Manual Transmission swap into 87' Olds Cutlass

[Hoopty_Mike]

I recently purchased a bellhousing, t50 dogleg 5 speed, drive shaft, and clutch fork that were originally behind a 260 in a 78' cutlass (later put in an el camino) for 125$. Decided I couldn't go wrong even if the transmission was junk. This will be my build thread filled with plenty of trial and error, and for the first month or so will be collecting and research. I know I will need a conversion pilot bearing, and have already sourced several. I also have access to a machine shop to machine the shaft on the transmission.

I have a few questions

Does anyone have a source for a reasonably priced oldsmobile flywheel? Hoping to find one at an upcoming swap meet, have had no such luck find a basic replacement one online. Also, what would be the proper size/tooth count for the flywheel?

I know the boss for the z-bar ballstud is cast into the 307 block, but is it tapped or even drilled? If not, is there any possibility tapping it in the car?

The t50 is a weaker transmission, but i'm not too concerned about it behind my 307. I'm more concerned about finding parts for it. Could I swap in a t5/saginaw/t10 at a later date and not worry about major changes in mounting or hole location in the transmission hump? Will all these transmissions also bolt to my bellhousing?

Like I said, I have access to a basic machine shop (lathes, milling machines, cnc's, etc) and also have some welding skills. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully have some pictures by friday.

Thanks for any help.
-Mike

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

ttt

 

[FE3X CLONE]

If it was me, I wouldn't worry about the ball stud and just run a full hydraulic setup. Far less in headaches, imo than messing with the old mechanical linkage. That being said, I don't believe the 307 has a tapped hole in this location. It may have the boss but not the hole. For a while all the engines had the hole threaded (my '76 455 with automatic did) but I believe by the time they started producing the 307 they didn't bother.

Centerforce carries SFI steel flywheels but they are in the $500 range. Your only other option is to find a used flywheel.
To my knowledge there were only two styles of flywheels for the Olds engine. Both had 166 teeth and were the same diameter. The difference was in the bolt hole mounting. The flywheels for a 330 and 425 will not interchange with any other Olds engine unless you use the matching crankshaft from those two as well.

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

I had a back up idea where I could use an f-body master and slave cylinder. I'm just curious as to whether or not I could reuse the clutch fork and a set of g-body pedals or if I would need to modify a set of f-body pedals?

 

[ssbrewskyaz]

You can buy a decent flywheel from Summit for about $325.00.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/Depa ... /5-0L-307/

If the boss is in the block, drilling a hole isn't that big of a deal. You'll need to get the ball stud and measure from the surface that will be contacting the block when it's tight to the end of the threads and add the length of one additional thread so it doesn't bottom out before it's tight.

Start with an 1/8 inch drill and work your way up to the size needed to cut sufficient threads in the block. If the thread on the ball stud is 3/8", the final drill size will be 0.3141" diameter for a 3/8-16, 75% thread. This is close to the 5/16" (0.3125") drill size and 5/16" is probably as close as you are going to get. The internet is full of charts on what size hole to drill for what bolt size and thread.

Or you could use a squish clutch as was suggested. ... :wink:

 

[GP403]

This might help.

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

That picture is very helpful. The only thing holding me up now is that zbar ball stud. If I can do what ssbrewsky said and drill it out, i'm home free. Thanks for the tapping and drilling sizes. If I have to remove the drivers front fender to drill it out I don't mind, that fender needs replacing anyways after a quick run in with a small deer. I'm thinking if I can score a t5 from an 80's f-body I would be better off.

I haven't singled out going with a hydraulic setup yet, but after reading this: http://home.earthlink.net/~sixpointsix/5speed.html
It's a long write up, so if you don't like reading, just hear me out

According to that write up, I have to somehow weld a new ballstud in a different location in my uber-rare olds bellhousing (that's aluminum no less) to move the f body clutch fork (which I have to use with a hydraulic clutch apparently) outboard 1.25". Tapping a few holes in it would be no big deal for the slave cylinder. Master cylinder goes through the hole for the cruise, and some simple reinforcement would need to be done. Honestly I would rather go with the linkage setup, but I will do what I have to do to get this working correctly.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

If you use a hydraulic throwout bearing you don't need to worry about any clutch fork or slave cylinder, etc. You can use the hydraulic master cylinder, etc. out of an LS1 F-body and run a braided line directly to the T/O bearing.

John Bzdel makes a clutch pedal that is setup to work with the LS1 MC geometry and bolts directly onto the stock G-body pedal assembly. You just trim the brake pedal pad down to match the size of the clutch pedal.

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

If you use a hydraulic throwout bearing you don't need to worry about any clutch fork or slave cylinder, etc. You can use the hydraulic master cylinder, etc. out of an LS1 F-body and run a braided line directly to the T/O bearing.

John Bzdel makes a clutch pedal that is setup to work with the LS1 MC geometry and bolts directly onto the stock G-body pedal assembly. You just trim the brake pedal pad down to match the size of the clutch pedal.

That sounds like an effective plan, what hydraulic throwout bearing would I use for a T5 out of an 80's f body? Would I still use just a basic replacement clutch for said T5? Would the hydraulic master cylinder bolt up like the earlier f-body master cylinder? One last question, how could I contact John Bzdel? I found a thread on a different forum mentioning the clutch pedals that he made, but everything was a few years old.

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

Bump, anyone?