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I have a 1951 F3 pickup with flathead V8 I am installing Borg Warner T 5 5 speed trans. Can I use my OEM pressure plate and just try to find the right diameter clutch and spline size? Have anyone used a T5 trans?
Is it an S10 T5? If so, usually the S10 disc is used with a stock 10" PP. I think the S10 disc is a 9.5", a little smaller than the stock 10". I imagine with you having an F-3, you may have an 11" clutch, tho?
Ross, it looks like the truck had an 11" clutch the flywheel surface is 13 1/4" the PP bolt holes are 3/8" in from the outer edge to the center of the bolt hole.
That sounds like an 11" clutch, but measure the PP surface to be sure. If you had a 4-sp crashbox or HD 3-sp you certainly had an 11". I don't know of anyone using an 11" PP with the S10 disc, could be there is another GM disc with the correct spline count and a larger diameter. Might be worth a call to Cornhuskers to see if they know.
You can have the flywheel re-drilled for the 10" PP, or try to find a good used one already drilled. Speedway does sell new flywheels drilled for that ($$). Re-drilling needs to be done accurately and correctly, the holes have a countersink to fit the PP bolts snugly (don't use hardware store bolts). You'll need a 10" PP for them to measure the bolt circle, too.
I looked to see what Speedway has for their kits, also looked up a bunch of other cars that used the T5. Everything from 5.0 Mustangs to 5.7L Corvettes that used the T5 used a 9-1/4" 14-spline 1" shaft diameter disc. But Speedway has a note on their disc for this exact swap: "Not for use with Ford 11" PP".
I remembered when I saw that that at least with Speedway's adapter, an 11" PP will not clear their adapter (it barely clears the 10", "some grinding may be required"). I don't see a way around using a 10" clutch.