Topic: Need some 2wd transmission advice

[nlualum82]

I have a 1936 Chevy rat rod pickup. It's unique at car shows because it rides on a Toyota pickup chassis.
After 12 years I am sick of the cookie-cutter 350/350 Chevy the original builder installed. I just bought a 1985 Toyota 2wd pickup with a good 22r.
    I'll be using the engine, transmission, and rear end from this base model short bed in my street rod for economy and reliability. I'm not a drag racer.
    I'm happy with the engine and rear end. The 4 speed transmission works well but I would like to have an overdrive.
   The '36 pickup has a short firewall to rear panel measurement and the shifter is going to end up about where a structural rib runs across the floor.
    I read somewhere that the 78-83 5 speeds were short than the '85. Is this correct?
I don't want to get complex, mixing and matching components so I'm hoping someone can tell me that there is a 5 speed that I can just bolt right up without changing  bellhousings, clutches, starters and other parts and will place the shifter closer to the front.
Any advice?
Link to a pic of my truck
www.function4junction.com/album/2007/slides/edit8.html

[OVRAROK]

I have a 1936 Chevy rat rod pickup. It's unique at car shows because it rides on a Toyota pickup chassis.
After 12 years I am sick of the cookie-cutter 350/350 Chevy the original builder installed. I just bought a 1985 Toyota 2wd pickup with a good 22r.
    I'll be using the engine, transmission, and rear end from this base model short bed in my street rod for economy and reliability. I'm not a drag racer.
    I'm happy with the engine and rear end. The 4 speed transmission works well but I would like to have an overdrive.
   The '36 pickup has a short firewall to rear panel measurement and the shifter is going to end up about where a structural rib runs across the floor.
    I read somewhere that the 78-83 5 speeds were short than the '85. Is this correct?
I don't want to get complex, mixing and matching components so I'm hoping someone can tell me that there is a 5 speed that I can just bolt right up without changing  bellhousings, clutches, starters and other parts and will place the shifter closer to the front.
Any advice?
Link to a pic of my truck
www.function4junction.com/album/2007/slides/edit8.html

Info provided by Marlin Cralwer
All 84 to 95 22R trans are 25.5" long including the bellhousing. The only shorter trans is the 79-83 year trans which are 20.75" long with bellhousing. These early short trans have had a poor service record due in part to their small bearings and lighter gears. The 82-83 L52 5 speed which had a 80 x 20 mm front input bearing has had the best service record. A number of years ago, I invented a way to install a oversize 80 x 23 mm input bearing with an improved gear set which features a greater helix angle for added strength. I call it my L52HD and is the strongest 20.75" long trans.

[nlualum82 [OP]]

Thanks for the informative reply. I wish I could afford one of those L52HD's right now.
      The L52 still interests me. I drive like I want to get the most out of every gallon and don't do burnouts. Of course the truck will never haul anything heavier than the standard rod run stuff (folding chairs, canopy, cooler full of Cokes and snacks) so if I can find a sound L52 I may never break it.
     It did occur to me that I didn't ask if the shifter was 4.75" ahead of the later trans that is longer by that amount. Given my current situation (wife wanted a new house) I may stay with the 4-speed that came with the truck...but I'd always wish i had that overdrive.
     

[Snowtoy]

Might check the length of the W58 from the '86-'98 non-turbo Supra's.

[OVRAROK]

Thanks for the informative reply. I wish I could afford one of those L52HD's right now.
      The L52 still interests me. I drive like I want to get the most out of every gallon and don't do burnouts. Of course the truck will never haul anything heavier than the standard rod run stuff (folding chairs, canopy, cooler full of Cokes and snacks) so if I can find a sound L52 I may never break it.
     It did occur to me that I didn't ask if the shifter was 4.75" ahead of the later trans that is longer by that amount. Given my current situation (wife wanted a new house) I may stay with the 4-speed that came with the truck...but I'd always wish i had that overdrive.
     

http://northbaymotorsports.com/gearboxes.htm this may help you

[kneedownnate]

