Hello Folks, So, a while ago the front yoke on the two-piece driveshaft broke and the center bearing/seal were damaged too - no parts available. I purchased a 2004r and an adapter kit from D&D, removed interior, cut tunnel - ready to bolt-in so I can take measurements for single driveshaft. THEN.... (several months ago) I saw an ad for it's cousin - ended up purchasing a VERY nice 62 stock OLDS F-85 convertible for a great price along with a BUNCH of parts - it has the low compression 215, bench seat, auto trans, manual steering/brakes, 13" wheels/tires. I will keep the OLDS as is and the BUICK will be more performance oriented. With that in mind, I now want to switch to a T5 for the Buick - it has the "HO" 10.25/4 barrel 215. Looks like a shifter location of 18"-22" from face of bell housing will work. FYI: the dual-path trans weighs 94 lbs - the 2004hr is 170 lbs with torque converter - another reason to go with the manual - and the BUICK weighs 2960 with about a half a tank of gas. LONG STORY/short question - has anyone done this conversion? Thanks for any info, assistance, or referrals! TONY
Yeah I've done the swap on my 63 skylark and I'm probably the only person in here that has lol. Not many 61-63 Y body people in here. It's not an easy, simple or cheap conversion to do. You will need to enlarge the tranny tunnel a lot! You will be customizing the tranny cross member and mount. Pedal assembly complete is rare and expensive. Finding a correct T-5 tranny that has the best gear ratios is not easy or cheap. You DON'T want one from an S-10 or behind a V6 motor. Talk to Mark from D&D he can explain it better than I can. You will need a shifter, another few hundred dollars. (I made a custom short throw shifter with 3 1/2" of throw between gears from an old 80's Camaro factory shifter). And a custom made drive shaft. Keith
Keith, Thank you for your response. Did you use a gmv8 trans with the ford rear housing for shifter location? I think the v8 version has the 2.95 first and .68 overdrive - which should be okay with the "lightweight" Y-bodies and 3.36 rear. I'm weight conscious after going from a motorcycle to owning an mgb v8 (rover 3.9/tr8 5 speed) for 8 years. Also, wife likes the sizes of these cars and they fit nicely in my detached two car garage. On the 200hr, would just need cut the trans tunnel that was removed down the center and weld in 2"-3" (can't remember off-hand) piece in center to widen - and it's all forward of the seats. Did you have to raise and widen your tunnel - looks like T5 is narrower but taller than dual path? Yeah - I want a short shifter too - is the 80's camaro shifter straight up or curved back? I have parts from other cars I will be selling to "justify" price of pursuing T5. How do you like the change from dual-path to 5 speed - was it worth it? TONY
Yeah I had to widen and raise the tunnel. A T5 is a lot bigger than the 2 speed dynajunk. And in order to make a one piece drive shaft fit you will need to enlarge the tunnel all the way back to and including the center floor support! My T5 tranny is straight out of an 85 camaro with a V8 motor. Same rear housing and all. On the shifter, you need to go back and REREAD what I said! I'm NOT talking about a short handled shifter, I'm talking about a "short throw shifter", huge difference! The 80's Camero shifter is curved, but is made to sit at a 17° angle. Anytime you add the "man pedal" to a car, it's always worth it. You really need to do a lot of research and really learn what is all involved in doing a swap like this. Keith
Keith - I did a search on the web looking for 5-speed swap/conversion on Y-bodies before coming to this forum to inquire. I will check in with Dan at D&D with any additional advise - although he mainly deals with mgb T5 conversions. Like you said, we are in the minority with these models - never see at car shows - much less a 5 speed conversion. The 200hr auto requires all the same mods except not widening all the way back to crossmember - so, was planning on welding/moving mount back and new driveshaft. Guess you had no issues with pinion angle although they make joints to accommodate nowadays. Did you have to reposition front seat/s after reworking tunnel - I have the buckets (although they are wide and touch each other - no room for console) - hopefully okay. I know the 63's bodies are wider/longer, but all else should be the same. Yep, understood you made a short throw - inquired about whether the stock camaro shifter was straight or curved to check if ball/grip ends up in a comfortable location. Had a friend in high school with a 76 camaro and I remember it being curved - believe they were hurst shifters. Will be able to determine more after getting the trans! Yeah - I saw on a video and remember discussions back in the mgb days about the camaro/firebird being 17* angle on bell housing - if one reuses mount, pad had to be shimmed - humm - wonder if angle causes tunnel to be slightly wider/taller then if straight up... Anyway, thanks again for your input - it definitely prepares me on what to expect!
