Had the engine out for rebuild
While out...took out the muncie 4 speed with hurst shifter
and plugged it

Engine went back in fine.
front drive shaft yoke removed

Now...How does the tranny go back in?
The frame bracket is still out. Doesn't look like the tranny goes back far enough to get the shaft into the bellhousing.

Do I have to remove shifter and linkage?
Do I have to cut cross member?
Do I have to puul the engine and put them in together?

Any recommends appreciated

 

Lets see if I got you right. If you are using the hurst shifter, people have put the trans in with the shifter linkage attached. You do have to unbolt the shifter from the linkage. I'm told you will want to adjust the linkage while the trans is out, because of the difficulty in doing it in the car.

Now with the stock shifter, you can't put it in with the trans. Take all the brackets off the crossmember. You'll need to lower the engine as far as you can.(its easier with the distributor out so you can go lower without it hitting the firewall). With that done you can install the trans by positioning on the floor directly below where it will end up. Raise the rear end of the trans,and push it up into the tunnel above the crossmember. Then push it back as far as it will go. This will give you the clearance to lift the front shaft of the trans just past the bellh opening. Once you get to this position you can raise the engine as you move the trans forward to put it all together. Takes a lttle patience. I use a pump jack under the engine, and another under the trans to make it easier to align.

I'm doing that right now. Good luck

 

Thanks Deniis
I'll get another jack and a friend to hand me beer

 

Not happening!
I do have the shift handle out, but do I have to remove all the linkage?
It looks like it will go no further back into the tunnel due to the linkage hitting the E brake roller bracket (I remover the roller wheel)
and I still have 4 inches to clear the bellhousing

Has anyone put in a BB motor with the tranny in place?
Is this doable? I have not done anything to the engine except bolt in the motor mounts. NOW would be the time to have alternate plan

Wish I had a removable cross member

 

I've always removed and installed the engine with the tranny attached, on any car.
The BB is no different. Got lucky once and the drive shaft actually aligned once. Otherwise you just push the car a bit to shift the splines.

Don't know about the hurst shifter but the stock one is left in place and the linkages are disconnected. Can't you do that with the hurst? Install the shifter then install the tranny?

 

Just came back in. The trans is in. Took a couple of hours.

I first installed the motor with the trans a couple of months ago. Had to pull the trans the other day. Whether you install the trans alone or the trans and motor together, theres no way the stock shifter can be installed on the trans first. The trans linkage bolts to a bracket which bolts to the crossmember. Not to the trans at all. The brackets tough enough to get in there after the fact. Take the linkage off. You'll have more room to move the trans around

 

Here is how far I still need to go


Here is the tranny sitting on the crossmember


What the Hurst linkage looks like wedged in the tunnel


Closer


Any other ideas or see if I am doing anything wrong?

 

Get that linkage off. You even have the back up light switch on the side cover. Take that off too. Can't tell, but if the lock out cable is on there get that off as well. All this stuff can be put back after the trans is in. ( I admit some of its a PITA) Don't recognize that bellhousing. Is it aftermarket?

When I got my trans as far up the tunnel as it would go, the tip of the trans input shaft was hitting the bottom rear of the bellhousing. Alot further back than your. I did turn the trans,(side cover facing up), to get a bit more clearance. The tailshaft is flatter that way. Good luck Hope this helps


BTW It seems your exhaust isn't stock either. Are your pipes from the exhaust manifolds removed?

 

