[Trip59]

Just did mine, actually, just finished Wednesday night. I went from a long tail TH350 to a Saginaw 4 speed. I had to get a longer front shaft, as the Saginaw is the same length as a short tail TH350... yours will depend on the trans you pick.

I used an aluminum bellhousing from a 60's Chevy, Hurst Comp Plus kit. With my pick, trans mount swapped straight over, only thing I had to do was cut a hole in the floor and swap the driveshaft. If you go with a trans that needs a high hump, there are a bunch on the forum, I think wancosc356 has three or five of them listed right now, some other folks do too. I bought a clutch/brake assy off a board member, as someone hacksawed my clutch when they converted to an auto years back. wancosc356 has one of them listed too...

Biggest PITA was that I'm disabled (bad spine problems) and my buddy who helped has nearly as screwed up a back as mine and we did it on jack stands. Several beers and pain pills later, I had it in place. If you can beg or borrow lift use, DO IT.

When you replace the bushing/bearing in the end of the crank, be sure to use the freezer, it's your best friend. Spring for an ALUMINUM clutch tool, take the plastic one that comes with the clutch kit and chuck it as far as you can.

If it wasn't for the fact that I'm in such sad physical shape, it probably would have been a Saturday project. Took me a solid weekend worth of time, but spread out over two weeks so I could paint things, work at a slow pace, etc.

IMHO, can't beat a standard trans, I'd never drive an auto again if I had a choice, but, my 72 is now manual trans, manual clutch, manual brakes, manual steering. My HD is kick start, magneto, generator, manual clutch, so this is just a continuation of the anti-soft and cushy...

Trip