Tony, my apologies for coming off like a jerk. Most people that have a Y-body car and want to swap a T5 in it really don't have a clue of what's all involved. Sounds like you have done some research, so kudos to you. The tunnel doesn't need to be widened so much as it needs to be raised. The T5's are kinda tall. The inner front 2 bucket seat mounts I carefully cut off and replaced them after the tunnel was done. I had to do a little modification to them lol. When you put the T5 in the mount will be on a 17°angle, so you will need to customize the crossmember with a corresponding 17° plate. Not that hard to do. I attached 2 photos of mine. First and foremost your going to want to secure a set of serviceable peddles, clutch and brake. These are very hard to find, not to many out there anymore. I attached 2 photos of mine. Keith
Man - that is one heavy duty pedal assembly - I may go for aftermarket - assume it was for 61-63 or may have used same for later models too? Did you use stock mechanical linkage or go to hydraulic - want to drive mine for as long as possible - told my wife can she flick my ashes in the unused ash tray when I'm gone! Did you keep the same diameter driveshaft? How far back from where tunnel meets the firewall is your shifter? I am actively calling/checking out local trans shops to see what they have around - don't mind rebuilding - just want one in place and get going over the winter with measurements, cutting, welding, and ordering driveshaft. These cars actually handle fairly well for what they are - I have all new bushings front/back and front suspension bits - lowered 2" - cut springs to stiffen a little - new rear shocks made for lowered height with hydraulic fluid - no gas - so no pogo stick! Picking up "period" Paxton SN62 supercharger next week - they only make 5 lbs boost - the studebakers, cobras, tbirds, corvettes had 9:1 compression with iron - so, should be okay on my stock 10.25 with the aluminum block/heads or will have to find some 64 300 heads - supposedly none of these compression ratios are as advertised/spec on cars of this area - all are lower.
Yeah that peddle assembly is very heavy duty for sure. They built everything heavy duty back then lol. The assembly is 61-63 Buick and Olds Y body only. I went with original mechanical linkage which is very rare and hard to find now. I actually have 2 complete pedal and linkage set ups. My shifter sits 26" back from the firewall, which is about where the factory 4 speed shifters sat. I have not had a driveshaft made yet. I went down and talked to the local guy here that builds them and he said I would need a 5" diameter shaft. With that said I enlarged the tunnel accordingly. Keith
I put a T50 in a 61 Skylark, used the stock pedals and clutch linkage with a stock bellhousing as well. I chose the T50 for it's size, I only had to hammer the rear of the tunnel a bit to make it fit. Don't remember the diameter of the driveshaft, but it was way smaller than 5 inches. Pretty sure it was the same size as the og and was one piece as well. Compared to other projects I've done, I thought it was a pretty easy swap. It's definitely worth the effort though, it improved the driving experience for that car by 100 fold. Good luck with it, I have a 215 manual flywheel it you need one. Thanks Brent
Hey Keith - your cross member and painted areas look great! I already have the anti-rust paint along with peel & stick heat/sound pads on hand. Brent - I was not familiar with the T50 - guess T5 more poplar since newer and used in more cars. Just did a search and BRITISHV8 popped-up with an article - I used to be a member and attend yearly meets. I like the weight and close ratio gears from the v8 monza. Yes, I will need a flywheel - will PM when I'm at that point. Did you get the close ratio? What's the measurement from firewall to shifter location? What type of shifter so it is comfortable - straight, curved, S type? Regards, TONY
I did that conversion about 12 years ago, so I don't remember a lot of the details. The shifter ended up right in front of the seats, just about perfect in my opinion. I used a curved factory GM shift lever from an early muncie shifter, so it looked very stock. I'll see if I have any interior pics and post them if I do. Thanks Brent
This guy has a bellhousing, if you can get him to sell it separately and ship it. https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/68410005 Thanks Brent
If you're going to do this swap you have 2 major hurdles to cross as I see it. A peddle set (unless you use some aftermarket and they never look right) and a transmission. The vast majority of those manual v8 motor trannys are gone. People snap them up like hot cakes. I had a tough time finding my t5 and I've had it for a few years. Brent got very lucky imo in finding his t50. There couldn't have been that many Chevy Monza's built with a v8 motor and manual trannys. The T5's from like an s10 truck are plentiful, but I wouldn't touch one. Keith
Thanks for the responses. I actually found a rebuilt T50 about 45 minutes from me - no bellhousing. My reservations are the max of 205 pounds of torque Jim Blackwood mentions in his BRITISHV8 article along with limited rebuild parts.
The t5 I have is only rated at 265 ft lbs and I've never heard anyone complain about it that put one in. They put a lot of s10 t5 trannys in hot rods and street rods and those are not rated as high in torque and they have no issues. As long as you don't beat it, that t50 will last a long time, probably forever depending on how much you drive it. I wouldn't worry about the torque rating as much as I would the gear ratios are compatible. You don't want to end up with a granny low 1st gear! Keith
The T50 was also available in Vega's, Sunfire's, Skyhawk's, regular Monza's and Chevette's, mine was a J body unit. I don't remember the gear ratios, but it wasn't the close ratio Monza Spyder unit. I used it for it's size and it was never intended to be abused, just some spirted driving. They are not really great transmissions and getting parts is very difficult, but if it fit's your purpose they are a nice option. One thing to be aware of, is they have an odd 5 speed shift pattern. R-1, 2-3, 4-5, more like an old 3 speed pattern. That guy in the add I linked has a bellhousing, hit him up. Thanks Brent
Brent - I emailed the lister with regards to bellhousing. Keith - I think your T5 has the 2.95 first gear? I'm on the lookout for a GM V8 T5 - want a well known with part support!
Yeah my t5 has the 2.95 first gear, that's what the id tag identifies it as anyway. Good luck on your search for a tranny. I haven't seen any come up for sale locally in a while now. The last couple I seen were from s10's. Keith
You might consider adapting a fox body mustang T5. Shouldn't be that hard to do and way more prolific than Camaro t5's, way more. Thanks Brent
