Hi all,
I have a 3 speed manual in my truck now. What will I need to look for to swap in a t5? I want to keep the mechanical clutch. What year car can I find a t5 with this set up?

Anything else I should consider?

 

Your biggest thing will be shifter position.

There are the 83-87 non-world-class boxes and the 88-up world-class boxes in F-bodies. Other stuff (S10) had non-WC boxes even later. WC is stronger.

Input shaft splines - V8s were 26 spline. V6s didn't go 26 spline until the 4th gen F-body years. Those are weaker, but you'll run into a lot of them for sale.

V8 boxes usually has 2.9x first gear.

Mechanical clutch is all in the bellhousing.

 

I'm guessing that you have some kind of V8 in your C10, personally I'd stay away from a T5. Unless you only plan on driving it nicely. I've killed 5 T5's. Most of them were behind a well built 355, but a two were behind stock 305's. The C10 being heavier isn't going to help things any. I'd look into a T56 or aftermarket box. A Nv3500 or Nv4500 would be another choice.

To answer your original questions:
The 82-83 F-bodys had mechanical clutch linkage. But as jmd said, that is all in the bellhousing. Look for a T5 from an 88 up car...it will be slightly stronger. It will also bolt to the earlier bell. One thing to consider is that F-body bellhousings till the transmission 17* to the drivers side, easy to see if you look from the back. Depending on what transmission you have now (Saginaw?) the T5 may be able to be adappeted to your current bellhousing. I know there are aftermarket. pieces out there that do this...might be something to look into.

 

My truck is a short bed fleet side. It has a 250 straight six in it, so over powering a t5 won't happen. The truck will be a daily driver. I commute 25 miles each way, so I need the overdrive, but I MUST drive a standard! haha. I may haul a light load, now and then, but nothing really heavy.

Can I use the bellhousing from the Saginaw 3 speed? It is not original to the truck. it came out of a 66ish Chevy car. So, if the t5 will bolt up to that bellhousing, then I can keep my mechanical clutch? Is that right?

Perhaps a S10 gear box and shifter will fit well??? I would think it would.

Thanks for the help!

 

An F-body T5 transmission mount is tilted 17 degrees. The shifter is very far back. But, this design works great in late model passenger cars.

An S-10 T5 is "straight up" and the shifter is far forward on the tailhousing. This could potentially work well for shifter position. But, they are non-world class units later years than in the F-body.

All 82-92 F-body T5s (maybe 93-94?) had the standard Muncie bolt pattern common to your Saginaw bellhousing. Later models had the Ford-esque pattern. Look up pics of them to see.

I believe the T5 will be just under 3" longer than your Sag. If you're not concerned about ultimate strength, you may be very happy with the S10 T5.

 

Awesome. I think I will try to find an S10 t5 and do some comparison. WHat is a good price to pay for just the trans and shifter?