New Budget Overdrive Kit for the Chevy Corvette C3’s Tremec T-5

This is the story of the T-5 Challenge, as we've decided to call it. Silver Sport Transmissions (SST) presented its engineering team with said T-5 Challenge, but unlike those TikTok challenges, this one had an innovative, useful purpose. The company is already known for its PerfectFit Tremec transmission kits, but the matter at hand here was about how to design the company's "first T-5 kit for the 1968-1979 Chevrolet Corvette to give moderately powered Corvettes a second, more affordable option for an overdrive five-speed transmission," SST explained. It began with the engineering team pouring over all the info they already had on the Corvette and TREMEC T-5 to determine where the T-5's shifter position would need to be, for example. As SST noted, "With computer models complete, [the engineers] built the first TREMEC T-5 with a Corvette STX Shifter and a transmission perch plate to rest the transmission on the stock crossmember." Their R&D was done on a 1979 Corvette Stingray with an automatic transmission and the result became a complete kit.

How they did it: "SST's engineering team designed the PerfectFit kit to retain the factory console by replacing the automatic gear indicator with a new five-speed shift plate that is designed to resemble the original four-speed shift plate. A replica manual shifter handle will replace the automatic shifter handle. The only hint that a major performance upgrade has taken place will be the extra digit on the shift plate, otherwise the car will look completely stock."

Something to consider if you've got a Vette with a factory manual transmission that's without a removable crossmember is that you'll need SST's removable crossmember kit (for easier clutch upgrades and maintenance. Or you'll have to get the transmission into place with SST's detailed steps so that the factory crossmember will remain intact. The main tool required for that job is patience.

On episode 4 of The House of Muscle, host Mike Musto gets the full story about Mike Cosculluela's 1969 Chevy Nova, which left quite an impression more than 40 years ago. First there was the sound, then the black paint, then the five-spoke Cragar S/S wheels. From the moment Cosculluela saw the Nova, he knew there would be one in his future. Sign up for a free trial to MotorTrend+ and start watching every episode of The House of Muscle, plus shows like Roadkill and HOT ROD Garage!