I'm thinking about switching to a 4-speed. I have a muncie transmission, the bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, and some pedals out of a Nova. I have never done this before. Is it a big job? Will I need a new crossmember?

This going into a Chevelle? If so, what year?

'69 Chevelle SS. Has a auto shifter on the column. Bought the piece to eliminate the column shifter. Have bucket seats to put in out of a '70.

Go to the "technical reference" section of this site.

Wes.

If you go with bucket seats there should be a console I think for a 69".

You will have to cut a hole in the floor to accomodate the shifter/linkage. To approach origional there is a console in the '69 s but you could go without it I suppose. May be a length of driveshaft question.

Don't forget the z-bar, the pivot ball that bolts to the block and the complementary mounting bracket that bolts to the frame that the z-bar hangs on. I'm fairly certain the z-bar is still available from GM, and is definitely available from Year One, Ausley's etc...check your local Chevy dealer first, it may be cheaper there. Don't know about availability of the pivot ball and the other bracket. I believe you can use the same crossmember. Regarding the clutch and brake pedals, I have no idea if the same ones were used in the Nova or not.

As far as the console, I wouldn't sweat it...nice to have, but not totally necessary. Last summer I switched from bench to bucket seats and was going to put in a console. But the shifter hump is different and to get the console fit well, it's necessary to carve out the old hump and replace with the proper console hump. (Repros of these are also widely available.) I really wasn't in a big rush to pull up the carpet and start hacking, so that will keep. I have a feeling the floor in yours may give you the same problem, if you should decide to go with a console.

One other note; if you're putting this in a bench seat car, be aware that unless you usually sit with the seat the whole way slid back, the shifter may (maybe not, tough to say) hit the seat in 2nd and 4th gear. Now this is for the bucket seat shifter, I don't know if Hurst makes the proper bench seat design. The bench seat shifter had more of loop in it to accomodate the seat edge when slid far forward. Unless you're pretty short, I wouldn't worry about it.

I will be using the Hurst Super/Shifter 3. I will not be using a console, and I drive all of my cars with the seat all the way back.

EASY

I just recently finished converting a 71 350 2brl auto, to a BB Muncie 4sp using a 72 doner car with Cowl Ind hood, cruise and all related parts. The doner car had a tilt/cruise column which I also swapped (sometime in the past some one had added factory cruise and did a perfect job). Both cars were bench seat so I used the bench seat hump/bezel. You can weld, pop rivet or use sheet metal screws to install the hump. Just be sure to use plenty of sealer in/around the joint. I don't know if Nova brake/clutch pedals are the same, but I wouldn't want to bet on it. If they are not the same, they are available. But whatever it takes to make the swap, it is worth it. I am 56, and to this day I still don't understand why some one wants an automatic in a performance car. Automatics are faster? Not if you know how to shift. And 4sp, 5sp, 6sp are more fun. Autos are for Drs, lawyers (wimps) and yo mama.
Also, I just finished a 70 conv for my wife which was an original bucket seat WITHOUT console car (it was originally 3sp on the column and later someone installed a 4sp with bench seat hump). I removed the bench seat hump and added a console hump with a console. Too easy! I also added Factory cruise. I got ALL the parts (for cruise) from a salvage yard and regardless if a car does or dosen't have factory cruise, the bracket for the brake pedal switches is already in place. Again too easy! Good luck with the swap. Recycle the auto for Coors cans.

I almost forgot, you won't need a different crossmember. After market shifters bolt directly to the transmission. On 68-72 cars the crossmember for factory 4sp cars has a small bracket welded to the crossmember for attachment of the factory shifter. You won't need this bracket with a Hurst shifter.

Hey DZAUTO,
Correction, I own 2 4 speed chevelles and can tell you that not all doctors want automatics. Nothing like banging the gears and chirping the tires between shifts. Let's not generalize. And I do my own work, just dropped a 383 into the 69. That's the fun of it, doing it yourself. I am thinking of a Tremec conversion next.....

Rich, it was only intended as a little dig at those who don't really enjoy the fun and control you get with a real 4sp (manual) muscle car. SS454 Chevelles, Hemi cars, GTOs etc.with a 4sp are many more times enjoyable than the same car with an auto. Besides, I never learned to drive an auto (I just can't get that coordination down). I started driving a 3sp 51 Chev in 62 (and I still have it) and when I was a pre-med student in the late 60s, I put my first 4sp in it. I wouldn't switch to an auto if you cut off my left leg.

carefull DZ, I think rich might just be able to remove that leg for you http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif

I don't think the pedal setup will work from the nova to the Chevelle. The firewall is different and I believe you need the setup from an A body.

Hey JKennedy,

Last summer I swapped a 4 speed out for an automatic. (I wanted to go faster at the track--O.K.--4-speed guys insert comments about my lack of shifting ability here.)

I still have the original clutch, brake pedals, freshly surfaced flywheel, and Zoom clutch and pressure plate with less than 300 miles. I may still have the z-bar and other hardware, but would have to check.

E-mail me at pboston@hughesgroup.com if your interested in a purchase.

There are a few things built in the USA that are just plain Magic.
All that motion, sound and smell of a steam locomotive.
Propellers on airplanes ( especially with radial or RR Merlin engines)
Rochester Fuel Injection
AND 450ci with a 4sp behind it! My wife, God love her, has a 70 conv with a sm bk 406 and a Muncie.
I am not biased. Just opinionated.

DZAUTO,

totatlly off topic here, but weren't Merlin engines the powerplants for the P-51 Mustang?

If so than magic is right!

Yes, the Merlin engines were in P51 Mustangs. There were also three (ya, that's three) of them in PT boats!! (and they had to use aviation fuel)

The problem here is that "RR" stands for Rolls Royce and that's British!!

Some of the engines were called "Packard Merlins" and I don't know where they were built.

Wes.

And British Lancaster bombers had four(yeppers, you read that right) Merlins. At Oshkosh a few years ago, they had a Hawker Hurricane(1 Merlin), DeHavilland Mosquito(2 Merlins) and the aforementioned Lancaster fly over in formation,,Man, what a sound!!

Just a quick clarification. Yes, RR does stand for Rolls Royce. Yes the RR Merlin was usd in P-51 Mustangs (I have personally flown 2) The Packard Merlin was the US made Merlin under contract during WWII by Packard Motor Co. During WWII all auto makers as well as many other US industries made products for the war effort (Singer, as in sewing machines, was just one of the manufactures of the famous M1 rifle, and some of the tanks had the flathead Cadillac V8). One last item, the V-12 RR Merlin (used in p-51s) was the RR "sml blk" and the V-12 RR Griffon was the RR "big blk" (that's what Bernie Little used in the MISS BUDWISER boat before switching to a turbine engine, Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaah). And Clint44, if I'm not mistaken, that Lancaster was built with the bigger Griffons. And yes, what a sound! You should sit behind one of those babies with the stick in your hand! The L-88 of airplanes! Merlins are about 1700ci and Griffons are about 2200ci.