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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - S-10 or F-body bellhousing w/ T-5

Hi, I'm still trying to sort this out.

I've read that the S-10 bellhousing should be used in in 60 degree V6 with a T-5 swap.

Is this because the F-body bellhousing cants the transmission? I think I read it's ok, if not desireable, to have the trans canted in the MG.

Are the S-10 and F-body bellhousings different?

Thanks.
Glenn

Keep following my progress here: http://wishfamily.org/mg/intro.html

I will be attaching the tranny today and should have pics up during the next week. I will be using the S10 bell housing with a 91 Camaro V8 T-5.
Michael Wish

Glenn,

They are different. I'm using a bellhousing from an '86 Firebird v6. The tranny is canted but fits without a problem into my '68 B. I believe the S-10 bellhousing is drilled so the transmission is not canted. FYI, if the transmission was canted originally, the mounting point on the transmission that bolts to the crossmember will be canted if you straighten the transmission out. HTH

Scott
Scott Costanzo

Glenn, I used the Camero T5 with the Camero bellhousing and an HTOB. This brings the shifter up thru the original hole or almost. If you e-mail me with your phone number I'll give you a call. I expect to have my car at the rocks at te end of the month.
John D

Well, I am not going to make getting the engine and tranny together today. Too much to do in the middle of moving to Tulsa. But, I will hjave it done next weekend.

My cross member has been modified with a canted mount to accept the GM T-5.
Michael Wish

Michael, good luck with your project. I'll keep an eye on your website for future updates.

Scott, thanks for slearing up the differences in the bellhousings. I'll look for a 3rd generation F-body V6 bell. It sure would be easier to pull one from an S-10, but I'd rather have the trans mount to be flat.

John, I'll e-mail my number. It'll be nice to talk with someone who's done it.
Glenn

If you are using the CCE kit, then it is built for the Camaro bellhousing. If you use the S10 bellhousing, you will have to do some small work to tilt the mount on the CCE kit to fit the rear of the Camaro T5 that will then sit at a 17 degree angle instead of flat.

The speedometer cable has more room with the Camaro bellhousing due to tranny tilt. Not important if you use a VSS with aftermarket gauges though.

The shifter that comes with the Camaro T5 is set to come out straight if you use the Camaro bellhousing. As soon as you switch to the S10 bellhousing, the shifter will be angled 17? towards the passenger side of the car! You will then need to switch to a S10 shifter and use a oxy-ace unit to heat and straighten it up. I have used S10 units (this can be done in BOP/R conversions as well) and heated and bent them to fit better than any Camaro shifter ever could. The one down side for some people is that the S10 shifter does not have any rubber in it, so it could potentially cause more noise, although, I have not found this to be an issue.

-BMC.

BMC Brian McCullough

Thanks Brian. I hoping to retain the stock gauges - don't know if they'll work or not. If the cable will hook to the trans, it may be a simple (or not so simple) matter of proper speedo drive and driven gear selection. With all of the T-5 applications out there, there must be several gears available.
Glenn

Glen, there was a fellow on ebay a while back that you could tell him what gear ratio you run in the rear and what size tyres and he would set you up with the correct two gears for the T5 application. This was a few months back, but is worth looking into. A correction box is VERY expensive so gettin the correct stuf to begin with is cheap. Sorry I dont have any more info than this for now.

The MG B cable could be modified on the end by the gearbox, but I usually have the Camaro end spliced onto a new cable with the MG B end placed onto the other end.
-BMC.
BMC Brian McCullough

I know how to set up the drive and driven gears in the T5 so you can retain the stock MGB speedo. Email me off the board with your specs, tire size and rim, speedo year or calibration number, rear end ratio. I also have some drive and driven gears in stock, if you need different ones.
Jake

Brian, I wasn't going to use one of those little boxes - just figured I'd find a calibration site to determine which gears to use. Thanks for the idea of splicing the Camaro fitting on the trans end of the cable.

Jake, I don't have a T-5 or a V6 yet - still looking, but I appreciate the offer.

I'm in the homework/parts gathering phase of the conversion now.
Glenn

Glenn,
Good luck with the conversion then if you haven't gotten up to full speed yet. For future reference, I posted the Excel sheet on how to calibrate the T5 on my website, feel free to check it out, and I always appreciate feedback.

http://www.roverv8.com
Jake

The F body bell housing does indeed cant the transmission at about a 17 degree angle. The bosses are there for vertical mounting, just need to be drilled and tapped. If I remember it's 8mm x 1.5 pitch for the bolts. Of course the rear mount will then be angled, an adapter is easy to fabricate which will align the mount and move it slightly rearward. The F body bellhousing also uses a different clutch release mechanism from the S-10 which may cause some interference. The S-10 housing looks to be the easiest one to use if you want the transmission straight up.
I was able to modify a MGB right angle speedometer drive to work with the T5 without too much problem, drop me a line if you want the details on that.
Bill Young

Jake, thanks for the link. So far I've gotten two distributors with vacuum cans (one will be converted to a pre-oiler) and two thermostat housings. As it stands now, I'll be picking up a 2.8L tomorrow which is supposed to be in good shape. We'll know about tomorrow the day after tomorrow. I'd rather have a 3.1 or 3.4, but the price is right and it's available. I don't know if it's an internally or externally balanced engine - believed to be from an 87 S-10. It does have a flywheel, which is a plus because it's bound to be the right one for the engine.

Bill, thanks for the offer to help with the cable hook up. I'm planning on using a V6 Camaro bell because I'd like to find a Camaro T-5 (for the gears).
Glenn

You're in luck, the '87 and later engines had an improved rear main seal, a full circular neoprene type seal instead of the rope type. They also had the 'HO' heads on all iron head models.
Bill Young

The 2.8 deal fell thru. I go down there and he says someone else made him a better offer. I was ticked, but not too much since I wanted a newer/larger engine anyway. I don't know if it was an 87 or not. That's what he said someone else said...

I don't know enough to date those early 2.8s - some have the small journal crank and heads with the 1.6 and 1.3 valves.

It's my understanding that all FI engines have the larger valves, as well as some of the early carbed HO versions.
Glenn

The big valve heads came on all HO engines as well as MPFI RWD engines since '87. Be careful of early FWD blocks as the starter mounts on the wrong side and there are no boses on the side of the block for motor mounts. Anyone interested in a set of aluminum valve covers from a Fiero 2.8, I have an extra set I don't need.
Bill Young

This thread was discussed between 07/09/2003 and 14/09/2003

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