Technical 322 Nailhead to 37 Buick special trans?

I have a Alu. bellhousing I had on a 56 322. I have the flywheel, and fork. I used a muncie M20 4 speed. I had it in a hot rod. Worked just fine. I still have all of it. Pressure plate too. Will sell.

 

Back in 61 I swapped a 322 nailhead, with the Dynaslush, (POS), into a 47 Chev. I was able to change to a Buick 3 spd manual tranny by buying the crankshaft bearing at the Buick dealer, and hammering it in. I solved the driveline problem by using the Buick rear end.
At the time I did this, I knew that I could convert to an open driveline by finding an early 50s Olds or Caddy standard tranny, but I didn't have the money to spare. The shifter I used for the oddball setup that GM used for these transmissions had a vertical "H" pattern, and I loved it. I'm sorry that I can't remember the name of the manufacturer I drove the car daily for years, until I got an offer I couldn't refuse.
Bob

 

I forgot to mention, that there is a neat trick for removing the crankshaft bushing from an engine without damaging it. All you do, is pump the hole in the bushing full of grease, then using a drift of a smaller diameter than the hole in the bushing, hammer the drift into the hole full of grease. The bushing will come out slicker than snot.
Bob

 

I found a picture of the car, and thought I might as well include it.

 

I found this in my local area does anyone have any idea if this will work or thoughts on whether it could be modified to work?

 

I'm pretty positive that is a Mr. Gasket unit. 7666 and 7667 are old school 3 speed shifters......just put the latter number on a 1973 Ford 360 three speed F100, this summer. Google it. MrGasket dot com is their site....but I would just Google "7667 shifter". Bet you a beer or ten, you'll find it.

 

I know this is an old thread haven't worked on this for awhile but i'm still in the same boat..I've decided to scrap the '54 264 5 bolt 3 spd and '54 torque tube rear axle...Even though a fellow hamber offered me a great deal on a rebuilt one, I've decided to steer clear of the buick trans for many different reasons, not the least of which is building a shifter for it. I've also come to suspect that rear axle had filled up with water while sitting and is now scrap. The difficulty of course is the bell housing being different from other GM transmissions and not being able to afford adapter kits etc. but I do have access to a '57 Chevy 3 spd overdrive trans and rear axle so......
1) My '54 buick 5 bolt has a bellhousing on it... is it possible to modify this bellhousing to fit the '57 chev 3 spd case?
2) If so how? does the centre hole need to be enlarged? new mount holes drilled and tapped?
if the answers are yes to question 1&2 can I:
3) take my (reweighted to 322) 264 flywheel, buick pressure plate and disc and away I go? or do I use a chevy disc?
4) what about length and o.d. of input shaft and pilot? are the splines the same?
5) if completely different can the shafts be interchanged?
if any one has any comments or answers I'd sure appreciate the help - thanks!

 

I have a 56 Buick 6 bolt trans I will measure stuff on for you. Or sell you. I have never heard of adapting a Chevy three speed to a nailhead. Lots of guys struggle to find a good manual trans to work with the nailhead, and if the Chevy was adaptable, I think it would be pretty common news. But then again, maybe no one has tried. I have the bell housing too, don't know if it's the same as yours.

 

I have a chevy 3-speed behind a 322" nailhead. Done by po, But I THINK the bellhousing is a hacked up dynaflow aluminium bellhousing morphed together with a chevy aluminium bellhousing.
Not pretty, but I might have a pic somewhere from changing clutch.
The flywheel is probably a chevy one as it has a spacer between it and the crank.

 

4284555sd Thanks Kentucky is pretty far shipping would be killer.... any idea on the brand of that bellhousing or what it came from?

