Transmission / Overdrive: T90 to 185 champion engine

[rowan]

Situation. - In need of bell housing, flywheel, 12 v starter in order to bolt my T90 Up to my Champion 185thats going in my M5.

Question. - I’ve found a local 1960 champ - champion engine with a 3 speed OD - will my T90 bolt to this bell housing? Thanks

[StudeRich]

So the Block is a '55 to '58 "185" to a 1960 5E5 Champ Truck Clutch Housing to a T90 6 Bolt Top Cover Truck Trans?

That does sound like it should fit, the Only way I know to be Positive is match up the Truck Parts in the 2 Different years of Parts Catalogs or Try to fit them, that's not easy IF you have not bought the Parts yet.

Why not check the '60 Champ for a T-90 Trans.
I believe the Case will say: "T-86" on the right side. The Standard and Overdrive have the same Case Mounting Flange and Bolt pattern.

If this is going in that Old "M", it will get interesting converting the newer Block with WAY different Engine Mounts and Brackets.

[rowan]

Thanks Rich - good advice. Are you saying the T90 and a T86 have the same bolt pattern? If so, I may have found the donor in the 1960 Champ. I purchased what I was told was a complete engine and necessary bell housing, flywheel, conversion plate, etc for this application from one of our vendors. Not so - and the vendor is not responding - purchased this ensemble at York in 2016 and just now in position to put newly rebuilt 185 in my newly rebuilt M5.

Yes - Maui Blue is not an M5 color but is a Studebaker color.

Thanks again

[gordr]

Nice truck, nice shop, Rowan. Yes the T90 ought to bolt to any truck bellhousing. Truck bellhousings were made to accept the T90 transmission. T90 and T86 are very similar, except that T90 has straight-cut gears for first and reverse, instead of bevel gears, and overall ratios are lower. And the mainshaft has straight splines for the first-reverse sliding gear to slide on, too. You can put a full T86 gearset into a T90 case, and vice versa. But I think you will find that the T90 input shaft as used on the six cylinder is shorter than the T86 input shaft as used on V8 cars. I did this swap once, and had to cut down the tip and splines of the T86 input shaft.

When doing any such transmission swap, best to get both setups side-by-side on the shop floor, and look closely for differences.

Also remember, that when mating up an engine to a non-original bellhousing, that the bellhousing will have to be made concentric with the engine crankshaft, by use of a dial indicator.

[StudeRich]

Rowan, now you got me curious, What was "NOT" about the Truck Power Train you bought?
Was it not as described, "from a '60 Champ Truck"?
Maybe it was from a '60 Champ 5E6 Commander 245 Six, that uses a different Input Shaft.

[rowan]

Thanks guys! I bought what was supposed to have been a complete set up - 185, conversion plate, bell housing, flywheel and 12 v starter from a pickup. Bell housing must be from a 170 - it sure doesn’t fit. So we need a bell housing to fit the 185 and T90. We have found a 60 champ as a donor and will buy complete set up if the my T90 will fit. The T90 is a top shift with a Jerry Kurtz modified OD that I want to utilize - we will dial in the bell housing. So if this champ has either a T90 or T86 and champion engine we should be good. Right?

[StudeRich]

/Cut/The T90 is a top shift with a Jerry Kurtz modified OD that I want to utilize - we will dial in the bell housing. So if this champ has either a T90 or T86 and champion engine we should be good. Right?

It won't have an actual T-86, as that would be for a V8 with the wrong (Long) Input shaft, but a T-90 for a small Six will have as I said, a T-86 Case and I.D.'d as such, with a SIX Screw Top Cover, but it is what's INSIDE that makes it a T-90 and matters, as Gord told you.

[rowan]

Thanks to Ed Jones and Jim Sinclair for suggesting that Jason Brinkman may have the parts needed - and he did. I picked up the parts yesterday and Ed and I put the engine in today.

[jts359]

And I might add , This was a bolt in , There was no converting the the new block to bolt it in the Old M , See post #2 , Ed

[LarkTruck]

Thanks to Ed Jones and Jim Sinclair for suggesting that Jason Brinkman may have the parts needed - and he did. I picked up the parts yesterday and Ed and I put the engine in today.

Glad it all worked out for you Rowan. Jason is a super nice fellow. By the way, how did you get that engine to stay put with the truck on its side?
And, your painter did an awesome job!
Jim

[rowan]

I’ll figure out why my pictures end up on their side one of these days. Jason is a real nice guy and saved a bunch of money and time - thanks for the referral. The painter did a great job, there is nothing our friend Ed Jones can’t do exceptionally well -