T5 Transmission Install - T5 Trans-formation An Affordable Overdrive Option

McLeod setup a special Street Pro clutch package for us since we’re combining a bit of old with a bit of new. The pressure plate and 10.4-inch clutch is based on the engine (’68 307ci V-8), while the spline pattern of 1-inch-14 is dictated by the transmission’s input shaft.

The clutch and pressure plate are loosely affixed to the flywheel while a clutch alignment tool is inserted into the input shaft bushing. This aligns the clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel.

This adjustable-height throwout bearing from McLeod is designed to maintain proper geometry on mechanical linkage systems.

Note the attitude of the throwout fork. It should be pointed slightly towards the motor and seated in the channel of the throw out bearing.

At this point, it’s a good idea to torque the clutch fasteners to spec; 35 lb-ft is what McLeod recommends for this setup. Remember to tighten in a criss-cross pattern.

Using the stock linkage, I set up the throwout bearing with approximately �-inch of clearance between it and the pressure plate’s fingers.

One thing that needs to be addressed before moving on is the shifter. In stock guise, the Camaro T5 mounts at an angle, which explains why the shifter looks the way it does.

Lokar sells a manual shift lever adapter that allows a longer shift lever to be mated to the stock shifter assembly. Unfortunately, that still leaves us with a cock-eyed shifter.

To solve the problem in one fell swoop, a Hurst shifter assembly replaces the stock unit, topped by a 16-inch single-bend Lokar shift lever.

Here’s the new shifter assembly in place, complete with Hurst rubber boot and four-speed shift knob for old times’ sake.

Now that the shifting duties have been sorted, it’s time to slide the five-speed into place under the truck. Luckily for us, Chevy used the same bolt pattern for its manual transmissions for a number of decades. This makes combining a ’68 bellhousing to an ’85 transmission possible.

A hole needs to be cut into the floor for the shifter, so while the transmission is mocked in place, I marked the area that needs to be cut open, then dropped the transmission out of the way. Once the shifter hole was finished, the transmission was again bolted to the bellhousing.

Though the stock Saginaw transmission didn’t have a rear crossmember, I thought it would be good insurance to add one for the T5. Using Classic Performance Products’ (CPP) Totally Tubular TH-350 transmission crossmember as a baseline, I installed it in the factory holes of the C10 chassis. This proved to be 2 inches rearward of where the T5 mount was located.

Four holes drilled into the framerail the corresponding amount however and the crossmember bolted right up, supporting the tailshaft of the T5.

To check the length of the stock driveshaft, I removed the yoke and support bearing assembly from the front shaft of the two-piece driveshaft.

With the driveshaft engaged on the transmission’s output shaft and the new CPP support bushing installed, the front shaft turned out to be 3 inches too long.

A quick call to Inland Empire Driveline Service for a new two-piece driveshaft, shortened 3 inches to fit our new drivetrain appointments, and the installation is complete.

There are all kinds of rhetoric on the Internet about what kind of oil to use in the T5 transmission, from ATF to gear oil to everything in between. With that said, there’s also some confusion between what to run in the World Class and non-WC transmissions. My transmission is of the non-WC variety, so I opted to go with Royal Purple Synchromax manual transmission fluid as it’s formulated specifically for this application. At the time of press, I’ve got a few hundred miles on the truck at this point and it seems to be working great.

A T5 holds just over three quarts of fluid; fill it up until it reaches the fill hole and you should be good to go.