How to install a Camaro T-5

[CRGRS 66]

Originally Posted by Brad

My engine was a 250. You'll be fine up to 200 hp.

Hey Brad
I have a 66SWB, 283 (stockHP except for the Holley 4bbl), 3spd manual.
I have found an S10 T5, and the guy is giving it a once over to see what it needs. I do plan to pull a trailer a few times a year, it weighs approx 2000lbs. Will I be pushing my luck with the T5?

[lilpoindexter]

I put a whiny T5 from an '83 Camaro in my truck 14 months ago..it wails like a banshee now, and pops out of 4th when I downshift into 4th from 5th, like coming off the freeway off ramp. Im going to buy a rebuild kit with bearings and syncros and try to do it up myself. The trans was junk when I installed, it always whined, but now its just ridiculous.
If I have it in neutral at a stop light, without my foot on the clutch people look at me...when I shift into gear and depress the clutch, the bearing quiets down enough that no one stares at me.

[Frijolito1988]

Originally Posted by lilpoindexter

I put a whiny T5 from an '83 Camaro in my truck 14 months ago..it wails like a banshee now, and pops out of 4th when I downshift into 4th from 5th, like coming off the freeway off ramp. Im going to buy a rebuild kit with bearings and syncros and try to do it up myself. The trans was junk when I installed, it always whined, but now its just ridiculous.
If I have it in neutral at a stop light, without my foot on the clutch people look at me...when I shift into gear and depress the clutch, the bearing quiets down enough that no one stares at me.

What Gears do you have ?

[lilpoindexter]

I have 3:73's in the back, the trans is a 1352-028 tag out of a '83 V8 camaro.

[Frijolito1988]

Originally Posted by lilpoindexter

I have 3:73's in the back, the trans is a 1352-028 tag out of a '83 V8 camaro.

ah ok, we have a T5 but dont have the info as dont know the PO. Our 5th gear is pretty much unusable. That would mean that we have really low gears out back right ?

The code in the tailshaft is 1352 201 out of a 90 S 10.

I suspect that the transmission is from a camaro, but they changed out the tailshaft. Does the actually transmission body have a code as well ?

[lilpoindexter]

If people start mixing and matching trans parts, there's really no telling what you have. Even though my trans is 83 camaro, the tailshaft is 84 S10 T5. I tried to be dilligent and put the trans tag from the camaro back on, just in case I sold the truck, and the new owners needed to know (or I forgot)

[Frijolito1988]

Originally Posted by lilpoindexter

If people start mixing and matching trans parts, there's really no telling what you have. Even though my trans is 83 camaro, the tailshaft is 84 S10 T5. I tried to be dilligent and put the trans tag from the camaro back on, just in case I sold the truck, and the new owners needed to know (or I forgot)

So since you are using a camaro trans, and S10 tailshaft, did you have to use that adaptor ( between the bell housing and gear box ? )

[Frijolito1988]

For you guys with the T5 on the 250 what speed are you cruising at ?

We just installed a 3.73 rear end , swapped out the old which was either 3.07 or 3.42 rear end and we did see a bit of a difference but at 5th gear on the freeway we are going at about 65-70 at about 2500 RPM. But thats about as much as it will go, I dont think it will push 75-80. What do you guys think is the problem ?

[Frijolito1988]

another question guys.

What would happen if we have a T5 with no adaptor plate to make up for input shaft leght ? Would some gears not work , or would you not be able to bolt up the gear box to the bell housing ?

[Zeke's Garage]

Hey guys, got my T5 install completed a couple weeks ago, and things went together much better than I had expected.

I'm currently running an inline 250 with a Megasquirted TBI fuel injection system. The truck was originally a 3 speed ott, but the linkage and transmission were in horrible shape.

I had two T5's, one from an '83 Camaro (NWC) and one from an '89 S10 4 cyl (WC). I used the Camaro main body mostly because of the 26 spline input shaft, and put on the S10 tailshaft for the shifter location. I made a vertical mount bracing crossmember from the old rubber mount and two support struts that came with the S10 transmission <insert picture here>

Overall the truck drives very nicely, but the higher (numerically lower) Camaro gears aren't the greatest for first gear, and even with the 3:73 rear in my truck, the overdrive is only good for 60 plus on the highway. Now that I know I can get an 11" clutch for the 14 spline S10, I might just swap the S10 WC body back into it and get the better gear ratios.

