NV3500 swap

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eskimomann209

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78C10BigTen

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Cool this thread came up as i just said about putting an nv3500 in my c10. Seems like id go with the mechanical slave.
 

87r-10

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Cool this thread came up as i just said about putting an nv3500 in my c10. Seems like id go with the mechanical slave.
How would I change it to a manual slave?
 

bucket

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Hydraulic clutch is the bee's knees anyways...
 

87r-10

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All NV3500 are hydraulic. They are either external or internal slave.
Okay yeah mines an external slave that I’m putting in but hoping my grandpa kept the slave cuz this is a low budget swap
 

87r-10

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Does anyone know how long the push rod is for the slave cylinder? I lost mine and do not have the budget to buy a new slave
 

76c10rosedale

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Geez every old guy in my town keeps telling me that using an s10 transmission is impossible and weaker. They all say the shifter will end up under the seat, even when provided photographic proof. Idk why i try, to them anything to do with touching a computer is "hacking"
 

bluex

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Geez every old guy in my town keeps telling me that using an s10 transmission is impossible and weaker. They all say the shifter will end up under the seat, even when provided photographic proof. Idk why i try, to them anything to do with touching a computer is "hacking"
There are 2 differences between a full size an a s10 nv3500. The S10 has a closer ratio gear set, and it uses a 700r4 output shaft size. Everything else is the same. Now like I mentioned in 98 or 99 the shifter did move back on the trans but I believe it did that on all models not just the s10. So technically a full size is stronger because it has the 4l80 size output but I believe the s10 trans is a better choice for a sport truck with it closer gear ratios. The 1-2 drop in a full size trans is pretty extreme.
 

Burkee1483

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Master cylinder mounting

To mount the master I used the hole that speedometer cable passes through the firewall. If you’re using a 96 and up trans the cable is now useless anyway since those trans have a VSS and no provision for a mechanical cable. I plan to us a GPS speedometer app on my phone for now. This is about as high as you can mount it without getting into the area in the cowl for the wiper linkage. It could go up another ¼” maybe but I don’t think that’s necessary and it would be pretty close to the wiper motor then.

I made a template of the back of the master cylinder and lined it up using the existing hole as the lower left side of the mounting hole. I traced out the metal that needed to be removed and cut it out using a dremel tool with a cut off wheel. I attempted to use a hole saw but with no pilot hole it was too hard to control so I just followed my scribed line with the dremel and worked it down until it cut through. I know it looks close and it is but it doesn’t touch the brake booster or the wiper motor and you can easily remove the cap to add fluid.

I then made a plate out of some aluminum I had laying around to help spread out the load on the firewall. I threaded the holes in this plate so that the bolts act more like studs and you don’t necessarily need two people to take the master on and off. To attach the master to the clutch pedal I had to make some modifications to the pedal itself and make an extension to the master cylinder rod. The extension is just a piece of round stock that I drilled and tapped to 5/16-24 on both ends. I took a bolt and cut the head off to attach the extension to the rod end. Now the rod reaches the pedal, but it wants to land in the exact spot the old pedal return spring used to hook to. So I removed the pedal and cut that off flush with the edge of the pedal arm. After another test fit leaving the rest of that pad resulted in the master cylinder push rod being on an angle. This master can take a slight angle but too much will result in premature wear/failure. You also need to make sure the rod is close to level up and down for the same reason. So I cut part of that pad off to give clearance to the rod end. I used two washers to space it out a little and a nylock nut to ensure it stays connected. *in the pictures are 3 washers, I later removed one to lessen the angle on the push rod

I was worried about having a high pedal effort with it mounted about 3.5" down from the pedal pivot point. It was nothing to worry about now as it is no harder to use than a factory manual linkage setup, or anything with a high performance clutch. I’ve driven many other vehicles with a pedal that is much stiffer than this one wound up being. That could be partly from my clutch selection but it turned out good so I’m happy with it.

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Currently trying to mimic this. Using a speedway 3/4 master. Fingers crossed lol
 

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Hotrodder383

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Thank you for your info! I have a 1973 C20 that is an original 3 speed with granny low. I have a T56 and a NV3500 and am trying to figure out which to use. This isn't a sport truck, I am building him to pull an RV long distance. goal is to build a 383, 5 speed for OD and maybe 373 gears in rear to pull a 24 foot 5th wheel RV. I was curious how big a pain it would be to put the hyd clutch in and if the nv3500 was strong enough to handle the tow. I know the T56 is not, it is a weak one from an s10. I will be using a lot of your ideas and parts. so thank you very much sir!
 

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