1980 Malibu Auto to Manual conversion w/ '92 S15 donor?

[ssn696]

The Ford and Chevy bolt patterns are different. The GM T5 case uses the same car transmission bellhousing bolt pattern that dates back to the 1930s. The Ford pattern might be called a Toploader?

In this photo, the Ford pattern 'tall/narrow/odd-man-left' is the one on the far left. The rest are GM, with the 'short/wide/odd-man-right four-bolt pattern'. The amusing detail is that the 'Ford' T5 is in fact from an Astro van, and used GM input and output spline patterns, rather than Ford 1"x10 spline input and 31 spline output. I found two of these over the years - 4.3L V6 backed by a T5 - and they have a cool bellhousing with the SBC block pattern and the Ford trans case bolt pattern, plus a cast-in arm for a hydraulic clutch slave cylinder like the later S10 bellhousing. I tried to get a transmission company to reproduce these years ago.
The Astro T5 has a 3.50 1st gear similar to that of a Saginaw, plus a 0.73 5th gear. The second one from the left is a World Class unit from an 89 Camaro. See how the cluster gear bearing cap has a ring around the edge? That's an easy way to tell. It's hard to see, but the Astro/Ford trans on the far left is also a WC. The Astro/S-10 input spline is 1"x14 spline. You can still get one of these from RockAuto if you search under Astro van. The S10 used a small <10" disc, while the Astro used an 11" disc. All would be fabulous if the S10 handled more than 300 ft-lbs of torque, but the design dates back to the Vega era when compact and light weight were the priorities.
The Mustang 'Z' was the final iteration that is till for sale today aftermarket.The Mustang tailhousing moves the shifter forward about 1-1/2" from the Camaro location, and I played around with a Mustang tailhousing and top cover/shift linkage, but never actually assembled such a Frankentrans. The GM tailshaft appears to stick out too far for the Ford yoke seal to work properly. I wanted to build a Camaro trans that sat vertically, and as Mike points, out, Mustang tailhousings are set up to sit vertically.

 

[Mike buttafuoco]

The Ford and Chevy bolt patterns are different. The GM T5 case uses the same car transmission bellhousing bolt pattern that dates back to the 1930s. The Ford pattern might be called a Toploader?
View attachment 55612
In this photo, the Ford pattern 'tall/narrow/odd-man-left' is the one on the far left. The rest are GM, with the 'short/wide/odd-man-right four-bolt pattern'. The amusing detail is that the 'Ford' T5 is in fact from an Astro van, and used GM input and output spline patterns, rather than Ford 1"x10 spline input and 31 spline output. I found two of these over the years - 4.3L V6 backed by a T5 - and they have a cool bellhousing with the SBC block pattern and the Ford trans case bolt pattern, plus a cast-in arm for a hydraulic clutch slave cylinder like the later S10 bellhousing. I tried to get a transmission company to reproduce these years ago.
The Astro T5 has a 3.50 1st gear similar to that of a Saginaw, plus a 0.73 5th gear. The second one from the left is a World Class unit from an 89 Camaro. See how the cluster gear bearing cap has a ring around the edge? That's an easy way to tell. It's hard to see, but the Astro/Ford trans on the far left is also a WC. The Astro/S-10 input spline is 1"x14 spline. You can still get one of these from RockAuto if you search under Astro van. The S10 used a small <10" disc, while the Astro used an 11" disc. All would be fabulous if the S10 handled more than 300 ft-lbs of torque, but the design dates back to the Vega era when compact and light weight were the priorities.
The Mustang 'Z' was the final iteration that is till for sale today aftermarket.The Mustang tailhousing moves the shifter forward about 1-1/2" from the Camaro location, and I played around with a Mustang tailhousing and top cover/shift linkage, but never actually assembled such a Frankentrans. The GM tailshaft appears to stick out too far for the Ford yoke seal to work properly. I wanted to build a Camaro trans that sat vertically, and as Mike points, out, Mustang tailhousings are set up to sit vertically.

you know your sh*t. I used a ford transmission years ago and can't for the life of me remember if my suspicion was right about the bolt pattern to the bell was right or not. I could swear I used a ford transmission. Never used it again because like I said they weren't very stout and I drive hard. I rebuilt it so I may have, in retrospect mixed and matched. Not the excuse but the reason: mike was a 19 year old kid trying to make a hot rod on a poor mans budget with a little left over to chase "skirts" around.

 

[ssn696]

I was an 'eh' student and the Navy took me in, so I was older than the rest of the 'bait'. My one saving grace was terror of VD or making someone pregnant, so I didn't chase very much. Spent my evenings and weekends figuring out how my wagon worked at the Subbase Hobby Shop.

I was a lot more creative when I had no money. Part of the trap I'm in now is that I found some money, but have almost zero time anymore. A few minutes here and there on Summitracing, EBay and this forum, collecting the bits I could never afford 25 years ago, so now I have a garage and shed stacked to ceiling with 'bits I'll use later', but no space left to actually work, and no idea when 'later' will actually happen.

I've learned a lot on the Forum, and I have two Malibus in perpetual progress, with no idea when I will actually drive either one down the road. The irony is that now that I have all this data polluting my head, I am not using it, so I send it back in when the right questions are asked.

 

[Mike buttafuoco]

I was an 'eh' student and the Navy took me in, so I was older than the rest of the 'bait'. My one saving grace was terror of VD or making someone pregnant, so I didn't chase very much. Spent my evenings and weekends figuring out how my wagon worked at the Subbase Hobby Shop.

I was a lot more creative when I had no money. Part of the trap I'm in now is that I found some money, but have almost zero time anymore. A few minutes here and there on Summitracing, EBay and this forum, collecting the bits I could never afford 25 years ago, so now I have a garage and shed stacked to ceiling with 'bits I'll use later', but no space left to actually work, and no idea when 'later' will actually happen.

I've learned a lot on the Forum, and I have two Malibus in perpetual progress, with no idea when I will actually drive either one down the road. The irony is that now that I have all this data polluting my head, I am not using it, so I send it back in when the right questions are asked.

I've always said I have a head full of useless sh•t and if you give 3 minutes of your time, I'll teach you everything I know! I was a guy that also used to stack stuff ceiling to floor till about 2 years ago. Then I gave my garage and shed a thorough douche! I will probably start hoarding widgets again soon and hopefully there will be a thread on widgets that I will dominate!!!