Also, I now have no speedometer, since the Camaro was a manual, and the S10 was an electronic, there was no easy way to make either of them work for now.

I haven't put too many miles on it yet, as I need to get it aligned after replacing the power steering box, so highway mileage still needs to be checked.

[Straight six]

That's so cool I just bought a s10 t5 pretty cheap I was going to throw it in my 78 c15 tired of driving 55 on the highway but I think I'm young to search for the camaro t5 for the extra durability should be able to find one pretty cheap. Could use the s10 hurst shifter


Thanks
Straight six
Posted via Mobile Device

[mopar346]

Great thread Brad, the fact that people are still looking at it and responding this far after you posted speaks volumes. I noticed that no one on here has talked about aftermarket gear sets. They are available and in conjunction with the WC set up they greatly increase the duribility of the the unit. They can how ever be pricey. I picked a WC T-5 a few days ago for a song to put in my son's 1st gen Camaro but we are running way to much Hp and torque for it to last in it's stock form so I am looking for options to strengthen it. Does anyone have any info on that?

[Realnoisy]

Originally Posted by Brad

That's correct- no bench with the L6/Camaro T-5. It's possible with the V8 in the V8 mount position only.

Not an S-10 bellhousing but S-10 tailshaft mounted to the Camaro gearbox is what many guys do and it'll put the shifter in basically the stock floor shifter location for our trucks.

There is a 3 inch difference between the V8 mount positions. Are you saying the 3" inches would be enough to clear the bench seat if in the V8 was mounted in the forward mount holes on the rails?

Thanks for the time you put into this write-up....it's so well done!

[chevylookin]

Hey forum!
I agree that its awesome that this thread is still ongoing and being added to constantly. Its obvious that the T-5 upgrade is gaining in popularity for these style trucks. Its a wonderful and affordable modification that can be added to any GM vehicle of this era if you enjoy a manual. I have seen several 60-66 trucks listed on E*ay with this setup and people are intrigued.

The only problem is if youre doing it yourself, you have to have a general knowledge of gearing. I didnt when I first started to drop in my T-5 and I thought the lower the gearing, the faster you'll go. A wonderful combination. Not true! Before my old granny SM 420 started to collect dust in the garage, I frankensteined two T-5's together. I ended up with a Camaro .63 OD and and S-10 body and stick location with an analog-ed speedo. I had 3.08's in the rear at the time. You woulda laughed your arse off trying to see me get that thing going of the line. On the freeway, if I was going down hill with the wind on my shoulder, I could get it in OD and maybe push 65 mph. Foot pegged to the floor and nothing! It is just a law of mechanics I suppose that you can not go 200 mph because you dropped in a T-5. And you have many factors slowing you down: body design, wind resistance, body height stance,
weight distribution, gearing, tires, the wind resistance on the tires, friction on the tires from cruddy roads. These trucks were never meant to go more 60+ mph. They were meant for hauling hay and horse trailers on a farm! HAHA!

Anyways, after I turned my clutch disc into glass, I decided enough was enough. I had the 3.08's swapped out for 4:56's. With my .63 OD it is a match made in heaven for highway driving. Ive gotten it up to about 85 mph with a little slightly beefed up 230 making the power. Fun to drive, smooth and quite, and have moderate fuel economy with my 20" rims and tires on there. The next thing I need to do is Custom fab a cross member for the tranny and add power steering. I have been driving the truck around periodically with no cross-member for over a year now with no issues but it still does worry me. Does anyone have any pics to share of how they did there's? I have a short fleet. Good day all, happy holidays!

~Ryan G

[Pillow]

FWIW I have this conversion done on my '71 and love it! 350 with an S-10 T-5, not sure of the rear end ratio though.

