74 3 Speed Auto to 4 Speed Auto Conversion
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From: Catoosa Okla
74 3 Speed Auto to 4 Speed Auto Conversion
Before I can start putting the interior back in, I have to continue prepping the way for the LS2/4L60e conversion. Last week I had to convert the mechanical tachometer to electronic. Not a fun project, but do-able and now done.
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This one however, should prove to be a cinch, as a conversion kit IS available for this. The kit arrived today, and after work, I began the conversion process.
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The first order of business is to remove the case-hardened factory detent. It's held in place by 4 (four) itty bitty spot welds. The 4 included bolts came with locknuts. A 3/16" drill bit is the correct bit to drill out the 4 spot welds and provide the correct hole for the supplied bolts and nuts...or so I thought. For one, when the drill reaches the area of the case hardened detent plate, it's quits wanting to cut. Once I did manage to drill out the 4 spot welds, the factory plate STILL wouldn't budge. I ended up taking my Dremmel and a cut off disk and carefully removed the rest of the spot welds. What happened is when it was spot welded at the factory, the actual spot welds spread out quite a bit further than the home the 3/16" bit left me. Took about 10 minutes of careful grinding and she finally let go.
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I smoothed the metal out and the rest of this part of the project was a simple bolt in.
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Next up was replacing the original 3 speed shift indicator with the kit supplied 4 speed indicator plate. This consists of simply removing the black metal plate and placing the 4 speed indicator on top of the clear 3 speed indicator. Light flows through and is highly visual either in light or back lit.
The rest of the kit is safely packed up waiting for the 4L60e. Until then, it's back to dreaming of a 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear scratch, leaving sticky black rubber marks on the pavement while heading to the grocery store for a gallon of milk... or better yet. I'm flying around a 3 mile oval track at 151 mph....Yea baby! I can see me now!
[IMG]
[/IMG]
[IMG]
[/IMG]This one however, should prove to be a cinch, as a conversion kit IS available for this. The kit arrived today, and after work, I began the conversion process.
[IMG]
[/IMG] The first order of business is to remove the case-hardened factory detent. It's held in place by 4 (four) itty bitty spot welds. The 4 included bolts came with locknuts. A 3/16" drill bit is the correct bit to drill out the 4 spot welds and provide the correct hole for the supplied bolts and nuts...or so I thought. For one, when the drill reaches the area of the case hardened detent plate, it's quits wanting to cut. Once I did manage to drill out the 4 spot welds, the factory plate STILL wouldn't budge. I ended up taking my Dremmel and a cut off disk and carefully removed the rest of the spot welds. What happened is when it was spot welded at the factory, the actual spot welds spread out quite a bit further than the home the 3/16" bit left me. Took about 10 minutes of careful grinding and she finally let go.
[IMG]
[/IMG]I smoothed the metal out and the rest of this part of the project was a simple bolt in.
[IMG]
[/IMG] Next up was replacing the original 3 speed shift indicator with the kit supplied 4 speed indicator plate. This consists of simply removing the black metal plate and placing the 4 speed indicator on top of the clear 3 speed indicator. Light flows through and is highly visual either in light or back lit.
The rest of the kit is safely packed up waiting for the 4L60e. Until then, it's back to dreaming of a 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear scratch, leaving sticky black rubber marks on the pavement while heading to the grocery store for a gallon of milk... or better yet. I'm flying around a 3 mile oval track at 151 mph....Yea baby! I can see me now!
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[/IMG]
