Need help to ID 1960 T-10

[Joe P.]

I am told this is an original corvette T-10 taken from a '60 corvette. It appears to me that the shifter is not correct.. Can someone confirm from these pictures it was a corvette or passenger T-10?

Is the two digit date code (4 11) on the cast iron main housing proper or should it be "4 11 60"?

Thanks.
Joe

[Cecil L.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Looks right to me but shifter is after market.

[Stewart A.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Joe I had a look at this on ebay the other day. It was very close to my cars date but was after my build date. So no go for me. It has two dates one on the case and one on the tail. They dont match but are close enough for judging I think. I'm sure it is the real deal the tail date is 2/24/60 It has little pads welded on the housing for the dates and I'm not sure if thats correct. It has a Hurst shifter that must be on nearly every C1 car in the world. Must of been a huge trend 50 years ago. If you are interested in it maybe send an e mail with photo's to Tim Mickey he has better knowledge than myself C1 is his specialty. I hope this helps a bit.

[William C.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Essentially no difference between Chevy Pass car and Corvette T-10 in '60, Replace the Hurst with a Corvette shifter and (after a serious rebuild) you should be good to go...

[Mike B.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Joe,

If you buy that tranny consider keeping the Hurst shifter mechanism and simply replace the shaft and ball with a correct looking repro unit.

I suspect some purists will disagree, but in my opinion the Hurst unit is far and away better than the OEM unit. The feel is a difference between crisp, defined shifting verses stirring a box of rocks with a garden hose! In a moment of lapse I reinstalled the OEM shifter in my car only to yank it back out after one day. It almost took the fun out of driving.

And no matter which shifter mechanism you chose, it is best to make the linkage adjustments out of the car. It will be much easier to thread a piece of bar stock or drill bit through the neutral position holes and adjust the rod lengths. Also check the condition of the nylon bushings on the linkage. Hurst usually have them and they wear causing some slop. They are easy to find at any speed shop or larger auto parts stores and even come in oil bronze if you want really crisp shifting.

Mike

[Joe P.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Essentially no difference between Chevy Pass car and Corvette T-10 in '60, Replace the Hurst with a Corvette shifter and (after a serious rebuild) you should be good to go...

Thanks.. This t-10 is on ebay and apparently was just rebuilt by J/J Auto.. supposed to be a corvette specialty shop I beleive in Minnesota area..

Any one ever hear of the shop who rebuilt the transmisssion?

[Joe P.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

It went for $1200 on ebay.. I am debating on rebuilding mine or swaping it for a number matching..

What is the current market price for a complete rebuild of your own T-10?

What is a fair price to purchase a rebuilt T-10 assuming the numbers match?

Any recommendations on where to buy a rebuilt T-10? Preferably close to Southern Ontario?

THanks
Joe

[William C.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Joe there is a lot of variance in buying a T-10 with respect to what year car you have and depending on how much accuracy you need in the "new" trans. If you already have on in the car, rebuild cost will depend on the degree of abuse it has seen in it's life, and the price of new parts will drive much of the ultimate cost. I know this doesn't give you the answer you are looking for, but I'd start by determining if the trans you have is correct for your car, and then consider rebuilding that one. If starting from scratch, the '57's are like Gold with the 58's not too far behind. (think $5-8000 when available) the burden gets a little lighter as you move thru the years primarily because there were more total transmissions available between Corvettes and Passenger cars as the years went on $1200 for a rebuilt '60 sounds not too bad at all given the current market. One thing to check is the condition of the mainshaft, as when abused, the t-10 mainshaft has a tendency to take a permanent twist at the area where the yoke ends, If you use a Corvette yoke with a trans that has some twist in the yoke area at the passenger car yoke length, the Corvette yoke being longer than the pass car version will not go in the trans far enough to install the driveshaft without repairing the mainshaft.

[Joe P.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

Joe there is a lot of variance in buying a T-10 with respect to what year car you have and depending on how much accuracy you need in the "new" trans. If you already have on in the car, rebuild cost will depend on the degree of abuse it has seen in it's life, and the price of new parts will drive much of the ultimate cost. I know this doesn't give you the answer you are looking for, but I'd start by determining if the trans you have is correct for your car, and then consider rebuilding that one. If starting from scratch, the '57's are like Gold with the 58's not too far behind. (think $5-8000 when available) the burden gets a little lighter as you move thru the years primarily because there were more total transmissions available between Corvettes and Passenger cars as the years went on $1200 for a rebuilt '60 sounds not too bad at all given the current market. One thing to check is the condition of the mainshaft, as when abused, the t-10 mainshaft has a tendency to take a permanent twist at the area where the yoke ends, If you use a Corvette yoke with a trans that has some twist in the yoke area at the passenger car yoke length, the Corvette yoke being longer than the pass car version will not go in the trans far enough to install the driveshaft without repairing the mainshaft.

William, the T-10 that I have in my car is shown below.. i have noticed that the way the dates were cast into the tail housing varies... on mine the dates are on one plate.. some others like the one in the post above has seperate plates for each day, month and year.. which is correct for a corvette? These pictures were taken before it was installed in the car. Unfortunately since it was installed the second gear synchro started to go first by popping out of second, more recently it wont engage... So it should be fixed.. but it hasnt kept me from driving it though..

So if I have to fix it I would like to put a correct dated T-10 for my mid May 1960 buit car, but if there is going to be a big cost difference that may sway my decision.

To rebuild for $1200 I feel is to much, when I see rebuilt T-10 selling on ebay for $1200 to $1600.. So I may just wait till another proper dated T-10 comes available.. Unless I can find a reputable Shop that has one available.

THanks for your interest.

[William C.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

The "popping out of Second" is the most common problem with early t-10s and fixing it generally requires a new second gear, as well as a new synchro slider and brass "blocking" ring. not too difficult as Trans repairs go, as you don't have to totally disassemble the mainshaft to do it. Parts are available, but at a price. If you wanted to have a go at it, or are looking for someone to do the work, I'd talk to Ed Hartnett in Lansdowne PA 610-623-9381. Nice guy, and does good work. Otherwise, keep looking for the proper dated parts, but $1200 for a whole '60 trans rebuilt sounds like a bargain to me these days.

[Joe P.]

Re: Need help to ID 1960 T-10

The "popping out of Second" is the most common problem with early t-10s and fixing it generally requires a new second gear, as well as a new synchro slider and brass "blocking" ring. not too difficult as Trans repairs go, as you don't have to totally disassemble the mainshaft to do it. Parts are available, but at a price. If you wanted to have a go at it, or are looking for someone to do the work, I'd talk to Ed Hartnett in Lansdowne PA 610-623-9381. Nice guy, and does good work. Otherwise, keep looking for the proper dated parts, but $1200 for a whole '60 trans rebuilt sounds like a bargain to me these days.

Thanks for your suggestions..

Any ideas how much it should cost for parts and labour to replace the second gear and synchro and brass blocking ring..

I will also follow up with Ed..

Regards
Joe