Converting to a 4 speed

[airboatgreg]

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.

Is the bellhousing out of a G body? Saginaw? I do not know what you mean by a two groove Saginaw. I am good with standard clutch.

 

[airboatgreg]

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

I have not bought the crate motor yet and I am assuming that you can get the 2 piece seal for the earlier cars.....I am good with the Saginaw trans. Email me on the flywheel at [email protected].
Thanks,

 

[airboatgreg]

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.

I have heard that there is issues with that and the info is limited out there. You reference a centered transmission mount. It is different from an aoto? Correct?
Thanks

 

[Mike buttafuoco]

I am glad to hear you are installing a meat grinder. Only way to drive a muscle imo. I put a super T10 in a 76' cutlass back in 95' and up front was a 355 rocket(punched .030) with a rowdy cam and hogged out heads. It made approx 425hp. I used, because there was not Internet and very little in the aftermarket, a Lakewood scattersheild for olds, a Nuzzi clutch, and the fork from Lakewood. For linkage, I used 2nd gen Camaro/firebird pedals(they clutch pedal was good I had to modify my original brake pedal, linkage from a nova or Chevelle and the z bar was from a Camaro. Mounting bracket for the frame was from a nova for the pivot ball. I used an adjustable pivot ball for the bell hsg and I used a pilot bushing from a 440 chrysler that I took off a little on the o.d. On a lathe. It worked excellent and no one could believe it was a 4 speed. Getting to your questions, I would use a good clutch of your choice, and if you can find it, a 4 speed donor. Otherwise you can mix and match to find what works. I did. Try not to use an f body bell as I beleive the trans is rotated 15 degrees and you won't get the trans in the right spot. I may be wrong with this, been 20 years. But as long as you are using a 350th drive shaft and the length of the trans' are the same, you shouldn't have to change cross members as I didnt. And the driveshaft will be the same splines and should be the correct length. So that eliminates that conundrum. As far as speedo gear, you can call Autogear in Syracuse New York, look up the number of I can find it for you, and they may have the correct speedo gear. Another good source is SK speed in Long Island as the transmission shop has some very knowledgable guys there as well. Let me know what you come up with because I would love to help! I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the install of that trans as most of my stuff got lost in the many moves I've made. Also want to mention, I believe the super t10, the Saginaw and the M21 are all 27 spline output, same as 350th. Good luck!

 

[Texas82GP]

Is the bellhousing out of a G body? Saginaw? I do not know what you mean by a two groove Saginaw. I am good with standard clutch.

The bellhousing is a g-body piece. Out of a four speed g-body el camino. Saginaws are identified by how many 'grooves' or 'rings' they have in the input shaft. A two groove saginaw has these gear ratios.......

1st: 3.11
2nd: 2.20
3rd: 1.47
4th: 1.00

 

[ssn696]

Will you go with a carb or fuel injection? If you don't need the fuel pump shaft drilled on the motor, then this truck motor is a great choice: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12530283/overview/ It has all the tin, a balancer, rockers and Vortec heads. It has four-bolt mains, one-piece rear main seal, plus a roller cam and lifters.

 

[pagrunt]

I have heard that there is issues with that and the info is limited out there. You reference a centered transmission mount. It is different from an aoto? Correct?
Thanks

I refer to a center mount from how the pre cat cars mounts went transmission-mount-crossmember being stacked in line on top of each other unlike how most '78 up cars have the mount pad offset from the transmission mount pad due to the odd angle the crossmember site under the car. Just compare the stock mount to the older ones or the polyurethane ones. I think the TH200 4R cars have the centered type mounts (never had one so I'm not 100%.)

 

[airboatgreg]

Well.. it starts. Have Muncie, Hurst shifter, all clutch parts, flywheel, new bolts. Pedal conversion should be in soon. Pulling seat and carpet out. Have boot, beauty ring and bracket ready. Trying to decide on new carpet and bucket seats. Suggestions? Will post some pics and comment on issues. Pilot bearing will depend on rear main seal. Let you know of any glitches

 

[pagrunt]

Keep in mind with the Muncie your shifter will sit farther back than the stock location. You may have to notch the bench set if that is what you have.

 

[Mike buttafuoco]

Well.. it starts. Have Muncie, Hurst shifter, all clutch parts, flywheel, new bolts. Pedal conversion should be in soon. Pulling seat and carpet out. Have boot, beauty ring and bracket ready. Trying to decide on new carpet and bucket seats. Suggestions? Will post some pics and comment on issues. Pilot bearing will depend on rear main seal. Let you know of any glitches

I like the bench seat better as it looks cooler with that shifter bent like a big horse shoe. However, it's gonna boil down to what you want in the end. And whatever your budget allows. You may have to modify your seat however, there are shifters out there that may work and a little creativity and a welder will help you get the desired look and feel. The bench seat shifter for a tri five chevy is pricey as hell and so is something similar. If it were me, I would make what I have work. But F body seats and a Hurst super shifter or comp plus shifter would look good between them. So it's up to you. I love it man, keep it coming.