I've been searching for a half hour and have not found an answer. If I want to swap a turbo 350 for some kind of standard trans what's the easiest? I've heard some have a moveable or adjustable shift mechanism. Is this correct? I don't care if it's a 3,4 or 5 speed really, I just think shifting is more Hot Rod and automatic is more streetrod. Here's some old pic's of the chassis it's going in. Thanks in advance... -Ron
As far as ease of installation, you cant do much better than a Camaro T5 or T56 with hydraulic clutch. You may have an issue with the internal shifter being under the seat, but they have a couple different mounting options.
Forgot to add that this is going behind a 283. I actually have the original 3 speed standard trans that came out of my 66 C10 that the engine also came out of. I could put the trans back with the 283 as it came from the factory, but it was a column shift originally and I'm not sure if it could be converted to a floor shift or not...
I'm sure there is a floor shift for a 66 3 speed out there somewhere... or maybe even do a column shift. what's the column from the truck look like?
I could use the column, linkage & trans that came in the 66 C10 I guess but I'm trying to replace a column shift automatic now so it's kinda pointless. Is there anything that will bolt directly in place of the turbo 350, mounts and all? They make a cable mount floor shifter for the 350 turbo but it just screams streetrod and I think I would just as soon keep the tilt column than do that.
Yes, you can get a shifter for the 3 speed, but the 66 truck should not/may not have the rear transmission mount bolt holes. I think I read on hamb that some 66 trucks did have a rear mount depending on where it was made. But these were non-syncro first gear, so it's not a user friendly trans in city driving. I am not 100% sure but I think a typical saginaw 4sp, muncie 4sp or borg warner T-10 4sp will fit to your current tail mount.
A tilt column screams streetrod. You have everything you need with the donor column and trans. And lots of floor shifters out there. Auction sites, maybe even here in the classifieds.
Whent through the same thing on my model A and 5 speed is the best way to go in a light car. Easiest way is to get a trans out of a s-10 and get a '61 to '63 bellhousing with the slave cylinder boss on it with a 10' '60's chevy flywheel and pressure plate with a 10' astro van clutch. should go together very easly. If you need part numbers and years for the trans, clutch ect... or asy pics let me know.
A saginaw, muncie, or T-10 will be the same length and mounting dimensions as a T350 with the 4 inch tailshaft. Same tranny mount everything, just need a factory bellhousing or a scattershield.
This is why I pulled it from the C10 20 years ago. I thought I might be able to cope with it though. Is a T-10 or muncie synchronized?
Both have syncro in all forward gears,If you mean muncie 4 speed car trans,there are muncie truck trans that donot.
muncie will fit exactly- i actually just did the opposite, replaced a m20 with a th350. driveshaft, crossmember...all the same.
Go out in the shed and take a look at the 66 three speed. I'm pretty well positive that it doesn't have a rear mount on the tail shaft. That setup used the bellhousing mounts as the rear mounts. You could fab a crossmember to go under the bellhousing but that might make things a bit cluttered in that area. Personally I'd go with a later full syncro three speed, car style four speed or t-5 or other car style five speed. Hurst and MrGasket both have Three speed shifters that will work on your trans but they do cost close to 200 by the time you are done. With that you still have to get a clutch pedal that matches your brake pedal and engineer and hook up the clutch linkage. The truck column and shifter could be made to work but it is still gong to take a bit of figuring out and modifying the shift rods. It isn't a hard task for an accomplished fabricator but may be beyond beginner level skills.