like the shifter at all so I fabricated up a new one.

The trans sits behind a 327 and has the 11" clutch disk from a Astro van. The trans came with the mechanical speedo. Just needed a longer speedo cable to finish the conversion.

Good write up agnes the dog. This conversion is well worth the effort.

Earl

I like it!

You going to need a short throw base?

[Clarance J]

Jemezcrusher. Thanks. When I made the shifter I checked the throw distance between gears and decided it was ok. I don't have to stretch for any of the gears to shift.

Earl