Engine and Transmission Tech

I have seen a many a shifter coming up through the tunnel right at the elbow and there is a way to bring that shifter forward 8 inches and it is not that hard or costly. Most people don't know that a S10 T5 tail shaft housing will bolt right on to your world class T5 and the shifter location is 8 inches closer to the dash. Also if you want that mechanical speedometer not the electric one that problem is a easy fix too. Here is what you do to fix that problem. Anyone who has tried to put the mechanical gear on the output shaft knows it is too small and will not slide on like the electric one so here is what you do. Mark where the electric one slides up to and put the mechanical one in a boiling pot of water, don't worry it won't melt but it will swell up so you can slide it up to the mark you made and when it cools it is not going anywhere. You might just want to use some gloves when you do this unless you just like little gear marks burn into your fingers.The 93 and up S10 T5's are world class transmissions and are build on Ford cases , the bad is the ratios, but then you can put a 2.95 gear set in them and have a heavy duty T5 with a gear shifter that is 8 inches forward of a regular T5. This could be desirable for a lot of you and while you have the case apart change the stamped piece by 5th gear for the machined piece pictured below , this is what we do to make this tranny take 400 foot pounds of torque !







These pictures show where the rear mounting point is too so when you fab it up take note of that also. Hope this helps some of you , but if you don't want to go to the trouble there is a guy out there that sells them for 1800.00 if you just have wheel barrels of cash and don't want to get your hands dirty.

The street rod community has been doing this for years. There are a lot of websites with great info about this swap, just Google them. Also, the Astro van tailhousing puts the shifter at a location between the S-10 and Camaro/Mustang tailhousings. Unfortunately the Astro van trans is a lot harder to find. The 4/6 cylinder T-5s use a 1" 14 spline input shaft. The common clutch disks for that shaft are 9 1/8" (S-10 and Camaro) or 9 5/8" (Jeep). The good news is that the Astro van used the same input shaft with an 11" clutch disk, which is readily available.

If you have a World class T5 all you are changing is the tail shaft housing and shift rod, this would not change the input shaft or the the gearing or the output shaft as far as that goes all you are changing is the location of the shifter . Now if you are taking a 93 or later S10 transmission and building from there , there is a lot to change . The nice thing is it will all fit ! Yep the street rod scene has done it for years , just sharing it here for those who would like to know this little trick. If you need less than 8" you can use the Astro van T5 tail housing but Joseph is right , they are very hard to find. With just a little money and a little work you can move that shifter off your elbow and get a much nicer look.

Happens to be the mod on my GT, Camaro front case and s10 tailhousing.
My 350 chevy sits way back in the bay so this mod was necessary to
put the shifter in the proper position. Makes the trans mount alot easier
also since its no longer angled. In my car the trans mount is centered
across the original center brace behind where the original trans brace
and mount assy where, so those are now deleted off the car.

Tracy,
Worked out great for you and I bet it would help others too, I'm glad I brought it up. I talked to Curtis about making an article about it for the site and as I build mine I am taking a lot of pictures and I will have a how to on changing gear sets and putting a S10 tail shaft case on a Ford case and building the ultimate T5 . Nice to have a place to share ideas , I know I have picked up some really good ideas here and I hope to give back as much as I can.
William

William,
Here's the article I found and used to do mine. You can add it to your how to data on the article if
you like. There's a basic breakdown schematic with this article that was helpful. You'll find useful
information about tailhousing interchange in this article.

www.inliners.org/Jack/T5tech.html

The next two sites give a pretty good breakdown of the T-5 which was helpful to me.

www.drivetrain.com/transillt5nonwc.html

www.drivetrain.com/transillt5_wc.html

Hope this helps!

Tracy

Hey Tracy,
I read that first one when I was looking online to see if there where any problems when putting a S10 tail shaft on a Ford case. I had heard of it being done and wondered what was involved with the different speed gear locations and I thought it was weird because he had to shim the gear when everyone else talked of it being too tight. Maybe his was not a world class??? I really am taking a different approach as I am taking a world class S10 transmission with a wide ratio and changing the gears to a 2.95 set. This S10 is built on a ford case and would be just like you were putting on a S10 tail shaft case on a Ford transmission. I will be showing how to change the gear set and then what parts you need off a S10 to change the tail shaft. I found a brand new S10 T5 world class transmission and I could use it just like that if I took off in second and used it as a 4 speed with 4th being overdrive ratio but this takes me out of the power range and just wouldn't work good. Changing the gear set to a 2.95 gives me the brand new close ratio world class Ford transmission with the right shifter location for under 900.00 . Taking a T5 apart is not a big deal but if someone is turned off by it then just get your local transmission shop to do it for you.

