I've got a 1980 Buick LeSabre with a 4.1L V6 and a TH350 that I intend to put a T5 manual transmission in. I do not have the resources, the skill, or the knowledge required. I'm gonna try anyway.
The car
will be slow. I do not intend to go fast. I am just making it into the car that I want to drive to work.
I'm researching how to do it, and planning for some of the difficulties I can predict.
1. My crankshaft is probably not drilled for a pilot bearing/bushing. There is an adapter at
http://www.supercarsunlimited.com/in.../catalog17.pdf but I don't know how to find out if it will fit or not. It's marketed for Oldsmobile 4-4-2/Cutlass owners. How can I figure out if my crankshaft's end matches the one the pilot adapter is sold for?
2. The T5 will come with a GM Metric pattern bellhousing. My engine is BOP pattern...
2a. As I understand, any 1965-up manual transmission found behind a BOP engine will have the bellhousing that I need. Sounds easy but it's really quite difficult...apparently nobody bought any. I've located a decently priced 1967 Pontiac Tempest manual transmission. Any way to verify that it is BOP pattern without having to go see it in person?
2b. What about an adapter? Summit sells this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TC...1&autoview=sku which is described as being for automatics but I wonder if it will work for a manual too...how would a bellhousing adapter differ for an auto vs. a manual?