2000 RPM in 5th is about 70 on the Interstate! Pulls great from 1st on through the range. No bog in first, and I can creap away if burdened with a heavy load. Like last week with a 1500# engine and crate in the back!

The gears are perfect for a Diesel conversion as I am not over revving in any gear. That is the winter project switching to a 6.2 military take out diesel.

At first I really wanted a Camaro T-5, but I am so happy with the S-10 you couldn't pay me to switch.

[Beetle]

Just bought a Camaro T5 for $400 tonite. Trans, clutch, press plate, flywheel, pedal, slave cylinder, bolts to attach the trans to the engine and this shifter:


Great writeup you have here, I will use that link on the first page to discect what year Camaro this came from, but I know it is a WC because it has electronic speedo. So the money I saved by not going 700R4 will be put to use buying gauges
This guy had it in his Blazer, got tired of shifting so he went the TH350 route...

[BAT]

Originally Posted by Brad

Will I need some sort of expensive speedo adaptor?
The Camaro transmission had an analog speedometer output up until 1988 when they went to the electronic output. I’ve taken that out on my 1989 T-5 and simply inserted an old analog ouput back in with no problems. I assume that all the speedo holes in these were the same, and you shouldn’t have any difficulties doing the same thing.

Great write-up!!! Has any write-up been done on this speedo conversion? My truck came with a Z28 T5 (I am told it is from an '89) and it has the S10 rear housing with electronic speedo out. Based on above I am assuming that my output shaft will have an electronic speedo gear on it, and it will be too far aft. Also, I have an S10 trans with a mechanical output, can I simply take the mechanical speedo parts from the S10 I have on the floor and install them on my truck to have a working speedo?

[augwld]

I have a 1991 s10 t5 from a scrapped truck, but refused to sell the trans., and hydraulic clutch components. Idea was to put them in my modified sbc350, 1979 k10. I prefer manual trans and she is a mud runner/off road whore. 6" of suspension lift and 4.11:1 gears and 2" body lift running 38" tires. She is great,but the th350 sucks when I street drive her. All said, I know people will argue it, but she tears it up off road,when I can keep the RPM's down. Why I don't like an auto in the mud, too much wheel spin. I have been contemplating this type of mod, and thanks to the comments here, I am going for it. I'll let you know how it pans out.

[augwld]

I have a 1991 s10 t5 from a scrapped truck, but refused to sell the trans., and hydraulic clutch components. Idea was to put them in my modified sbc350, 1979 k10. I prefer manual trans and she is a mud runner/off road whore. 6" of suspension lift and 4.11:1 gears and 2" body lift running 38" tires. She is great,but the th350 sucks. All said, I know people will argue it, but she tears it up off road,when I can keep the RPM's down. Why I don't like an auto in the mud, too much wheel spin.She needs a granny gear or a big block,hence why I think transmission. I have been contemplating this type of mod, and thanks to the comments here, I am going for it. I'll let you know how it pans out. Alternative is a big block or diesel.

[Captainfab]

I think you will end up scattering that T5. They are rated at only 300 lbft. For what you're doing you really should look at the NV4500.

[oakstcustomz]

So I can install a v6 camaro t5 or will I wind up with the same problems as a s10? The v6 camaro is weaker than the v8 or is it just geared different? Thanks in advance

[Lugnutz65]

Oakscustomz,
Check your messages. Your V6 Camaro T5 can be made to work without too much hassle. The gearing will be similar to an S10. Is it a WC or NWC T5?

[Gumby]

dunno where else it to dump it.

someone is exploring an iron case

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tr...nsmission.html

[sambudo]

nice write up

[CRGRS 66]

Hey Brad, I m doing a frame off resto on my 66 short fleet, orignal engine was a 283, I have a mild 350 going in with my camaro 5spd with S10 tail shaft, I bought the same clutch pack the MU56-1, and had my flywheel from the 283 resurfaced. The splines on the clutch are a good fit, but the bolt pattern on the pressure plate does not match my flywheel? The bolt pattern on the flywheel is a bigger bolt circle??
Would you or any other subscribers know what clutch pack I need to get?