In about 7 months I am leave Dallas TX for Colorado University in Boulder Colorado!!! So I am saving all my nickels dimes and pennies to put a down payment on an apartment and what not, but to get to the story.

I have always wanted to change my '76 to a standard tranny, but I don't have 3,000.00 for the converting. I was talking to one of my friends fathers and he has an all matching numbers 20,000 original miles 1979 Camero Z28. He wants to change it over to an auto! (don’t ask me why) He said for a graduation present he would give me the tranny, clutch, bell housing, pedal, and linkage as so long as I put it in my car and didn't sell it.

So here is my question to yall. Would his '79 4 speed fit in my '76?

Also, what parts would I need other then the clutch, tranny, bell housing, pedal and linkage. Would it require any mods? Is there ANYTHING I should know?

Thank you friends,
Bill

 

A Borg Warner Super T-10 should fit.

Did they have BW or Saginaws in those?...or neither

 

I wouldn't know, I was hoping someone on here knew! Thank you for the reply should I have any mods or am I missing anything from the list?

 

Hey, no matter what it is it should work just fine for you, it looks like your list of parts needed is just about complete. There is usually a name on the transmission, like warner gear or saginaw , dont think it'd be a muncie. Good Luck,,,,,,,Peace,,,,,,,,Craig

You oughta go pay your chevy dealer a visit and ask them what trans came in a ' 79 Z . they should know

 

Old friend Craig,

This site does say it is a- 4-Speed (Saginaw) Muncie

Here is the website! Tell me what yall think!

http://www.nastyz28.com/camaro/camaro79.html

 

I'm sure the pedal assembly and linkage from the Camaro will not work in your Vette. Better scrounge that stuff.

There are several trannys it could have. Pretty much all will fit but the shifter from the Camaro is questionable as to if it will work. Even with his tranny and clutch. Your still gonna need a few hundred bucks in misc parts to finish the job.

 

Anyclue, on where I could pick up a pedal, and a cable linkage?

 

Ebay? If you don't find one there, I have an extra I might sell. I don't have any linkage (it's not cable).

There are a lot of parts involved in this swap not mentioned so far. You need a flywheel, different starter bendix, mount the z-bar pivot to the frame, driveshaft, shifter, console plate, 76 has a metal floor-not sure if the hole is the same as an auto, maybe more stuff.

My advice for a college student is leave the car alone for now and just get through school. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It is a generous offer he made, but if you are going to do all of the work of this swap, put in a 5 or even 6 speed instead. My .02

 

I agree in the end your still gonna want an overdrive....wait and get the complete swap kit from keisler...use the hydrolic clutch and you will be a MUCH happier man.

 

Bill,

You can probably have his old starter and flywheel as well. He will not need them. The shifter assy will likely need to be different. Your driveshaft might need to be reworked but that is shooting from the hip. There are a lot of small differences between auto and stick Vettes and this will be quite a challenge.

I would not start the swap untill I was done with school personaly.

-Mark.

 

Yes, the trans will fit. I am doing the changeover in my '72 from turbo 400 to stick. It is NOT cheap OR easy and there are a LOT of parts involved in the swap. Trans, bellhousing (Z-28 MAY work), z-bar and clutch linkage (a bracket has to be welded on the frame, Z-28 useless for clutch linkage), clutch and brake pedals (very difficult to find brake pedal and you will need BOTH (Z-28 pedals probably WON'T work), crossmember (Z-28 won't work), pivot ball (Z-28 will work), shift linkage (Z-28 shift lever won't work, too tall and long), clutch (Z-28 should work), pressure plate (Z-28 should work), throwout bearing (Z-28 should work), and a WHOLE BUNCH of little widgets and gizmos that attach to those parts. Check a service manual or parts catalog like Zip, Corvette Central, Corvette America, etc., to get illustrations. The yolk at the front of my auto driveshaft is identical to a standard trans yoke, but not sure about yours. You may need one of those. On mine there is no driveshaft shortening or lengthening, but again, not sure about yours.

