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Originally Posted by samsonized
i have a 35 cabriolet and i am updating the trans and rearend. the question is do i do an s10 and convert rear end to open drive or keep the current 39 trans and put in a mitchell overdrive just looking for opinions or anyone who might have been faced with the same dilemma.
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Samson.....Good questions, and several ways to go about it. But you mention the possibility of TWO different, determining parameters....original rear end, OR replacement rear end. First, let me say that I LIKE T5s. You will love the shift qualities of a GOOD T5. Plus, a T5 gives you FOUR forward gear ratios (keeping the RPMs up tightly in the power band), PLUS Overdrive. An original Ford 3-speed only gives you (of course) THREE forward gear ratios, PLUS an Overdrive with the "XPENSIVE" Mitchell units. And that old Ford 3-speed won't shift anywhere near as nicely as a T5....FACT!
The T5 will necessitate removal of that center crossmember "box" (picture below), and the addition of a "Chassis Engineering"-type, bolt-in rear trans mount kit, which also incorporates the two anchor points for the two, slightly-split wishbone arms. It's a reasonably-affordable, easy to install kit in use on a bazillion old Fords. The "center" crossmember box which must be removed, below!
When you say you want to use an "S-10" T5, most folks don't realize the entire meaning of that. The basic T5 design is very adaptable to different configurations to accommodate use in over thirty different auto/truck models that it was originally used in world-wide. ALL T5 MAIN gearboxes are 9-1/4" front to rear. ANY T5 gear set will adapt into ANY T5 main gearbox. ANY tail shaft HOUSING will bolt onto any main gearbox case. The T5 transmissions that came in S-10 pick-ups had a shifter location as far forward as possible on the S-10 tail shaft housing. This allows the shifter location inside an old Ford to be closer to the ORIGINAL Ford shifter location in the floor than say if you used a stock T5 out of a Camaro, or Mustang. The shifter location on those T5s is roughly 10" farther BACK than the shifter on an S-10 T5. BUT......the individual gear ratios inside that stock S-10 transmission's gearbox SUCK! And that gear set is not able to handle near the torque of the gear set in a Camaro V8 T5. Plus, the gear ratio of the Camaro V8 gears is PERFECTION! First gear is 2.95:1, whereas the old Ford 1st gear is usually 2.82....very close! That S-10 T5 will have a 4.03 1st gear in it....an almost useless "granny" gear.
So ideally, what ya want to do is find yourself an '83-'87 Camaro V8 "Non-World-Class (NWC) T5 with the 2.95 1st gear ratio gear set (still fairly common at swap meets). Find yourself an "S-10" NWC-type tail shaft housing along with the S-10 shift rod/lid, and swap them onto the Camaro main case. That way, you can easily adapt to your old Ford mechanical speedometer. That combo will use any 27-spline Chevy yoke going to your drive shaft. The S-10 housing and shift lid with short shift rod in picture below. It will all bolt together. And such a sweet combination when compared with the old Ford 3-speed and Mitchell OD unit!
The Complete Camaro/S-10 Tail Housing Combination
There is one more avenue to consider....a Camaro-type T5 main case and gears with an '83-'87 "Jeep CJ" 4X4 T5 'shorty' tail shaft housing and main shaft adapted to the Ford torque tube. In fact, a friend and I did the one seen below on his '35 Ford pick-up (same chassis as your cabriolet). It's rather involved, but shows what can be done with all Borg-Warner factory parts to assemble a very short T5. You can read about our complete project by clicking on the link below. And if I can answer any more questions for you, I'm game! DD
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...T5+TORQUE+TUBE
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