Don't get too caught up in all that longer tranny bs, it mostly pertains to 4x4 trannies.  In my 81, I swapped from the original L series 4 speed to a w50 5 speed from a celica without modifications to the driveline - lengths were the same.  Haven't looked into whether or not a w58 is longer, though

[nlualum82 [OP]]

Thanks for the site, ovrarok. Lots of info so I saved it to favorites.
The length of the transmission seems important because the shifters all seem to be located at the rear. Otherwise it wouldn't matter if the trans was 5 feet long as long as the shifter was only 18" behind the block, but I'll work with the shortest I can get. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to change my seat for this anyway.
    I have been assuming that the ones made for cars have the shifter further back. Probably because of what I know about T5's that go in S10 pickups vs. the ones that go in Camaros and Mustangs.
     A decoder I saw said my truck has. W46, but I haven't seen such a trans listed anywhere.

[jimbo74]

Don't get too caught up in all that longer tranny bs, it mostly pertains to 4x4 trannies.

just to go along with this, the 2wd is pretty unsupported, but I did have a w55 in my 1985 2wd.... the 2wd are longer than the 4wd transmissions as they have the tail section not mated to a transfer case

[nlualum82 [OP]]

So I've been shopping for a 2wd 5 speed and have found some that seem right. One of the problems I'm running into is that nobody seems to know what trans they are selling. They know it's a 5 speed and most of them know the year of the truck it came from.
      The w50 is kind of obvious because the gearbox itself isn't aluminum, but beyond that even the wrecking yards don't know if they have a w55, 58, 59...
       Most of them are too far away to check out personally even if i could tell the difference.
Also, I'm hoping for a simple swap, but as I sample a few sites there are people in my situation being told that they will need the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, the hydraulics and even the pedal for the 5 speed. Is that correct?
       W50's  are here and there, but they may be likely to have the 3.287 first gear. Would that be incompatible with my 3.07 rear end? I'd hate to have to redline the engine and slip the clutch to leave a red light going uphill.
       The w series seems to have several different shifter positions and most of the ones I am seeing go to the rear of the trans. Are the pieces for moving it forward readily available and easily installed?

[nlualum82 [OP]]

Got one! I found a W56 at a local yard. Got it reasonable and with a 6 month guarantee.
         Big question:
Can I leave the bellhousing on my engine, pull the driveshaft, my W46,  and (assuming nobody touches the clutch) ease this transmission right into place and hook up the driveshaft?

[emsvitil]

No.

The bellhousing bolts to the tranny are accessed from the in inside of the bellhousing.

[nlualum82 [OP]]

Having only swapped transmissions on Chevys I could almost consider that a design flaw!
     W46 to W56, can i still use the bellhousing from the W46 with it's clutch and plumbing? Is everything about the W56 just like the W46 from the pedal to the tailshaft?

[nlualum82 [OP]]

Still driving the '85 Toyota pickup now and then to maintain the battery and keep everything flowing and turning.
     Tomorrow I pick up my rebuilt W56 from the local Aamco.
I got a radiator made to fit into the grill shell of my '36 and and fit the toyota hoses, some JT headers and got a small cab heater that I have wished I had on many occasions.
     About time for the big changes.
   Have any of you heated and bent a shifter? Maybe cut it off and welded a bracket for a home made one?
     I talked myself out of an L50 or L52 due to the scarcity which would be even greater many years from now when it was wearing out. I got the strong tranny from an '86 one ton and with the rebuild I won't worry about it failing.
      I figure that I'll replace the clutch while it's out. The one in it is working but I don't want to pull this thing out again any time soon.
       Any tips on better clutches, pressure plates, etc?

[Snowtoy]

   Have any of you heated and bent a shifter? Maybe cut it off and welded a bracket for a home made one?

Haven't heated/bent one, but have cut-extended-changed the angles on a few.  Do you need to change the throw, or angle?  If throw, might see if there is a  short throw shifter available, LCEngineering has one for '88-'95, might see if the bolt pattern is the same.