Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 hey everyone i havent been posting as much since ive been gathering parts for the 72.. anyways i test drove a friends 65 chevelle with a tremec 5 speed the other night.. and its killer! its a whole different animal from the th350 that it once was. heres my question to any of the tech gurus here.. since i hit up the junkyards around southern cali alot (lots of rust free cars people) i have come across numerous t5 trannys in Z28 camaros and trans ams. how hard do you think it would be to retrofit a t5 in my 72 which currently has a th350 in it and column shift?im leaning towards the pro touring movement now since i raced a bit at a SCCA road course earlier this month.. and if anyone wants caddy seville rear disc brakes maybe i can help since i live out in cali. anyways though im hoping someone can steer me into the right direction with a 5 speed swap for lil dough since im on a tight budget becuase of college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 I would assume that any of the clutch pedals and linkage from the Chevelles would work. The hardest part I think would be placing and or fabricating a crossmember to hold it, then there's the whole hole in the floorboard bit. It couldn't be that bad though, after all, I did it in a '78 ElCamino with little to no hassle. Hell, the worst time I had was tracking down an original clutch pedal... I've thought about doing it myself, but that's WAAAY down the line.. right now I have many other things to worry about. Let us know if you get it done! and post pics too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Well, I have a TREMEC TKO in my Monte and its a lot of fun. Stay away from the T5, it is waaaay to weak for a heavy car like the Monte... Save some money and do it right, get a TREMEC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 how hard was the swap Andreas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 how hard was the swap Andreas? Hmm, it was pretty rough. Quite a lot of custom manufacturing. However, now there are (almost) bolt-in kits available from a company here in Knoxville: http://www.keislerauto.com/ Also, read this: Auto to Manual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 thanks for the opinion guys, hey andreas seeing how ford used TKO's for the fox body mustang, there is ALWAYS an abundance of TKO's and TKO II'S at the yards. do you think scoring a sound TKO from a foxbody would be a cheaper alternative using an aftermarket bellhousing to attach it to the 350 smblk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 hey andreas seeing how ford used TKO's for the fox body mustang, Huh? To my knowledge, the TKO was only used in the Mustang COBRA. The foxbodies used that horrible Borg Warner T-5. Good luck finding a Cobra in a junkyard.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Phantom, Couple of thoughts / ideas/ inputs. We put a TKO in my buddy's 72 'Velle this year. Had to cut a pretty big hole in the floor to lift the trans up to keep the pinion angle on the drive shaft correct. We cut come metal and welded it in to cover the hole. Very nice trans. Now if it's a 6 speed you desire, you mentioed the T-5, there is a company called D & D Performance that makes 6 speed transmissions based on the viper model, T56. Up untill recently you could not use this with a bench seat, but there is now a shifter that will accomadate benches or running the shifter through the facctory hole in a counsil. I won't say some creative mods won't be neccasary, but it can be done. The T56 comes with a .50 sixth gear (the TKO is a .67) I have 4.56 gears with a 700r4 automatic O/D (.73 fourth I beleive) and drove from Chicago to Woodward two weeks ago. If I ever do a stick conversion, I will put in the T56. One other note. None of these transmissions are cheap. I paid about 1200 for my trans with a 2800-3000 convertor. But is shifts hard, and has all the goodies. The TKO is between 1600-2000. My buddy paid 1700 on ebay. The T56 is around 2300. Plus flex plate, bell housing, clutch, and if you plan on really ripping through the gears, a different shifter. A hard shifting auto can be fun to drive, more consistant at the track, and a lot lighter on the bank account. Just a couple thoughts. Big J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 One other note. None of these transmissions are cheap. I paid about 1200 for my trans with a 2800-3000 convertor. Yeah, the prices for OD auto trannies have come down over the last few years. But there is nothing like rowing your own gears... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Andreas, The trans it self came from Trans-r-us out of Florida(Transrus@aol.com, 1-727-942-7900). It was 975.00 with shipping. The thing is pretty beef. The convertor came from Quality Convertor out of the Chicago. Paid 190 for that. I was able to get that delivered to work by them, so I did save on shipping. But they will ship. Thier number is 708-547-9494. And the convertor is a lock-up style worth about 200 rpm savings on the highway. We did 70 the whole way up and down. I was spinning about 2800-2900 rpms. Big J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Well thanks for the input guys, I know first hand the capabilities of the 700R4 i had one pretty beefed in my 85 monte carlo SS and it was MONTROUS at shifting.. But i brought up the stick question because.. Rowing through your own gears and listening to the exhaust bellow is just plain killer.. besides i had a vision for an all out SCCA comp machine using the 72 as a base..guess ill just save all my pennies and dimes to buy a kiesler kit as andreas said..oh that and a whole global west suspension.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 So you plan to put together something like a Trans Am car from the 70's? That would be awesome. I would love to see a Monte done in that flavor. We need a mighty Monte in the pack with the likes of these: http://www.historictransam.com/racephotos/Monterey2002.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 Originally posted by wallaby: [QB] So you plan to put together something like a Trans Am car from the 70's? That would be awesome. I would love to see a Monte done in that flavor. We need a mighty Monte in the pack with the likes of these: Kinda wallaby.. personally since Im barely 21, ive always had a heart for any high reving sling your own gear apex smoking muscle car..i LOVED my 85 SS because of its nascar looks and rock solid handling.. and when i got my 72 out from the desert i had a vision of it done in retro style to be driven daily by me, but with every single piece of auto racing nirvana i have ever seem.. Z28's. challenger TA's shelby stangs..etc.i read somewhere i think andreas posted that the first gens had somewhat close to 50/50 weight dist if done right because of the extra 4 inch increase in length frnt/rear. i basically plan to just get her running again for a while to drive and save my money, then hopefully if my parents help out id order each racing part i can afford (trans mainly) and tear her down .. my vision includes junkyard treasures like caddy seville rear discs on a 12 bolt, b body disc brakes front, global west and PST parts, the 5 speed, and a somewhat stock for now/vortec headed 350. the body and paint work is non extensive because my brother is ASE certified .. it all boils down to what i have for cash and my imagination.. what do you guys think? APEX wreaking MONTE taking on SCCA parking lot racers and drift competition? or am i just dreamin??.. i welcome your responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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