59 Impala - 3 speed to 4 or 5 speed

[ozzie7]

Paul... Do you recall the height of your transmission mount?
I'm just now doing the final install of the Muncie... been delayed for... well... many "reasons".

I have one mount from the 3 speed that is 1 1/2" tall and another that's 1 15/16" tall.
My goal is to have the best drive shaft angle and not create engine angle issues... IE: engine clearance/fan shroud, etc.
Thanks.

 

[pvs409]

Just got home 30 minutes ago, from Back to the Fifites in St Paul, Mn at fairgrounds (with the 62 Impala 327/300 HP 4 speed, in the picture above and drove it on my hoist)
5 hours both ways 65 miles per hour, factory air on on the way home. It was 70' and low 80's great weather.

I will check the height on my mount this afternoon(I know it was a new mount when I installed it).

Back to Fifites had close over 11, 800 cars (1964 and older). I did not see every car.
Had probably 2500 drive by our spot on the main loop in 2 days.
Paul

 

[ozzie7]

Paul... good idea to check it out after the trip... sounds like it was fun.
I tried some scaling using your pic and it looks like yours maybe closer to 1 1/2" tall.
I'll try that right now and see how things line up.

 

[pvs409]

The one on my 62 is the 2" tall one.
Its been in the car for 15 years. I have one more in my blue 62 SS 409 with a Muncie 4 speed, I think its the same height, and one in my 62 SS 409 convertible with a Richmond 5 speed also the same height as I recall.
I have done four - 4 speed cars of my own and 3 of friends (all 61 to 63) ,and I think I remember the 2" vertical height mounts in all the cars.
Paul

 

[ozzie7]

Thanks for checking Paul... I hope my 59 is consistent with your 62's as far as frame and crossmembers go.

I was working on getting the long speedo cable in place.
The grommet on the firewall that the cable goes through is brittle and probably won't survive removal.
Also there's an approximately 5" x 9" formed rubber cover with ribs that mounts to the steering column at the firewall in the drivers compartment that looks dried up and will easily break apart and could also use replacing.

Do you or anyone know of a source for these parts?

 

[DonSSDD]

Show Cars will have those parts,as well as most old Chevy parts place.

The 59 has the same frame and crossmember geometry but some floorpan differences than the 62, but I moved a saginaw 4 speed, transmission mount, & shifter plus 409 into my 59 and then later into my 62 with no issues. I had an issue later with the height of the transmission and mount when I cahnged from a saginaw to the Super T10, I had to find a shorter mount to keep the shifter from hitting the floor. I used energy suspension poly mounts. I think one of the mounts you have will work fine.

 

[pvs409]

I have found that the ribbed hard rubber covers under the dash are not reproduced for 59 and 60 Chevy's.
They are reproduced for 61 to 64 Chevys by Soft Seal - I have new ones for 61/62 and 63/64's that I sell with my complete 4 speed conversions for 1960 to 1964 Chevy's.
Show Cars has the new speedometer grommets (part # 3929 ). These firewall grommets are hard to install over one end of the speedometer cable -be careful to not rip the new grommet. Use glass cleaner or other lubricant to install the speedometer ring through the hole in the new grommet.
Paul

 

[ozzie7]

Thanks guys...
I'll have to use my existing lower steering column cover as is (just has a small area damaged) until someone makes a repro.
The grommet for a 59 (part # 3921) has a flap so it should be an easier install.

I've got the hole in the transmission tunnel trimmed up to clear the shifter and I'm ready for the final assembly.
My dilemma now is do I use the 2" tall or the 1 1/2" tall transmission mount.
With the 1 1/2" mount the fan does not hit the shroud.
With the 2" mount it does.
So it seems the position of the engine with the 1 1/2" mount is closer to where it was with the old 3 speed.

Now for the stuff spinning through my head:
Do I want to have the transmission up higher to help with the drive shaft angle?
Do I try to re-position the fan shroud?
The 605 power steering pump/pulley is closer to the steering box/frame... maybe it will hit with the engine torquing back and forth?
Is there more strain on the motor mounts (since they're twisted more than they were for the past 59 years)... or do I just loosen them and re-tighten?

Seems like I can always find a way to make things more difficult than they should be maybe.

 

[La Hot Rods]

Sounds like you need to get a driveshaft in and see where you are at.

 

[boxerdog]

I think I'd start with the 1 1/2" mount and use the Inland style carrier bearing. It can be machined to drop the shaft down a bit if you need to correct an angle, plus you could space up the 1 1/2" mount in small increments if you need to go that direction. I seem to always end up needing to do some tweaking in this department, usually due to combinations of aftermarket stuff and non-original setups. Another thing I think is a real plus is using a telescoping rear driveshaft section.

 

[ozzie7]

Sounds like a plan.
I'll put it together starting with the 1 1/2" tall mount and see where I'm at.
The rear drive shaft is the stock non-telescoping... and I'll start out trying that too I guess.
I never could figure how the factory rear shaft doesn't have binding issues without being telescoping.
I suppose there is enough fore and aft play in the rubber encased stock style carrier bearing to work with the suspension travel.
Hopefully the more solid Inland bearing will be good to go.

Seems I read some post recently that there is some movement that develops within the Inland style carrier bearing when using a non-telescoping drive shaft.
But I can't seem to wrap my head around that idea based on how it all connects.

Here's the carrier bearing and front drive shaft I bought.

 

[Don Jacks]

If you're going with the Inland style bearing,it's recommended highly that you go with the telescoping driveshaft.It will fail shortly otherwise.

 

[ozzie7]

The M20 is in and tested.
Had to go with the stock carrier due to what Don mentioned.
Didn't want to wait another month for the build of a new telescoping rear drive shaft.
Another thing on the wish list.

I used the same cross-member and mount in the same position as they were with the 3 speed.
The swap went well but I kept finding little things to replace as I went through the process.
It's that last 10 percent of the project that took 90 percent of the time

All I can say is WOW! What a dream to drive.
Had it up to 80 MPH and no vibration at any speed up to that.
And Phil... it didn't want to take off and fly... yet...

Love that look out the side view mirror.... nothin but Wing!
Can't help it... I'm a wing man.


Edit: I added a pic of where the shifter location ended up being.
This is the Hurst Competition Plus shifter and linkage kit used in a mid 60's Chevy II/Nova.
It came with the transmission and I had no idea if it would work... totally lucked out.
Seat is all the way forward in the pic (but not the position I use when driving) and in 4th gear.
Doesn't hit the seat and is ergonomically real easy to reach.
I like this setup better than having to cut the tunnel and putting the huge shroud on it.

 

[Phil Reed]

59 built by Boeing!!!!!!!!!

 

[63 dream'n]

The M20 is in and tested.
Had to go with the stock carrier due to what Don mentioned.
Didn't want to wait another month for the build of a new telescoping rear drive shaft.
Another thing on the wish list.

All I can say is WOW! What a dream to drive.
Had it up to 80 MPH and no vibration at any speed up to that.
And Phil... it didn't want to take off and fly... yet...

Love that look out the side view mirror.... nothin but Wing!
Can't help it... I'm a wing man.

View attachment 63270

Congratulations on your conversion .......you’re a lucky man to have those wings

 

[DonSSDD]

Great view.