5-speed in a C3 without too much hackery?

[chevyorange]

I'm doing my homework before I make my 1st Corvette buy! I've been waiting forever.

Anyway, one of my wants is a 5 speed in the car. I'm not buying for originality and won't buy a car that is #'s matching because I know I want to change the whole drivetrain up.

I know that it is POSSIBLE to put a 5 speed in but does anyone on here have one in their C3?

I want to keep the interior as original as possible and don't want to hack up the console if at all possible.

Also, some or all of my work will be done professionally depending on my $$$ outlay and comfort factor with each swap.

The 5 speed (whatever model?) will be bolting up to a Ram Jet 350 crate motor and running through the stock rear end (Hopefully)!

Thanks for any input.

chevyorange
My last project:

 

[Scott81]

chevyorange- Welcome to the forum, I don't have a 5-speed but I have heard people doing it and it doesn't seem to be a problem. I have also hear that Bow Tie Overdrives is going to be making custom crossmembers for this as well (I think for Richmond trannies), not sure if they have them on the web site yet but I know Steve Holmes told someone they are almost finished making them. I have one of their tubular crossmembers for my 700r4 and it's a nice piece of work. Good luck on your project.

 

[chevyorange]

Scott,

Excellent info.. .thanks for the lead on the crossmember!!!

I'll go check it out!

Adam

 

[sscam69]

Hey Scott

What tranny is it you are running?

Frank

 

[FroDaddy]

(My first post here, yay! I've been cruising the "other" forum for a couple of years.) Anyway...

You might want to look into getting a Tremec TKO transmission. Yes, it's a ford but several places convert it to GM spec. Mine should be coming in next week as I just got mine built from Hanlon Motorsports. Try these places to look at them:

http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com
http://www.fortesparts.com

Things to keep in mind when putting this into a C3:

- Shifter location. You will have to move the shifter over about 1.5" to the left. In later C3's, you can use a spacer where the shifter bolts up to move it over. In earlier C3s, you'll have to have some welding done.. typically at a 60deg angle and it will fit. Either way will retain the stock look when finished.

- Crossmember. You'll have to mod your crossmember for the TKO. Bowtieoverdrives used to sell a bracket that you could weld to your x-member so the TKO would bolt in. They stopped selling them recently, so you'll have to purchase one of their crossmembers or have someone fabricate the bracket for you.

- Yoke. The tranny uses a ford C6 yoke, so you'll have to make sure you get one of those. I believe Fortes sells the correct yoke in his TKO package.

- Driveshaft. You'll have to get it shortened and balanced since the tranny is long. Measurements will have to be done at the time of install to figure out just how short to cut it.

- Finally... From what I understand, the tranny used to have a counterweight for the fords. It doesn't use this since you'll be getting it converted to GM spec, so there is extra material on the rear of it that can be shaved off. This is necessary for it to bolt onto your modified crossmember, or some have notched their crossmember to compensate.

This is what I've found out over months of researching this transplant. Hopefully no other odds and ends will pop up when my mechanic goes to install it. It sounds like a lot of modification, but if you think about it you would have to do most of those mods for any new tranny in a C3. I heard you just about have to do the same things going with a 700r4.

Good luck!

 

[Eric]

Hi Adam! No advice on the tranny, just wanted to welcome you aboard. I told you this place is great, only took 10 minutes for a reply to your post! Whatever it is you want to try, someone here has already done it and can tell you all about the war stories.

Enjoy!

 

[chevyorange]

Man, good info! I'll have to check out those resources. I'd have to get over having a Ford part on my Chevy...hehehe..... which would take major therapy! ;-)

Eric, thanks for the welcome... good stuff here... very good!

I can't wait until I'm a card carrying member!

Adam

 

[Scott81]

Adam- glad to help out.

Frank- I have a 700r4 that was built locally, $1289 for the core, rebuild and install, it came out of an IROC Z-28.

If anyone is considering doing a 700r4 it's a pretty easy conversion if you plan ahead. Get the BTO crossmember as it's hassle free if you have no welding skill like me. Shorten a driveshaft or have one made, here's a great source Dennys Driveshafts they also tell you how to measure. I also went with the BTO TV Made-EZ setup and everything works like a charm. If you are running a hot cam don't use a torque convertor lockup switch that works on vacuum, get one with a manual switch. I don't know much about converting over to manual trannies but my next Vette will have one for sure.

If anyone is interested here is some info on my tranny conversion, how to change your speedo gears and the TV cable setup(on 383 swap pages) I'll have directions on how to pressure test and set up the TV cable soon. Go Here