I am trying to find somewhere that lists the gear ratios of the T5 transmission in a '86 2.8 V6 Camaro. I've read that the 84 V6 Camaro T5 had a 3.50 first gear and a .78 fifth gear, and in 85 they had a 4.03 first and .76 5th. I have been unable to find info on the 86 gear ratios. Does anyone know if this info is right, and if so if the 86 is the same as the 85?
LINK: http://www.britishv8.org/articles/bo...t5-id-tags.htm

I have a 1979 L48 with the th350. When I bought the car I was told it had 3.55 rear gears, and the tach reads about 3500 at 80mph which seems right-ish. I have read that the th350 1st gear is 2.52:1. In that case it seems like a 4.06 first would be basically useless, but .76 OD would be about right. Obviously the V8 T5 with the 2.95 1st and .73 OD is the way to go, but they are hard to find around here.

I have an angle on a 1986 V6 Camaro for <$600, which seems like it could provide a trans and clutch parts with enough junk left over to break even on the purchase. The camaro trans is supposedly good to 280 ftlb, and my engine made barely 285 peak over 35 years ago.

Am I stupid to even consider this as an option? I have a th350 that slips badly and likes to pop out of reverse, and a very limited budget due to some new school expenses. If this is a trans that will live and be usable behind my stock engine, that's good enough given that it is basically free.

Opinions?

 

My first concern beside the ratio would be the WorldClass-ness.
I don't think V6 T5 were WC.
T5 have enough of a fragility reputation you want to put a world class one in.

 

The V6 is a 60* motor. It will NOT bolt up. You may need to find an adapter plate...

 

An adapter plate is no problem. I have access to a comprehensive machine shop with lots of CNC toys and more or less know how to use it, but I don't know a whole lot about what configurations T5s come in. All the reading I've done indicates there are literally hundreds of them.

Just to be clear, are you are saying the trans won't bolt to a proper V8 bellhousing or that the V6 bellhousing won't bolt to my engine? The latter I knew about, but I thought all the bellhousings were basically interchangable between all the T5s. Is this not the case?

The '86 V6 trans is not WC as far as I know. Am I going to blow it up with a tired L48 and normal street tires? The 97 V6 camaro trans should be WC and I might have found a working one, if it wouldn't have any problems that make it harder to install.

 

Once you get thru that you should know what is what :
http://www.britishv8.org/articles/bo...t5-id-tags.htm
http://www.5speeds.com/t5/
http://www.moderndriveline.com/Techn...t5_history.htm
http://chris66dad.tripod.com/id38.html

 

I've read through most of those links at one point or another, but most of the info seems to focus on Ford and WC GM transmissions. I still havent been able to verify the 1st and 5th ratio or the torque rating of the 1986 V6 Camaro, and am assuming it is the same as 1985 (probably unwise).

I am going to scout some junkyards over the holiday and see what I can find, but V8 T5s seem pretty rare around here. If you have info on the '86 V6 Camaro T5, that would be very helpful.

 

The safest way is to get the transmission serial #.
Make sure you know where to find it, because there is another serial number on the transmission with the very same pattern which is not the right one (IIRC it's the tail housing serial #)

 

Ok, looks like Ill be looking at the car this weekend then. Checking the numbers is definitely the best way.

 

Its not a simple swap either. You obviously need the pedals but also the hydraulics, the new clutch, a flywheel, probable cross member and driveshaft mods. Have you thought about where the shifter will come thru the floor? You can probably find a used TH350 for a couple hundred bucks with a torque converter, take you one day by yourself.

 

So the V6 Camaro was a total POS. There is a local guy parting a '91 V8 Camaro and agreed to sell the trans with yoke, clutch, and bellhousing. I am going to try to get the slave cylinder along with it as well. Also I am pretty sure '91 should be the WC T5, which is nice.

From what I understand all the bolt holes are already in the car to install the manual pedal box, it is just a PITA to do so. It might suck, but I am sure that will be doable as well.

Are the manual pedal assemblies the same from 68-79? This vendor seems to indicate they are:
http://www.4speedconversions.com/vette_pedals.html
If so, is this the part I want:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Origina...-/291508593179

I am aware that the Camaro trans is rotated 18* or so, and will require an adapter to bolt to the cross member. It shouldn't be too hard to weld something up. Plumbing for the clutch shouldn't be too bad. I've seen people on here recommending master cylinders from Camaros, and one thread suggesting one from an '85 one-ton. Driveshaft also needs shortened, and a local shop gave a reasonable quote on that. I've read dozens of threads on shifter placement, and I guess I will deal with it when I get to that point.

