3 speed to 5speed

[Douglas Williams]

I have a 74 long bed with 350 and 3 speed on the floor with the granny gear , I am thinking of purchasing a 5LM60 out of a camaro to swap in, my question is in regards to bell housings, shift lever, drive shaft, and tranny mount. Has anyone does this conversion or know where I can find any info on what parts I'll need to install this transmission

 

[86Peter454]

not sure what a 5lm60 is. quick google search seems to think its the same as an nv3500? is that true?

my truck currently has a broke ass nv4500 in it. think the truck was originally a 4 speed. not sure how close the trans your using is the the 4500 but basically the hole in the floor had to be cut a bit further back like an inch or 2.

as for mounts im not sure i assume the trans mount had to be moved back but thats not a real big deal.

i dont think you will have bell housing issues as far as i know the nv4500 is the only odd ball trans that wont mount to normal bellhousings because i get lucky like that. so i would assume that trans will bolt up but again not sure what a 5lm60 is.

id also assume you will have to have your driveshaft modified but thats just a guess.

hopefully someone with more knowledge thank me can chime in and give you better info.

 

[Douglas Williams]

Yes I get the same result when it comes to the 5lm60 it comes up as a NV3500

 

[bucket]

What year Camaro. Would this be a Borg Warner T5?

 

[Douglas Williams]

It is out of a 90 camaro and im not 100% sure but it is a 5 speed I believe an nv3500

 

[CSFJ]

I have never heard of the nv3500 being used in cars. They were very common in the 1/2 ton gm trucks for a while, and Jeep used them for several years in the wrangler models, before they went to a six speed. They were desidned as a half ton truck trans and iirc, have a tendancy to be kinda noisy. Not typically something you want to have in a car.

 

[Douglas Williams]

The guy selling the tranny said it was a 5LM60 so I googled it and I kept getting a nv3500 referance to the 5LM im not sure if the designation changed thru the years or my Google search wasn't a good one

 

[CSFJ]

I'm not huge on F-body knowledge, but I'm thinking bucket's right, and it should be a t5

 

[CSFJ]

There's always the chance the guy selling it has no idea wtf it is too.

 

[CSFJ]

Double post

 

[Douglas Williams]

Im thinking it a a t5 as well i guess if I buy it its just gonna be roll of the dice for the bell housing...just didn't wanna get in too deep buying it and realizing it wont work

 

[CSFJ]

Im thinking it a a t5 as well i guess if I buy it its just gonna be roll of the dice for the bell housing...just didn't wanna get in too deep buying it and realizing it wont work

I don't ever recall the t5 being known as a very strong transmission, iirc they wouldn't offer it behind the 350 because of that. You might be better off to look for the nv3500 instead.

 

[bucket]

It's a T5 then. If it's from a V6 car, you don't want it. Even the V8 unit is not that strong. '90 is electric speedo sender, but the old style gear drive can be swapped on for a cable speedo. The bellhousing will work, but it tilts the trans to one side, like 18 degrees or something.

 

[Douglas Williams]

No i dont need that at all I'll have to work another angle got word of a guy selling a 454 with a 4 speed to go with it maybe the better route and get rid of the tired 350 I got now

 

[CSFJ]

The 4 speed is apt to be the same trans you have now. It is technically a 3speed with a creeper gear like you called it, but they're more commonly refered to as 4 speeds.

 

[Douglas Williams]

I'll sell the "4 speed" or give it away im not sure if it a a very popular tranny and have to save up and go tremec