It will be easier for me because I am also converting to a T&T steering column, so that part will be removed. Installing the pedals under the dash is a major pain, and at the least the column has to be lowered to do it. Make sure the crankshaft has a pilot bushing installed too. Some do and some don't.

The Z-28 will have a Super T-10 transmission in that year. Muncie 4 speed transmissions were used in General Motors cars from 1963 to early 1975 (you could also use a Muncie). And there is no such thing as a Saginaw-Muncie. Saginaw is Saginaw, Michigan and Muncie is in Indiana
Of course, if you want a REAL heavy duty transmission, you get the one built in Dearborn, Michigan. That would be the FORD Toploader.
But that's even more work to install

If you don't have a dedicated garage (meaning one where you can stop and leave the car when you get peed off) and an air compressor for air tools, I wouldn't tackle a job this size. You will also need floor jacks and probably at least one buddy to help you install all this stuff. It's not an "easy bolt-in" by any stretch and not something I would tackle as my "first project".
One more thing...if you buy a new clutch disc, make sure the clutch disc has the same number of splines as the transmission. It will be either 10 spline or 26. Also make sure the flywheel has the same number of teeth on it as the flex plate on the auto you are removing.

Dep

 

Nice post, Dep!

 

Well, wow! Thank you dep, and thank you everyone for the reply! Didn't think it would be this difficult, but you guys would know better then I would! So thank you again.

Thanks,
Bill

 

When I did the auto to manual swap into my 76, I purchased a new clutch pedal and modified my existing brake pedal. I removed as much as possible from the left side of the brake pedal leaving only enough material to attach some aftermarket pads. This way I was able to obtain the recommend spacing between the pedals. Before anybody says "Why didn't I just get a new brake pedal", I couldn't find anybody selling new ones so I went this route instead. Alot of work but not a great deal of money.

Good luck on your swap

 

When the previous owner of mine decided he wanted to install a std, he had to cut the firewall open above/behind the brake booster to get to the bolts that retain the pedal assembly on my '77. When I bought it, I went back to auto (didn't want to cut a hole in the floor) but had to leave the std pedal assembly in since I can't remove them without cutting the firewall again. I also can't access th 4th nut on the booster so only 3 hold it on now. I don't know if that's normal, but that's how my car is.

 

Yep...only brake pedals I've found are reconditioned ones at Zip. You can find the clutch pedal assemblies with no sweat.
Biggest cost will be the transmission itself (unless you find a kind soul, as wgc has), and the new trans crossmember (around $350).
Of course, if you are building it for performance or race use, then the Lakewood blowproof bellhousing and race clutch will cost more $$$ too.

Dep

 

You can remove them without cutting the firewall, but its not easy. You have to remove the steering column and its three support brackets. then you can remove the pedal assembly from the bottom of the dash. Take your time, and you don't have to remove the rest of the dash.

 

It is NOT a direct fit. For one, the shifter is not in the correct location.

You will need to get a corvette shifter mechanism and all the other parts to make a swap. We can supply you all of the parts to make the conversion. Please call our sales department.

Tell your friend to sell me the car and go buy an automatic car. Or they can buy our direct bolt-in 5-speed overdrive kit for their car for the $2795. It's a shame to convert a low mile Z28 to automatic - it would kill the future collectability of the car.

We have at least one or two good used T10 4-speeds here if a 4-speed conversion is what you want. Like the others said, the 5-speed is a much better investment, and you won't be throwing good money after bad.

 

Ummm...didn't I already say the shifter wouldn't work?
You can get a Hurst linkage/shifter that will work just fine.
That year Z-28 has little, if any, chance of being "collectible".
The only later year Z-28s that are, or will, be worth anything are the IROC versions. Otherwise, they are as common as taxicabs. And wouldn't a 5-speed pretty much KILL the "collectability" of the C3 Corvette? I hardly think getting a Super T-10 is "throwing away good money".

Dep

 

The above statement makes me very uncomfortable. I am reminded of signs stating "Do Not Feed The Bears". This kind and simple act of lauding him for his knowledge & expertise may be very dangerous in the long run. I've done it a few times in private, but to do so in public where he can see it could lead to trouble! This guy perfers Nova's for heavens sake!!

Chuck