I'm using an Astro Van T5 which has the shifter offset towards the driver. Any big deal shifting right out of the tailshaft to get the stick centered in the floor?

Not really sure what you are meaning re tail shaft. But re. the shifter itself, I bent, cut and rewelded mine to place it in the best position for my truck. I belive the Astro van's T-5 was in stalled straight vs. the Camaros that were tilted over towards the driver, NO?

HiTork - The Astro T-5 is installed straight up with the same shifter position in the tailshaft as an S-10 but the linkage offsets about 6" closer to the driver. In the narrow cab of a '39 this would put the stick rubbing your right leg. Just trying to figure what I need to mount the stick directly out of the trans. Is there a short throw linkage I can use?

I know there are short shifter kits available, B & M I think. You may want to try and find the S-10 tail housing which would center your shifter.
I've read some posts re. aftermarket shifters over on Stovebolt.com site. Best of luck.

gaffbro,
i'll bet an S10 shifter will fit in the astrovan tailshaft.
robert

robertf - I'm looking into that now. I'm hoping it can be done without changing the tailshaft.

gaffbro,
while i've never actually seen an astro van T5 ( they ain't exactly plentiful! ), i'll also bet the tailshaft is the same. i'm curious, let me know what you find out.
robert

robertf
They're very close to an s10 except the shifter may be back an inch or two. The one I got from the boneyard turned out to be no good; full of water. May have to settle for an S10 of have one built.

I know the flathead V8 guys steer clear of the Astro T5 because of their shifter location and sloppy action due to the linkage setup. I haven't seen one but if its a T5 my bet is that the tailshafts are interchangeable.

Take a look at this S10 and let us know the differences between it and yours.

Plymino - Everything looks the same except the shifter location may be 2 -3 inches furthur to the rear. They also have an additional linkage which brings the shifter about 6" towards the driver but that is easily removed. What clutch and rear end are you running with that setup? Looks like a sweet package.

gaffbro,
you can put the s10 tail housing on the astro van case. it may be that the speedo gear is located in a different place. if so just use the s10 output mainshaft also. reason being is the astro van t5 had a 3.50 1st gear, a little better than the s10 version which was 3.76 or 4.03.
i took a non world class t5 from a v8 camaro ( 2.95 1st gear ) & swapped in an s10 tailhousing & output mainshaft. junk t5 trans. for parts are pretty cheap
rebuilding a t5 is not rocket science. if you can rebuild a carberator you can do a t5! the only really hard part is sliding the tail housing back on over the shifter rail & keeping the trans. in nuetral at the same time.
i got a video from hanlon motor sports & watched it several times & was able to do it. the video is for the world class trans. but it gives you the general idea. manuals are also available. good luck. sorry for such a long post!
robert

Thanks Robert - I think thats what I'll probably end up doing. The bone yard had another Astro van trans but I may see if they have a s10 box and switch the cluster. The gears are OK in the original box but the bearings and syncros are bad due to sitting in water. This thing could be a flood car for all I know; something we need to be aware of.