63two

Im getting ready to drop a late model lT-1 into my 63 roadster I would like to use a gm 5-speed But I dont want to hack or cut the body It does not need to be a heavy duty transmission. How about the shifter hole? Has anyone done this ? Thanks in advance Steve from Western Mass

Hitch

There are plenty of kits that allow no modification of the body or frame. If you search Keisler or Classic Chevy you will find plenty of posts about the ease of the installation. I would say that there are at least 50 plus midyear members that have done the installation and probably 100's of Shark owners here on the forum that have. There are other options too.. BTW it was nasty there in Western Mass yesterday and today.. Glad I'm back in NC now..

61iwon

I have the Keisler 5 speed in my '61 and it it really nice to drive. No body mods to do at all. Just cut the bottom of the ashtray off because it sits higher than the other.

Dave

1-2-b-67L89

And one of the forum members (rb8806) is from Keisler. His name is Richard and he has been of great help to many including me. I'm confident he could give you assistance or at least help you with determining what direction you might go.
Good luck with a great project........
Chick

OCS1667

Steve I installed a GM T-5 last Aug & Sept and documented the project around that time. It was a fairly easy install. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable the car is to drive then before. The RPM'S dropped from 3800 @ 75 to 2200. The transmission is very smooth and does not have some of the inherent problems of other transmissions I have read about here on the Forum.

You are welcome to PM me and I will be happy to go over the pro's and con's of what I had to do. If you wish to speak to me that would be great, and I would be happy to share my # with you.

Dennis

465hp

We did the Classic Chevrolet Tremec TKO 600 in our 63 in September. We did it all in a day, no modifications at all to the car and it is perfect !! 2150 RPM at 70 MPH. 20 mpg on the Highway

Shurshot

My TKO 600 with a .64 OD along with a 4:11 rear makes me want to find that state out west that does not have speed limits

My car gulps so much gas that I had to modify my sending unit from 3/8 to a half inch pick up so when I was cruising the other day for about 40 miles and my gas gauge did not move for a long time, I thought something must be wrong with the float...... however all is well with the float and the difference is all in the 5th gear

BTW one word of advice....... If I was to do it again I would make the crossmember removable as the TKO is much longer than your muncie is...... they have kits for it or you could do something yourself....... when mine gets pulled again some day without a doubt it will be done then


Doug

465hp

If you don't want to cut your crossmember for ease of install or keeping things orginal, we removed the engine and installed it as one unit , but NOT installing motor mounts until it was all in. Took three of us 40 minutes to get it in and secured sitting on the garage floor with an adjustable engine hoist.

midyearvette

i couldn't agree more with pulling the engine, on my 66 bigblock car we simply removed the hood and fan and alternator along with all the other things keisler recommends and simply moved the mill forward a few inches, didn't even have to drain the radiator!!

beatervette

Just my experience: I installed a TKO 500 in my 1964. Had clearance problems with the tunnel. Installed body droop cushions. They fit in with no problems. I still had close to a 1/2" of clearance to deal with.
I am assuming that 1965 and later cars probably had more clearance to handle the big blocks. I have read other owners of '63 and '64's having no clearance issues. Could be just my typical luck. Just a heads up to other 63, 64 owners. Finally was able to mount tranny. Not been able to test drive yet. Hoping that I do not run into drive line problems now. And yes, Richard from Keisler is very helpful and patient.

Hitch

I'm not sure if it matters what year body the car is for this kit. Could it be that your body mount bushings are no longer the height that they were when they were installed 40 years ago.

Dave

jdk971

i am in the beginning process of buying a keisler tranny and have hiteckrods
in dayton ohio put it in. it will not be cheap, but i play a mechanic but want
someone that knows what they are doing. so far all the communications have
been great with both places. jim

beatervette

Replaced body mounts (old ones not compressed by more than 1/8") and even added some extra spacers. Did not solve problem.

midyearvette

is your clearance issue on the passenger side??

beatervette

Yes, passenger side of the center tunnel. There is a rib there that seems to cause the interference. Did not want to hack it out.

midyearvette

yeah that's where it's really tight on my 66 also. if you can get the top cover off the tranny grind off the ridge for clearance, i did, it's just a dust cover. also remember the only way to fit that tranny in a mid year is to drop the tailshaft from normal. this is what the supplied mount does which in turn mis aligns slightly the driveshaft angle downward at the front u joint. this could give a vibration in 4th gear that can be felt by slightly pulling back on the stick while cruising. you reduce this by adding flat washers to raise the mount. so that's why you should grind the cover because it allows shimming so you can raise the tranny. i have 1/8 " at the passengers side and have little or no vibration.....you'll be glad you installed this tranny.....hope you picked the right gear.......

beatervette

After trying three or four different tranny mounts, I found one that was a little shorter than the others (about 1/8" ). Now I had about 3/8" clearance problem to deal with. Ended up modifying the transmission bracket supplied by Keisler to drop tranny about 3/8 - 1/2". Clearance is now perfect, but I think my drive line angle will cause severe vibration problem. If so, my next line of attack will be to shim rear end or to lower motor 1/2".

Two questions for anyone out there. Does anyone know of a shorter transmission mount and has anyone lowered their motor by 1/2" or so by fabricating or is there an aftermarket motor mount that will do the job?

MassVette

Here's a llink on T-5 swaps and interchanges........
http://www.inliners.org/Jack/T5tech.html

midyearvette

man i think you are adding more problems to the install by grinding or lowering the rear mount even more than keisler! i know they recommend re-aligning the rear end but as it is bolted solid to the frame, and the fact that it is lower in your install could be impossible to obtain correct drive line angle. lowering the engine?? i don't think so...if you simply take off some material at the shifter rod top cover you could then actually raise the tranny at the rear mount and all would be ok....good luck...jmho

Shurshot

Hmmm......... there are "lower" mounts out there ranging from poly to solid in their design. If your motor is "real smooth" you may not notice to much difference but the bottom line is that poly does not absorb what rubber does and solid mounts absorb nothing and transmit everything.

Have you had phone conversations with Richard at Keisler?...... he will bend over backwards you help you.

Ultimately you are going to address your final shaft angle at the pinion snubber biscuit to get it right and not at the transmission/motor end....... however the same thing holds true there as does for the other mounts although the poly mounts are pretty close to the same height that the original rubber one is when new. I don't think you want the metal one as I have one and it removes a lot from what your shock absorbers accomplish.

To sum it up IMO "midyearvette" has given you some good advice.

Doug