Hey guys, long time no post i've been busy with many things going on. finally starting to get around to the 442 now that i've sold my 71 cutlass and some other things me and my grandfather can now focus on gbody. as of now the car has no engine trans in it and is awaiting my built 461 olds dynoed at 441hp 609tq. we're still kicking around ideas for fuel delivery (fuel injection or carb) but right now we're focusing on what to do for a transmission. of course we could have the factory 2004r built to take the pounding but the thought of a 5 speed is so damn tempting. the questions for a potential 5 speed swap i have are; the crank wasn't drilled out for a stick but i have the conversion bearing, will this give major problems in swapping? or even down the road would there be maintenance issues? ive heard the input shaft needs to be shortened a half inch, is that true? we would plan on using a tko600 with a quick time bellhousing and a hydraulic clutch set up (any suggestions for a set up?), has anyone else had success with a similar set up? a bug question is also the rear end... i figured with the auto i could get away with building up the 8.5 rear moser axles, eaton posi rear disc brakes etc but would even a fully built 8.5 survive behind a street driven big block 5 speed? i fgured it would be easy to get pedals now that they're reproduced, driveshaft would be custom, console could be modified and any small details could be taken care of as they pop up. if anyone has any thoughts, suggestions, first hand info etc i would greatly appreciate it! thank you guys in advance. -JOSH
