I'm just curious. My buddy's got a minty 83 Firebird that came with a slow as ***** 2.8 and a 5 speed. He wanted to do a quick and easy V8 swap, so he built his motor and called around for a transmission that would bolt right in.

He ended up getting a world class T5, and specified that they build it for use behind a V8, so we're crossing our fingers at this point.

Anyways, turns out they gave him a t5 bellhousing for use behind a 4.3. It has the straight up and down configuration for use in S10s and such. However, the transmission is correct, and has a slanted mount.

We're at the point now, where it's either go with an automatic that should bolt right in, OR find the correct bellhousing and drive her lightly. This is proving to be quite a task, as I have tried EVERY local wrecking yard with no luck.

Opinions? Thoughts? Personal experience? Thanks guys!

 

If you don't abuse it, it will hold up to a mild 350. I've been as fast as 13.6 in the 1/4 with mine. The motor is getting an upgrade that should get me real deep in the 13s. We'll see if it continues to survive.

 

That's a pretty positive answer, I'm sure he'll be happy to know. We don't take our cars to the drag strip ever, just casual cruising for the most part. We weren't entirely sure how much you had to baby it, if you had to treat it like it's made of glass.

 

I sure hope they hold up, I'm putting one in my 74 Elcamino with a over bored cam'd out 350.

 

You'll have little grip in that car, so you should be fine for a while. You'll kill it faster with lower gears, better tires, heavy car w/hard launches ect.

 

Heres a thought. Does anyone know if there ever existed a t5 that lived behind a 305, that used a mechanical clutch linkage as opposed to a hydraulic one?

I'm almost thinking, and hoping that we could use his mechanical shift fork from the v6, and all the linkages with a v8 t5 bellhousing that was originally designed for a hydraulic clutch, but with the v6 shift fork installed and all appropriate linkages.

I already know that the v8 throwout bearing will fit in the v6 shift fork, and the same fork fits inside the upright 4.3 bellhousing. The only question is, will the angle of the v6 shift fork inside a v8 bellhousing for an f body line up at the same angle as the v6, allowing us to use the factory clutch hardware?

Holy crap, what a mouthful.

 

How much power? NOT MUCH! If you builup the SBC at all and drive it hard it will not last.....

 

Find the correct bellhousing, or re-drill the S-10 bellhousing for the 17-18 degree twist. The '83s had mechanical clutch linkage T5s, '84 was the hydraulic linkage. Thus the '83 bellhousings are very rare. However, the 17-18 degree twist is necessary, and despite the extreme hassle of trying to bleed the hydraulics, that's the best way to go, even if starting with an '82 or '83 car.

 

Astro Performance Warehouse, D&D, and Dark Horse all offer upgraded gear sets that'll hold like a Tremec 3550, but with the 2.95:1 first gear we're used to, rather than the 3550's 3.27:1 first. However, these upgrades are nearly as much money as buying a new 3550.

 

Isn't case flex the root cause of most failures? Straighter cut gears with more engagement area may help keep it together when the main and secondary shafts pull apart, but ti me those gears seem like more of a band aid than a cure.

 

I think you're right. And I think that's the route we're going to take.

Someone posted a while back saying the hydraulic shift fork will work with a mechanical pushrod, but the clutch will engage really quick. If that's the case, and we can at least get the car moving for now, and swap to hydraulic when he has the time.

How much of a process is it to swap to hydraulic? Does it bolt right up, or do we need a new clutch pedal setup?

 

I don't have any experience with the mechanical setup, but I would be surprised if the pedals changed. Either way, it needs a rod attached to it. But, you'll need to unbolt the pedals to put the master in, so it really isn't much effort to swap to a newer set of pedals, and they're very affordable because they were in all the v6 cars.