Thanks belair I think the distance/ shipping etc. would be a bit too much. I've tried to find a 6 bolt locally but they're pretty rare most came with slush boxes to add to the difficulty the usable parts I do have are from the 264 5 bolt. As far as my research has led me the bellhousing to block pattern is the same and the crank bolt pattern is the same so I can use the 264 flywheel but it has to be re weighted to 322 specs after that I'm lost. Good call on if it had been done it would be common but maybe not most people are/were upgrading for performance so might overlook the 3 o/d as not hp especially in the day when it was relatively easy to find a 4 spd man or auto trans. If you do find time for pics/measurement they would be very helpful

 

Thanks Falkenracing if you can find that pic it may give me some idea how to do this

 

Use an nailhead to early ford trans adapter then stack the flathead to t5 adapter

Sent from my SGH-T399 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Back late for the party, sorry about that. I do not have any pics that shows anything of interest it seems. Cant really explain what it looks like either, it's a cut up hydra bellhousing welded together with a saginaw 3-speed bellhousing.

 

Ok back for another kick at the can.... this time I've possibly located a '37 Buick Special 3 spd. if I can swing the deal will this combo work?: '54 322, '54 264 bellhousing and flywheel, and '37 special trans...any info on this possible swap would be helpful
- does the 264 bell and flywheel bolt to the 322?
- does the '37 trans bolt with the 264 bell?
- any mods required?
- why is the Special trans not as desirable?
- can it still be used if not driven too hard?

 

Back in the day, I had a 55 Buick Special 2 door post car that came with a 264 and a 3 speed on the column. I replaced the 264 with a 56 Buick 322. All the 264 standard shift parts bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, transmission, throwout bearing are all a direct bolt in on the 322 and enables you to use the original 264 torque tube without any modifications. The small one armed bandit transmission (which sucks) was shifted by an Ansen selector floor shift unit that had the correct "H" shift pattern.
The only 37 Buick transmission thats worth any thing are from the big Buicks and won't bolt to your 264 bellhousing. 37 Special transmissions are not a bolt in with the 264 torque tube as the tail shaft is a different length and still has the tiny gears which are worthless. God knows where you'd ever find a floor shift for a selector style transmission these days. The shifter thats pictured won't work.
The one armed bandit transmission has a gear selector (large arm) and a rail selector (small arm). The 37 big Buick transmission is a direct floor shift with no after market shifter required.
FWIW, in southern Indiana not too long ago I came across a 56 Buick 2 door post car that had a real decent body, interior, glass and chrome. It had a 401 Nailhead with a 700R4 and a rear end converted to open drive. A running driving car. The asking price was 10K. A steal in my estimation. All the hard work was done. You couldn't get there with your Buick plus 10 K. Can't imagine it hasn't sold by now. If anyone is interested, I can tell you where it was for sale.

 

some say the flywheel balancing is different some say it's the same some say the 322 isn't machined for a pilot bearing or you need a custom one some say the 264 bell won't bolt to the 322 some say it does....but first hand knowledge like yours is priceless
but lets say I've completely ruled out: a) the '54 5 bolt 1 arm bandit b) the '54 torquetube (except maybe the brakes) c) the cad/lasalle/aftermarket bellhousing swap d) the likelihood of finding or affording a 6 bolt 1 arm bandit or a '37 series 20 box...what does that leave me with? is the question whether I plan on slamshifting the special trans at 6 grand? or is simply not possible?? I'd like to know if this combo will go together before I shell out for the '37 Special topshift trans that might at least get my car on the road... lets worry about a bone stock 322 blowing the gears out of it later....

 

I don't believe the 37 Special top shift transmission is an option. Besides the tiny gears will not take any abuse what so ever. I also think the transmission tailshaft is a different length then the original 54 transmission which rules out using your existing torque tube. The 37 big Buick top shift transmission doesn't bolt to the 264 or 322. Even if it did where would you find one?
The 55 Buick I described to you earlier had the 322 removed and replaced with a 1958 364 CI Roadmaster 315 HP engine and a 37 big Buick top shift transmission. This was in the early sixties and we purchased the standard shift bell housing from a Buick Dealer parts department. This was a huge difference in performance over the 322.
If it were me, I'd set up the car like the Buick I saw for sale in souhtern Indiana. A 401 or 424 Nailhead, 700R4 or TH400 transmission and convert the torque tube to open drive with trailing arms like a Chevy pick up.