I have a 1982 toyota pickup with the L52 trans, and I am swapping in a 5.3 ls. I have seen a few people say they have a sbc to a L52 trans, but I cannot find anything about how it was done.
How do I use a L52 trans paired to a sbc?

 

Not sure what's available any more. These trucks are getting old, and not many left, at least where I am. Check this place out, not sure they can help, but a call won't hurt. https://www.advanceadapters.com/ Making what you need wouldn't be hard if you know someone that would do it. Another option would be to buy a conversion kit for a land cruiser and modify it to fit your transmission.

 

I have looked at them, and I may give them a shout just to see what they say. But from what I have seen the L52 bell housing is one piece with the case, meaning it does not unbolt, but I need to look at my trans to verify. If this is the case then im not quite sure how it would work. Was wondering if maybe the sbc would bolt right up to it, but i doubt it with the trans being made for a 4 cylinder but idk im not an expert by no means. Going to measure bell housing and everything on trans and then go do same for sbc bolt pattern and see what is going on for size comparison.

 

It won't bolt up. It doesn't matter if the bellhousing comes off or not, it still works the same way. So if the bellhousing doesn't unbolt from the Toyota tranny, you would have an adaptor plate that bolts to the Chevy engine, then the Toyota tranny and bellhousing would bolt to that. If the bell housing does unbolt from the Toyota tranny, you could have an adaptor plate that would bolt to the Chevy bellhousing, then the Toyota tranny would bolt to that. You would use a Chevy flywheel, possibly modified to use a Toyota pressure plate and clutch disk. Or you would use the Chevy flywheel, and a Chevy pressure plate with a Toyota clutch disk, or a special clutch disk. You will need a special pilot bushing too, the OD would have to fit the Chevy crank, and the ID would have to fit the Toyota tranny. Then there's the throw out bearing to deal with. You didn't say if the truck is 2WD, or 4WD.

 

It is 4WD, I checked the trans and the bellhousing does not unbolt from tranny. So im gonna look into finding an adapter for my bellhousing. I want to keep the L52 because from what I have read they are a little stronger, but I am having a hard time finding parts for the L52 to sbc. Another thing is switching to the w56 trans requires driveshaft reworking and im trying to avoid that if possible. I may have to order some custom bellhousing adapter, as I cant seem to find any already manufactured by any aftermarket companies, but im sure if i reach out one of them could make it.

 

Running an l52 behind a 5.3 is not the way.
I'm a big proponent of the w56 swap for 4cyl 1st gen trucks. Good strength upgrade but also availability. In this case I would look at the 3.0 r150f or non toyota options. The l52 is barely adequate for a 22r.