1. No, I think a later carrier and gears can be bolted to the old housing. It may be better to find a rear end for open drive line. It will have better brakes as well.
2. You will only need the right U-joint to fit both the T-5 yoke and the driveshaft.
3. I don't think that adapter has anything to do with the closed drive line. I think it adapts the S-10 T-5 to the original bell housing '46.
[quote=Beater of the Pack]Since your truck has a 325 you may have a later bell housing and transmission?
I was just thinking that while I was swimming, and probably need to get under and measure the bell housing bolts. The bell housing I got is definitely a later one, it has 9" and 8.5" center-to-center on the 2 sets of holes. I spoke with someone earlier that. If I have the new housing I don't need the adapter, as I understand it, that would be great. I do have the other bell housing and it's definitely newer, so I could plan to use that and save myself the adapter. Is that understanding correct?
Some later transmissions can be adapted from closed to open driveline by using a different rear plate.
The guy I spoke with today (transmission shop) said there's a yoke that goes on the rear, and that the yoke is difficult to find. That yoke needs to match the splines on the rear of the tailshaft.
The guy was trying to talk me into a T4 4 speed, but I explained to him that it's really the 5th gear that is most important to me, it is what will bring the RPMs down.
I used a open 4 speed trans in an closed driveline by doing this. A T-5 from a Camaro will bolt to your '55 bell housing with out an adapter. You would have to trim 3/8" from the pilot bushing area of the input shaft.
No worries on trimming, it's like a 2 minute job with a cut-off wheel in a die/angle grinder, have seen that done.
4. The clutch issue would be in matching the spline on the transmission input shaft to the center of the clutch plate. Some T-5s use a standard GM clutch spline I don't know if they can be swapped. I was able to find a clutch plate that worked with my stock pressure plate. Sorry I don't remember what it is. To use an 11" clutch plate you would likely have to change the flywheel and get the right pressure plate.
I think so Tom, isn't that the retainer shaft which the spline shaft comes out of on the front? That is in fact that one that gets the nose cut down. Those are interchangeable and some use a Jeep nose as it has the right spline. I can't remember the count.
FWIW, I have pics coming tomorrow, of an '86 (1352-145) with a 0.76 5th gear ratio and mechanical speedo.
This might be the yoke I need:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/272201532539EDIT: found this is the manual, what I need is a spline to u-joint like this one, but to adapt to the rear of the T5. See attached image.
