Help make my mind up: Trans Swap/Rebuild

[TJ's Chevy]

700 R4 4 speed is a great option cause you get an over drive. Or a cheaper option(kinda) would be a T5 swap. This would be a closer ratio trans and is better for 6 cylinders because they hate wide ratio trannys. Personally I'd do the T5 swap...I like shifting my own gears and as long as your not going to do 3rd gear burnouts...then you'll be fine.

[SayBye]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

700 R4 4 speed is a great option cause you get an over drive. Or a cheaper option(kinda) would be a T5 swap. This would be a closer ratio trans and is better for 6 cylinders because they hate wide ratio trannys. Personally I'd do the T5 swap...I like shifting my own gears and as long as your not going to do 3rd gear burnouts...then you'll be fine.

i also enjoy switching gears. What's involved in a t5 swap? Guessing no electronics or wiring for sensors and it just bolts right in?

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by SayBye

i also enjoy switching gears. What's involved in a t5 swap? Guessing no electronics or wiring for sensors and it just bolts right in?

LugNutz65 is the man to talk with on the T5 swap. He's done it but here's what I know. There is an adapter required and I can't remember the name of the company off hand. I'll check into it. And the T5 has to be the v6 version from 1988 or earlier I believe. But the man to talk to is LugNutz65 as he has a page on doing this swap. He's on quite often so finding him won't be hard. On my 292 hotrod 6 I'm going with a TKO600 which is much more expensive but I can pound that thing to the death. lol

[SayBye]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

LugNutz65 is the man to talk with on the T5 swap. He's done it but here's what I know. There is an adapter required and I can't remember the name of the company off hand. I'll check into it. And the T5 has to be the v6 version from 1989-95 I believe. But the man to talk to is LugNutz65 as he has a page on doing this swap. He's on quite often so finding him won't be hard. On my 292 hotrod 6 I'm going with a TKO600 which is much more expensive but I can pound that thing to the death. lol

Sounds good I'll look him up thanks!

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by SayBye

Sounds good I'll look him up thanks!

Here I am. I'm easy to find, LOL! An adapter plate is optional for a T5 installation. There are ways to get around it. Basically, a V8 or V6 Camaro T5 do NOT need an adapter plate but need an S10 tail housing swap if you want the shifter to be in front of the bench seat. An S10 T5 can be adapted to eliminate the adapter plate by swapping out the input shaft.

I have researched this thing nearly to death. If you have a 230, 250 or 292ci inline six and plan to drive NORMALLY, then a 0.73 overdrive gear is a terrific match for a 3.73 rear diff. It can work well with a 3.42 rear diff as well.

The swap has several variables but they aren't too bad to deal with. A T5 will NOT withstand abuse. It's just fine for normal driving.

I hope you'll review my web page that describes my installation of a T5. The swap can be more simple than what I show. Basically, swapping the input shaft can allow you to keep your original 10 spline clutch kit which saves time and money. We all like that.

The hardest part of a T5 swap is finding a way to keep the factory speedo working. For that, you need a T5 with a cable speedo connection. The best solution is to find a 1988 or earlier S10 that has a cable connection. They are pretty rare. If you have modern guages, then the whole swap is super easy.