Converting to a 4 speed

[airboatgreg]

I am planning to convert my 1982 El Camino to a 4 speed using a Saginaw transmission. Planning to put a crate 300 HP engine in future and do not rag on car. I have questions as to the speedometer, cross member, driveshaft and the best way to do this. A donor car would be best but really rare and the odds of finding one slim. The clutch linkage and pedals are available easily and I am okay with not going hydraulic. There are a couple of different flywheels. I have seen where people have used F body stuff. What do you think? I am picky and want to do it right the first time. Best transmission to use, bell housing? The S trucks seem to have a funky gear ratio. The clutch fork seems to be an issue also. Thoughts?

 

[Texas82GP]

I have a g-body bellhousing with fork, a two groove saginaw and a Hurst Competition plus shifter I'm not going to use if you are interested. I'm keeping my pedals and my equalizer is junk. Like you said, all of that stuff is available.

I think the bellhousing and fork are the hardest to find. My bellhousing is the Chevrolet pattern.

You can use a Muncie transmission instead but it puts the shifter further back which will interfere with a bench seat. The Saginaw was the stock g body transmission.

The typical flywheel is 153 tooth and the correct one is determined by if you have a 1 or 2 piece rear main seal block. You could use the larger flywheel and larger clutch but not with the g body bellhousing.

The g-body fork has an odd shape to clear the floor pan.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Don't worry about the Saginaw they are stronger than most think. I used one behind a Pontiac 400 for 10 years. I adapted one to my Bonnewagon using all Firebird stuff except for the pedals and Z-bar. Do a search on here and you will find tons of advice.

 

[pagrunt]

You don't need to worry about the speedo, cross member, or driveshaft. They are all the same for auto & stick cars. Might need to swap the speedo driven gear to match what gears you run in the rear. I would swap to a double hump cross member to run what ever exhaust & use a centered transmission mount. Only thing you'll have to do is run a harness from the buck up light switch on the transmission side cover (if it has it) to the plug under the dash.

 

[Texas82GP]

On the crossmember, I recommend a G-force. Great quality and great people to do business with.

 

[Bar50]

Car flywheels are 153 tooth with 10.5 clutch and most of the G-body specific bell housings are as well.

Truck applications are 168 tooth with an 11 or 12 inch clutch. There is a rare 11 bell housing that will fit in a G-body.

I have a '78 GMC Caballero with a stock 80's Dually 454, the stock Saginaw, and I added a 3.42 posi. Great to drive, just don't lean on it with sticky tires and it will be just fine.

I have had great luck with the G-Force crossmembers as well.

Buy a reproduction hump for the floor to clear the shifter.

Texas82GP what bell housing do you have?

 

[Texas82GP]

I think it is referred to as the "606" bellhousing, but my memory might be letting me down on the number. It was from a four speed El Camino.

 

[Tyler J]

This is a good read...
http://www.monte-list.com/tech/fivespeed.shtml

I used a lot of parts from a junkyard f-body for my Muncie swap. I got a set of pedals from an f-body and extended the mounts. Make sure you grab an extra clip that holds on the brake booster rod, you can use it to hold on the clutch rod as well and it is much better than the plastic replacements out there. I bought a new master and slave from the parts store. Mounting the master is pretty straight forward. You will see a spot on the firewall below the brake booster to mount it. I enlarged the hole slightly as well as slotted the mounting holes to help line up the pedal and rod. The biggest issue I ran into was using an f-body bell housing. I wouldn't recommend it! Find yourself an 80's corvette bell housing and get a hydraulic throw-out.

 

[ssn696]

The GM bellhousing with '606' as the last three digits is the common G-body bellhousing. It only fits a 153-tooth 12-3/4" flywheel. If the crate motor has the early, 2-piece rear main seal, I have a brand-new Rock-Auto flywheel that I never used. It's aftermarket, but will work just fine. If the motor is an '86 and later 1-piece rear main, you can source the flywheel from an 80's Camaro or Firebird. I can confirm that either will fit with the 606 bellhousing. Also, use a 10-1/2" GM clutch kit, 10 spline x 1-1/8" for the Saginaw, or 10.4" 26-spline x 1-1/8" Camaro kit if you go with a Muncie transmission (will also work with a F-body T-5). Don't forget the pilot bushing in the back of the crank. I had trouble on my swap - I had to hunt down a starter with a cast-iron nose from a '77 Monte Carlo at the parts store. Try out your donor starter and see if you get lucky. You can find a bellcrank, ball studs and frame bracket on EBay or 4speedconversions. The latter has a nice section to help you figure out where everything goes.

http://www.4speedconversions.com/14007356.html
http://www.garage-scene.com/
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/272343873668

 

[airboatgreg]

Awesome info. Thanks. Any leads on the best places or cars to get a Saginaw? I still have buds in trans business to check them out first. Clutch assembly easy. Flywheel? Has anybody done a swap and run into issues with speedo, driveshaft and crossmember? My car had 200 trans and it was replaced with a 350.