Are there any other parts I should try to get from the Camaro while I'm at it? And, are there any dumb things I am missing? It looks like the U Joints on the Camaro driveshaft have 1.125" bearing caps while I think the C3 has 1.062" caps. Would a hybrid U joint like this work:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ied-5-793x/overview/

Thanks again, and sorry for all the first-timer questions. Sooner or later I'll get this all figured out.

 

I guess by now you know how to identify a WC by the type of front cuontershaft bearing, right?
Removing the pedal is a PITA indeed check the AIM, removing the seat make is easier.
Pedal box is same for all years.
The ebay deal is pretty fair.
Here's mine :

More of it here.

If you install your trans that way, you can use any SBC bellhousing you want (or a scattershield), and you can operate the clutch with the stock mechanical linkage (what I did).
Later on my thread I posted how to upgrade a 30$ Ebay short throw shifter, it may interrest you, as well a the rest of the installation.

 

Keep us posted!

 

Have your driveshaft guy deal with the u-joints when he shortens and balances the driveshaft.

 

Well I bought the transmission, and I have a pedal box coming from an eBay seller. The tag number on the trans is 1352-196, so it should be from an 89 camaro instead of a 91. Still WC and still has the 2.95 first gear and the .63 OD though, so it should work out well.

However, as far as I can tell '89 camaros are supposed to have mechanical speedometers and this trans has the sender for an electronic one. I expect that issue will be easy to solve, but it was surprising.

The shifter goes smoothly into all the gears and the input/output shafts spin freely with no binding or funny sounds, and the ATF that dripped out onto my tarp looked clean and clear. I think I am going to skip rebuilding and just put it in the car and run it. Hopefully it goes well

I have the clutch from the Camaro, but I wasn't able to get the flywheel. Would a regular 89 camaro flywheel be good enough? Do I need to match the flywheel tooth count to my flexplate, or does it not matter?

 

Sounds good, no need to rebuild.
Too bad you couldn't get the flywheel, because while those can resurfaced, you'd better buy a new clutch.
You want to keep the same amount of tooth or you'll have to change the starter.

 

As far as I understand the engine determines what flywheel I need and the transmission determines what clutch, but both the clutch and flywheel need to be compatible. So I would need a flywheel for a Gen 1 350 with a 2 piece rear main seal and a 26 spline camaro clutch, and the pressure plate needs to match the bolt pattern in the flywheel

Do I need one of the magical billet steel flywheels? Or is a regular cast iron one sufficient?

I am looking at one of the Summit-brand flywheels and a super-cheap clutch kit. May also just get something from a local parts store. I dont imagine my stock (and very tired) l48 will break either, but suggestions are welcome.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/zz...t/model/camaro

Am I going to regret cheaping out on clutch parts?

Also, for hydraulics, do I want to go with normal the Camaro master/slave cylinder? Or is there a better way?

Thanks again.

 

So the th350 came out easily, and the only real difficulty was the flexplate bolts. I ended up having to buy an impact gun to get them off, but it will be a good tool to have.

NAPA ordered the wrong flywheel (I didnt think the 168 tooth one would fit in the T5 bell. Turns out it does not) so I should hopefully get the clutch in tomorrow when the new flywheel shows up. I am going to take the trans to the carwash tomorrow and get it cleaned up and installed so I can mark the tunnel for the shifter.

I'm really stuck on the clutch hydraulics though. How have other people solved the clutch plumbing? I saw a post about using brake line, but I dont understand how it would handle the flex in the driveline.
I have a slave cylinder from a Camaro, but I am having a tough time finding what line/fittings to use. The best I have come up with is a 3AN fitting from Autozone that goes into the clutch slave, and I will have to attach a 3AN fitted line to it. I see people recommend a clutch master from an 85 one-ton, and I am hoping it uses the same "quick disconnect" fitting as the Camaro slave. Otherwise I'm hosed.

 

My T5 WC is the 1352-176 transmission.
As far as I know, that is the last year (1988) for mechanical speedometers.

I've not installed it in the car yet, so I'm following your post here :- )
My car: 1969, 4 speed, 3.70

 

You can't use a V6 bellhousing, true. The Gen III V6 Camaro WC T5 uses a standard Muncie type bolt pattern on the front like the Gen III V8 Camaro WC T5 though, I have one of each sitting in my garage. Either will bolt up to a small block Chevy V8 using a V8 Muncie type bellhousing. A pre-1993 Mustang style T5 uses a different bolt pattern. Unless you can find one of the very rare Chevy Astro Van bellhousings that uses the Ford bolt pattern you will need a 1/2" adapter plate to bolt one up to a Muncie style bellhousing.

 

The later Camaro V6 T5s were WC, I have one in my garage that came out of a 3.4L Gen III Camaro. The easy way to identify them externally vs. the V8 one is the V6 one has a 14 spline input shaft instead of 26 spline like the V8 version.