I wan't aware that a problem existed with the shifter location; my Ford 5.0 conversion and Summit Racing T5 combo puts the shifter right through the original hole. Although, I must say that this is an excellent post and valuable knowledge to have, thanks!

Thanks for the info William. It's so cool to share info with others for a common goal.

Jacques,
In my case the shifter problem was created by me wanting the weight of my 350 c.i.
chevy behind the front cross member. My engine sits way back in the bay, my valve
covers sit on the other side of where the heater assy used to sit. My firewall is notched
so the distributor, in my case an HEI, can fit. A standard T-5 tailhousing put the shifter
location beside the back rest on the seat. The conversion discussed above resolves
that issue nicely.

I have an S10 tail shaft on the NWC Camaro transmission I am using for my project and the swap went without a hitch.
There are some pictures on my web site.

[markbhoward.org]

I also found that you can adapt a Mustang short throw shifter with a little part swapping. Here's the link to that info.

[markbhoward.org]

Regards,
Mark

Thanks Mark, I like the short throw information; I'll pass it along to Jim Stuart, he runs the GM T5 in both of his cars.

[www.stovebolt.com]; here is article on modifying a T5 shifter and it shows them making it have a shorter throw. I don't like the way they did some of the mods but it shows the things you can do. Bending one of the tabs and smacking it back down will lead to a future failure . It is better to cut one off and then weld it back real quick, have some water close to cool it as not to damage the insert. Changing the length of the part that goes down in the case and making it longer will shorten the throw but then you would need a spacer under it as they did. This looks real sloppy to me and I think it would look a lot better if you cut the shifter body off and raise it the same as you did the rod. That way you have the same amount sticking down into the transmission .


This is a neat way to do it , a little more work and skill , but the end results speak for their self . If you do a good job it should work and look as good as one of those 200.00 store bought ones. What they would call on Powerblock as a building on a budget segment ! Don't know about you but I'm not made of money , I like nice things but I have to work hard for them. You could drill a couple of holes , weld some nuts and screw in a couple of bolts and have some of them fancy shifter stops too, while your at it. Save a little wear and tear on the tranny !

Here is what I did on my T5 and it works awesome. The lever pivots on the front heim joint and perfectly transfers motion to the shifter at the rear:




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2010 11:34PM by loosecannon.

We have quite a collection of T5 'boxes that have been collected over the last few years. The crossover that can be done is quite amazing and universal. Not everything is as interchangable as most would like but there is a good amount. There are a few items that can be machined for more adaptability but usually these items cost a bit so it's best to find something as close to your needs as possible to begin with.

I saw an MGB 350 V8 conversion done at another shop locally a few years ago with the same issue- the shifter was behind the drivers seat. I mentioned to the owner of the shop that he should mention to the owner to pull the system and use an S10 tailshaft to build it into something easy/practical/well sorted. Wonder what happened to that car. Back when it was first started you might say that the car poorly sorted and looked dangerous to drive. I understand things were improved but would like to see how that one has/has not changed.

-BMC.

I looked at a T5 tranny tonight. It's supposed to be out of an 86 Camaro, but it didnt have a green tag saying 1352 150 but instead had an id # farther back on the case which read Borg warner 1351 097 901. Can anybody tell me what tranny is this? I cant find any 1351 number anywhere. Thanks

[www.5speeds.com]

Hey Carl, thanks for responding. I have checked that website and it has listings for only 1352 numbers which appear on the green tag on the top of the tranny.I did that last night before I posted.The article on the t5 site said there is a tag on the tailstock with all the info you need but I didnt notice one on this tranny and its the first I've heard of that. I thought that the green tag was the real tag for identifying the transmission in question.lSo what's the 1351 097 901 number got to do with anything? Thanks again though Carl.