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Hi,
I have done two T5 swaps so far / the first was a Mustang T5 in my 77 / had to make an adapter plate to run that trans but everything worked fine / car was an automatic car so I had to install the pedal set also / also installed a hydraulic clutch master / slave cylinder from early 90's GM truck. That car had 3:70 rear gears so 1st gear was steep. Trans was fun to drive / O.D. was great on the highway. You won't have any issues with the trans lasting as long as you drive it reasonably / occasional 1st gear burnouts are OK but not speed shifts. That's assuming you do not have 500-700 HP in the motor in the car you have. The engine in the first car was a mild 350 @ approx 300-325 HP. The second T5 is my current car 72 convertible / I would have done the same but located a 91 Trans Am T5 complete with bellhousing / drive shaft / clutch etc at a swap meet so I jumped on that one. Ford unit was mounted straight up / no issues with clearance in the trans tunnel or shifter location / GM unit is mounted on an angle because I used the GM bellhousing and as stated earlier they are canted on an angle. both trans were WC / don't use anything else as they are very weak. I found them to be a great answer to a 6k trans swap using a late model 5 or 6 speed.
This trans, and others with low and even lower (4.03) first gears, were in V6 Camaros and Firebirds. What was their rear gearing like? Did all those guys find the T5 annoyingly deep in first ? Or maybe a V6 engine has less low-end torque ???
Last edited by DorianC3; Nov 22, 2018 at 12:53 AM.
This trans, and others with low and even lower (4.03) first gears, were in V6 Camaros and Firebirds. What was their rear gearing like? Did all those guys find the T5 annoyingly deep in first ? Or maybe a V6 engine has less low-end torque ???
The V6's were DOGS with very little Hp and torque and mostly came with 3.42 rear gears....
Compression Liter . CI Net HP Torque Manual Auto
By the 2000's, the GM V6 was getting pretty good. My daughter's 01 Grand Prix V6 with 225,000 miles on it today still runs perfect with 200 Net Hp/200 TQ and gets 30 MPG on the Hwy..................................... ....
Last edited by jb78L-82; Nov 22, 2018 at 07:23 AM.
My 355 can go down the highway all day long at 1,500 RPM with zero issues if an OD existed for that operation....Any big V8 like a 327/355/383 should easily be able to cruise at ultra low RPM's.....7/.8/.9 OD's were designed for low torque 4 and 6 cylinder engines..NOT V8's.
I listen to all the nonsense about a steep OD and comments from everything "the engine will lug, cam will not like it, carb will load up, you will foul spark plugs, etc"...maybe in THEIR engines some of which are monster BB 572's (OMG) but ignore the advice if your engine has remotely good low rpm manners....
As the owner of a C3 with 3.36:1 gears and a T56 with 0.50:1 6th gear, I agree with all of this.
I joke that my 6th year is useless, but I do use it in the 75-100mph range where my RPMs climb from about 1500-2000.
The torque is there. It is not a V6. My 355 is modded with a roller cam and aluminum heads, but I would be surprised if a stocker with smoother low RPM power didn't fare just as well.
This thread makes me tremendously grateful for the guy who sold me a LT1 T56 for $1k back in late 2015. It works great, didn't need to swap input shafts, but did need to do my homework to locate a suitable clutch/bearing kit.
Last edited by AboveTheLogic; Nov 22, 2018 at 11:42 AM.
Well, I seriously doubt that the salvage yard will call me back. I doubt he could find his ( )*( ) with a 3-foot parabolic mirror strapped to his tuckus.
As always, the hobby over here is best to make do with what you can get your hands on. I am going to try to make this work.
I am about to close this thread and restart another one on the Muncie for T5 swap. One last thought, however... I presume the best plan would be to swap out the 3.36 rear gears for 3.08 or even 2.96 (was it?). I presume, like everything else on this car, the limited slip could use a rebuild anyway.
Another alternative is to swap the gear set on the T5...
Again the concern is, in the medium term, the 1st gear at 3.75
Thoughts?
Last edited by DorianC3; Nov 26, 2018 at 08:33 AM.
I just got this back from a US rebuilder...not very helpful and expensive...........
"Remaned price is $2380.00 plus $400.00 core charge, plus $150.00 for round trip freight. It would take me 5-6 days to get one built. It is a world class trans, remaned units get bearings and seals and then any hard parts replaced that are out of spec. we do not guarantee ratios in these transmissions."
They are again ridiculous with the pricing....almost $3,000!!!!!!!!!! What is the deal with these people??????Do they think everyone is a DOPE....???
Indeed ! If this gets rebuilt with a new gear set, I am doing it myself. That is a nutty fee ! With the right tooling, rebuilding a trans takes a few hours.
Indeed ! If this gets rebuilt with a new gear set, I am doing it myself. That is a nutty fee ! With the right tooling, rebuilding a trans takes a few hours.
I may look for any GM world class T5 in a decent worn condition and do a rebuild myself with new gears? Thoughts?
You won't find decent gear set from a world-class 2.95 ratio first. If they're any good the transmission is good and the transmission is getting saved. Unless you find a rare one where the case blew out. And if that's the case if you're going to do this much work you might as well get the right case too. and you need the whole gear set. You can't swap half of it, or part of it. Every. Single. Gear.
Last edited by derekderek; Nov 26, 2018 at 01:14 PM.
Also, just do the t5 conversion. Then run it. You might be okay with it. You might not. At that point you might want to look for another t5 that'll bolt right in since you're all converted or else maybe consider going with the different rear gears. But don't do two things at once. I think, if you're buying that Chevy v6 adapter plate you would be able to adapt that adapter plate to the Ford transmission. It's the same bolt pattern but a slightly bigger diameter cover over the input shaft. In fact you could probably just swap input shaft covers and use that same adapter plate.
I did the swap about 10 years ago using a Ford T5. If you are thinking of going that way, here are a list of the Ford tags and what they came out of. I'm using a 1352-242 with a 3.73 rear end.
I did compile some documents on doing the conversion with plate adapter prints and a lot of other misc info.
Last edited by RobRace10; Nov 26, 2018 at 04:38 PM.
I did the swap about 10 years ago using a Ford T5. If you are thinking of going that way, here are a list of the Ford tags and what they came out of. I'm using a 1352-242 with a 3.73 rear end.
I did compile some documents on doing the conversion with plate adapter prints and a lot of other misc info.
Thanks Rob !
Say with 3.27 or 3.35 first and 3.73 rear... that puts you at 12.2~12.5. That is roughly what I am looking at.
Also, just do the t5 conversion. Then run it. You might be okay with it. You might not. At that point you might want to look for another t5 that'll bolt right in since you're all converted or else maybe consider going with the different rear gears. But don't do two things at once. I think, if you're buying that Chevy v6 adapter plate you would be able to adapt that adapter plate to the Ford transmission. It's the same bolt pattern but a slightly bigger diameter cover over the input shaft. In fact you could probably just swap input shaft covers and use that same adapter plate.
Yes. I think that’s what I am going to do: first do the swap and see how I like it. I may indeed be ok with it. Or, it may drive me bananas. In which case I think I’ll be looking forward to doing a gear set swap and rebuild.
There are quite a few awesome videos out there on T5 rebuilds. It doesn’t look too difficult. It’ll be fun !
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