Ok superdad60,
The trick to putting a 4 speed transmission in the C3 with an immovable crossmember and the engine installed is......
The bell housing goes in last (intuitive eh?)
Remove the bell housing
Slide the transmission up onto the cross member as far back as it will go (usually it will rest there if you push it back far enough).
Doesn't matter if it's not straight you just want to rest it there.
Once the transmission is resting comfortably on the crossmember you can now begin to "cup"/slip/slide the bell housing up between the input shaft and the clutch/flywheel.
(This step is actually easier than it sounds)
When you are about halfway up you'll see that you will be able to place the input shaft of the transmission into the transmission hole of the bell housing. (you may need to slide the transmission forward some to do this so watch out for the weight of the transmission as balancing is the most difficult part)
Once the tranmission input shaft is in the bell housing circle push the bell housing up onto the back of the motor while raising the front of the transmssion. (the transmission can't go anywhere now as it's trapped in the bell housing circle - and Don't try resting it on the pressure plate springs).
Now bolt up the bell housing.
Once that's done you simply raise the transmission input shaft and slide it into the clutch.
This also works for transmission removal too. Quick too; usually less than 40 min.
Word of caution: make VERY sure that the clutch is properly aligned before you put the bell housing up there as there is no way to check it once the transmission is resting in the bell housing circle.
And, you'll probably need to remove that shifter first. I've done this several times on both small and bigblock 68-72's but all had stock shifters which go in last as pointed out in the post above.

 

Thanks Fred
This sounds like more of a scenario for my position
Once I have removed bellhousing, shifter and linkage and get the tranny in there...

You're sure, It is possible to bolt back in the the shifter and linkage?

Stay Tuned !

 

Hammerhead--- Next time I'm going to do to the bellh thing. Sounds like a good idea.



superdad60-- The shifter will go back trust me. Going out there right to do it. good luck

 

the shifter seems to be you biggest concern. remove all the stuff and install after. you dont need to remove the bellhousing or any of that. just drop your engine down, and slid the tranny all the way back. you should have ample room. simply raise motor back up slowly once the tranny is in the bell housing. the shifter bolts are a little p.i.t.a. at first but once you get the feel for it, its routine. wait till you try to install a tko 5 spd. with a non removable x-member!

 

Don't know about your after market shifter but I've never had a problem with the stock shifter going in/out with the transmission installed in the car.
Can be tougher depending upon your exhaust; I'm running a 2.5 inch exhaust on one of my 71's and that one is the hardest to get the shifter in/out of but it can still be done with the transmission in the car.
And for some reason my other 71 is so much easier to work on...could be the sidepipes but the jury is still out.
As for those lucky enough to "drop the back of the motor" with the bell housing installed; I've never been able to get this to happen. Every 68-72 I've ever worked on had the motor way too close to the firewall for the motor to drop far enough to get the input shaft into the bell housing circle. I'd sure like to see how they do it. Usually by the time the back of the motor hits the firewall the fan runs into the shroud as well. It's also a little rough on the motor mounts too. Far easier to "cup" in the bell housing.
Please let me know how this works out for you.

 

Well after reading all the replys...

I marked and removed shifter and linkage from the tranny but was still 1 inch from clearing the bellhousing.
Then I removed the plate that bolts to tranny that the hurst shifter bolts to.

Taa Daa!
It slid in like a teen boy into a Vegas hooker! (sorry)

bolted right up....
Thanks for all the responses, we're on our way

 

superdad60

Congrats on the install. Its a pita but it all goes in. Have something you may be able to help me out with, if your car is still up in the air.

I'm having a heck of a time locating the correct trans yoke for my 70. I thought you had a 68 which would have the yoke the same as mine, if your driveshaft is original. Also looks like you have a digital camera.(know how to get good pics up in there too) If you wouldn't mind taking a pic of the yoke, either in the trans or better yet, out. (a ruler along side would be great too). Figure I might as well ask for the whole ten yards.

Hope you don't mind. If you can great, if not thanks anyway.

 

Here you go Dennis...My trans is obviously out right now! BTW: '71 Coupe, 350, 4-spd Muncie M20.

Hope the pics upload...

[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Pictures\Corvette\Trans Yoke\Pic 1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Pictures\Corvette\Trans Yoke\Pic 2.jpg[/IMG]

 

Sorry...what's the trick to get the pics to upload???

 

 

71SoCal

Thanks for the pics. Unfortunately for me, yours is the wrong one. I took out a 71 driveshaft with that yoke to install the correct driveshaft. The correct one is about 3/8 " longer and the yoke is different.Thats my problem. The only one I've ever seen Is the one in your pix. Thanks Dennis