nippytom

I like the idea of a six speed but im not crazy about cutting the crossmember out.so my question is can the tranny and the motor be swung in as one unit and do you have to use their crossmember?any feedback would be greatly appreciated. oh i have a 69 big block thanks

ddecart

I'll answer with a conservative yes. it should be possible to swing the whole engine/trans assy in as a unit and not have to cut the crossmember. You'll still have to make the necessary modifications to the opening in the tunnel and the fabrication for a new trans mount bracket. Should work though.

nippytom

thanks i was hoping someone would confirm that.

69427

I share your reluctance to cut up the crossmember. I've been dealing with this same situation since the early eighties. I put the DNE2 5 speed in mine (about the same size as some six speeds I'm sure), and had to unbolt and lift the body a few inches to get the transmission in. Since then, I've broken the tranny a couple times, and I ended up pulling the engine and tranny out together. A ton of annoyance just to fix the transmission. I'm currently building up a spare automatic frame, with a C4 suspension. I'll transfer the body over next spring. I just reached the limit of my sense of humor on the pain to remove the transmission. Just one question for the collective. Was it that much cheaper for GM to make and inventory two frame versions instead of one? It sure would have made life easier if they had made all the frames with removable crossmembers.
Let us know what you end up doing. Good luck.

Mike