[JSPONT]

My friend put one in a 78 Elcamino mild 350, 373 gears street tires, broke it twice so far. about 2000 miles since the restoration.
Don't mean to be the grim reaper but they do not have a good track record.

[harley3296]

Just got the pontiac bellhousing in, and as usual, people on the Internet are full of s___. There is no way a pontiac bellhousing is going to bolt on to a t5 transmission, the holes are in completely different places, the bearing housing on the t5 housing is too large. On the internet,they said on would directly bolt up, just like a signal or munci....no way, again misinformation. .I'll let you all know how it really supposed to work

[harley3296]

Does anybody have any information about the t5 bolt pattern and a Pontiac bell housing?

[harley3296]

[JSPONT]

There is not info because it is not a common swap. I am in the middle of a Ford to Pontiac tranny swap. I had to weld plates on the back of my scattershield to bolt the toploader up, then had to get the bearing retainer milled to fit into the scatter shield.
Once you go outside the box its all on you. I'm doing it now.

[max 93]

Pretty sure the ford and gm t5's have different bolt patterns

[Overkillphil]

Originally Posted by harley3296

Just got the pontiac bellhousing in, and as usual, people on the Internet are full of s___. There is no way a pontiac bellhousing is going to bolt on to a t5 transmission, the holes are in completely different places, the bearing housing on the t5 housing is too large. On the internet,they said on would directly bolt up, just like a signal or munci....no way, again misinformation. .I'll let you all know how it really supposed to work

harley, where were you going on the Internet to acquire this bogus info?

[harley3296]

Just found out my big blunder , I bought a Ford GT T - 5 transmission, now I'm having a heck of a time trying to bolt it to my muncie bell housing, geez is this even worth the hassle. Now had to find a conversion adapter to adapt the Ford transmission to the GM bellhousing, there's got to be a better way. I don't know what to do now, I'm stuck. I got a good deal on the ford transmission but its not going to do me any good I don't think it going to work .only solution that would be prudent is to get T56 like I should have in the first place

[JSPONT]

The gm t-5 should fit in the gm bellhousing, but the bolt pattern is different. It also sits on a 30 degree angle.
The "Iroc" style t5 is so much money, and the 6 cylinder ones are real junk.
I hate to tell you but save your money and find a GM tremec. At least the 3550. the tko 500 and 600 will hold up forever with your 350.
The toploader I am putting in is an easier swap than that ford t5.
Your next problem will be the input shaft pilot bearing and throw out bearing size. I had to have Liberty gear mill mine to fit my $1000.00 clutch.

[harley3296]

I may be posting this too fast but, I have mill down the input of the bell housing so it would fit the Ford, I took the bearing holder and put it on to the bellhousing after I milled it and it was a perfect fit. I took a micrometer and check the webbing in the bottom of the bell housing and it is perfectly round. I put the transmission on just to see how it would fit and it fits perfectly. I'm attaching pictures but hopefully I won't get railroaded on down the line. So far so good

[harley3296]

Pics

[FirebirdHank]

I have a t-5 (GM F-body world class) in my '69 Firebird. The trans bolted right up to the Pontiac bell housing. Had to modify the trans mount and shorten the drive-shaft. It is working out well for me, I know if I wanted to I could blow it up but that is not the way I drive. The swap was at least 5 years ago and I am loving it. Two thousand rpm @70 mph and 20 mpg plus I saved at least $2,500 by not going with a TKO.

[harley3296]

Thank you so much for the encouragement , this gives me hope that I can have a 5 speed transmission without the huge cost . I have attached a transmission to the bellhousing and all looks fine, I still have to get a throw out bearing and a pilot bushing but if it's late tonight so I will continue tomorrow...pics attached

[harley3296]

Pics

[Scarebird]

I switched my 71 to a manual a few years ago; used this M22Z.

What rear gears do you have? My 71 has 2.93's, 3.08 would be best.

[David Jones]

What ratio 1st gear? What ratio OD?

[harley3296]

1st gear is a 3.35 and the rear gears are 3.36 and the 5th gear is .67. There are very few t5 transmission the have 2.97, all are built 1983 and below, all 1984 and above are 3.35. People say you should look for a 2.97, but thats what i got

[Scarebird]

3.36 is a good ratio - if this were mine I would run a new M20 or Super T10 and be shut of it. Shifters fit, no new driveshaft or crossmember needed (M20 small output shaft), easy to swap over and will easily handle all a 350 can dish out. You could do this for under $3k.

[harley3296]

$3,000 compared to $500, I'll take the $2,500 savings no offense, house taxes were paid and homeowners association dues were paid as well. I'd rather sleep in my house than in my car. Also me and my wife wanting to go to the Bahamas, so I have to pay for that as well

[FirebirdHank]

Most of the Firebird/Camaro five speeds behind V/8s were 2.76 first gear. The v6 boxes got the lower ratios. Overdrive ratios were either .63 or .73. Again the v6s got less o/d with a .80 ratio.
There is a chart listing all t-5s with their ratios and tag #s and the cars they were installed in at http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Bo...T5-ID-Tags.htm

I have been told that using the F-body t-5 with the Mustang tail section solves the trans mount issues and is closer to the original shifter position. The ford unit did not have the 17 degree tilt that the F-body ones did.