Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train T5 or TH350

I have a 1954 chevy 235 going into a 1951 fleetline with a 1956 10 bolt rear end with 4:11 gears. want to get rid of the 3 speed and cant decide on the T5 or Th350. Anyone have info on cost, availability, work involved? Want nice daily driver with occasional highway use and economical.

Unless you are set on using a Th350 I would use a 2004R. You can use the stock 56 driveshaft with that plus you have an OD that saves the low HP motor.

For a daily driver with that kind of gear in the rear end I would absolutely use an OD tranny. Manual or automatic, the choice is up to you. Either way you'll have some adapter pieces to sort out. Avoid an automatic with an extremely low 1st gear range. You won't like the 1 - 2 shift combined with the 4:11 gears.

go with a 700 r4 from a newr model you get overdrive plus it is stronger than a 200 sprags are well the whole thing for that matter. with 28 inch tires and 4-11 gear you could still run interstate speeds at relayive low rpm's.

The TH350, if you can find a decent used one, will be the least expensive way to go. If you are happy with the rpms you are turning at freeway speeds now, you will be happy with TH350. If not, then go with the T5 or a R4 tranny. Any of them will require an adapter for the motor and the R4s will require you to wire up the convertor lock-up. As long as you plan on keeping the 235, any of automatics will be plenty strong enough.

Good luck with your project.

I like a manual tranny with the inline engines, so my vote is for the T-5.

Chambies,
First things first, has the '51 been changed to open driveline allready? in other words does it have the '55-later bellhousing, 3spd and rearend installed and running? or are you just planning to do this?

If it has allready had this work done on it, then the T5 is by far the cheapest/easiest thing to do. The cost of the automatic adapter alone is more than a T5 swap.
I would consider getting a different set of gears for the rearend also. Most T5's have a 4.03 first gear, which would be useless with a rearend that steep. Even the first gear in a 700R4 isn't ideal for use with a 4:11. A 200-4R would do better, it's cheaper and easier to get, is smaller in size but costs as much as the 700R4 to rebuild. Keep in mind that the OD automatics HAVE to have the TV cable setup properly, or you will burn up the tranny. So some funky bracketry is involved to get the cable to work with the older engines.
Any tranny can live behind a 235.
A 350 or 250 tranny could also be used, would be the easiest/cheapest of all autos, but you won't have overdrive, and you will be turning some pretty high rpms on the highway without the overdrive and a 4:11 rearend. I hope that engine has been balanced! if you do go without an overdrive, look for a 3:36 or 3:56 center section for that rearend. The engine will thank you.

If you currently have a 3spd and driveshaft from '55 to about '64 in there, it will have the course splines on yoke and tailshaft, so when using a T5 or any of these autos, you will need to change the entire driveshaft due to tranny length and finer splines.
The 55-62 car and 48-59 truck bellhousings have the modern tranny bolt pattern, so the T5 will bolt up without a problem.

Thanks for all the information. This is great information. I am going to look for a different rear end this weekend. Probobly a 3:36. Then will decide on tranny. I am leaning towards the 350 because its kind of a cruiser car and would be a little easier for daily driver.