Six speed, five speed, over drive, or .....

[69MyWay]

Okay, I am going to have to yank the trans out of the 69 real soon, if not this afternoon. It appears to me that I don't have enough clearance between the hydraulic release bearing and the clutch pressure plate fingers. Although it appeared to measure out fine on the work bench, I seem to be making contact between the two which has been causing the clutch to slip in high gear when I nail it. I think I am just ever so slightly making enough contact to do this. The kit comes with shims to adjust as needed.

There are tons of problems with taking out just the trans. The Lakewood bellhousing is very tight, not to mention the hydraulic line does not slip in and out easy. Long story short, I may have to lift the engine forward, or out to do this...ad Please remind me, this is all fun and games, and my hobby.......

So far Nikki and I both agree that the four speed muncie stinks the big one. I am sucking huge amounts of fuel and running 3,000 RPM just to keep up on the highway. I swear to you, this RAT motor in the car will take off in fourth gear. Most of the time I have been going 1 to 4 because 2,3 are a waste of time. A few times I have taken off in 4!!!! I keep trying to move it up a gear being use to the 90 six speed, the 00 six speed, and even my last two GEO metro five speeds.

Here are my options.

1. Richmond Six
2. ZF from a 89-96 Vette
3. F body six speed 93-02
4. Tremic (sp?) six speed
5. F body five speed 82-92
6. Overdrive unit mated to the Muncie (like Redmist did)

Of the options, the Richmond should bolt right to my Lakewood shield, has been done before (I think Merlin/Project Insane is running this one), and maybe even use my current hydraulics and at least my pressure plate. - most expensive though.

The other options require much more guess work and mods (which I enjoy), but I would loose the Lakewood shield on the others and my hydraulics. The ZF is a noisy trans. I believe this was the trans of choice with Hibs Big Block from Hell series.

The other question is, could I pull this off before Sharkfest, or should I just fix my current problem and put this on the back burner? Could I sell my Muncie and related hardware for enough to help offset the cost? Could I donate enough blood plasma over the next couple of months to make up the difference


BTW, expressing myself like this is an awesome way to make decisions. Sometimes just writing it out and reading it over and over helps clear my mind.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

If you do go with a 5-6 speed out of the choices I would get one of them that has no shifter linkage except for the 82-92 f-body 5spd, I highly doubt it could stand up to the power you have since most 5.0 liters could tear them up, I think if you did get a zf or t56 buying a used one your taking your chances, as for the noise I've heard of this I had the chance to drive my neighbors 90 6spd vette and I never heard any trans noises. as for the tremec & richmond I know nothing about these and have only seen a richmond in 1 c-3, I say stay with the muncie and bolt on a O/D since you know your current trans has been gone through and wont give you problems ... as for selling blood your brains going to need all it can get for thinking purposes

good luck

 

[JHL]

Chris,

When I was over last year I spoke to the guys from Gear Vendors(i think that`s what they were called) at a show and they had some units on display which looked to me to be of excellent quality for a reasonable price. If you solve your clutch problems it would be an easier solution than a whole new set-up. The overdrive idea is good if it is working properly, change down at the flick of a switch. I know the C4 4+3 got a bad reputation but the principal was a good one.

J.

 

[Stingray72]

If it was me, I would narrow my choices to either the Richmond 6-speed or the T-56 out of a late-model Camaro. I would love to see somebody do the T-56 swap because it is much cheaper than the Richmond option, and the T-56 is a great transmission. They are supposed to be good to 450 hp, but, of course, it's all relative to the weight of the car. I would hazard to guess that the C3s weight less than a 4th gen. Camaro, though. Kits are available to swap a T-56 into a 1st gen. Camaro, but I haven't come across ANYTHING related to swapping one in a vette. Of course, the only additional consideration with the vette is shifter location. Search www.chevyhiperformance.com for a couple articles on Camaro swaps. I don't know if it would stand up to a big-block, especially with those enormous rear tires of yours, but if your car is much lighter than a 4th gen. Camaro it might work very well.

Good luck.

 

[69MyWay]

Here is the good news. TZracer here on CAC, and a good friend of mine called today and asked if I could use any help fixing the car. How could I refuse?

He has plenty of experience with the trans mounted slave cylinder as that is what he runs on his race cars.

With this help we yanked the trans, and pulled out three shims. Slapped it back together, bleed the hydraulics and ....nothing. We went too far. Yanked the trans back out, added one shim back, then BINGO. I am back in business.

Somehow, someway, the clutch settled from my initial set. The throwout bearing was riding up on the clutch fingers and putting just enough pressure to allow it to break loose under hard acceleration.

At least in theory, this appears to be the problem, and the fix.

So, if it works, the six speed will sit on hold until after Sharkfest. However, I am going to start gathering the needed parts as I go.

I like the F body idea as well. The question is the location of the shifter in relation to the stock interior trim.

Thanks for the ideas and support.