Ok will try and make this make sense I have ( what is said to be ) Packard to Chevy adapter ( 45-50 ?? not 100% sure. What I need is took be able to hook teh Packard trans to a 55 Pontiac bellhousing. How different are/were the Pontiac/Chevy bells back then ( I ask cause some GM stuff interchanges ) Thanks
Sorry to say this, but that adapter plate you have is a peice of ****! In order to acurately adapt the Packard to any bellhousing you need something to ensure it sits truely parallel. To do this the adapter plate must be machined with a step that sits inside the bellhousing, and has the hole for the locating ring (smaller in the case of the Packard). This will ensure you do not chop out the iput shaft bearings - it must only run 2-3 thou from true. After the gearbox had been located, then you drill and tap mounting holes. Have a look at an old Offy catalog for pitures of what I mean, or chev out the old Hot rod article on adapting the Packard to a Chevy six.
What's the fascination with the Stude/Packard box? If it were me I'd just run a full syncro Chev 3 speed out of a mid 70's Pickup or car and be done with it. you can probably sell that trans to someone who really needs it for quite a bit more than the Chev full syncro would cost. No alignment issues, no clutch issues and no expensive one off adapter. With a couple of hours or less of hooking up the linkage and driveshaft you have it wooped. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Not positive, but I would think the 55 Pontiac trans would be the same pattern as 51-56 Olds Selector trans...because the pontiac should also be a Selector. The plate: I don't see a chev pattern there. Does it even fit that trans? If it fits that trans and IF the plate gets centered on the trans bearing cover sticking out, then it is possible to indicate the plate to a bell, and then do 2 dowels. Here's the other issue: Trans input shaft length. You need to put the plate on the trans, then measure how far from the plate face to the pilot bushing part of the input. Will it then reach the pontiac bushing in the end of the crank? Your pontiac motor needs to have a bell on it to measure. A chevy trans WILL NOT reach the pilot bushing on my 55 Olds bell that used the Selector trans. Now, Selectors used different lengths of inputs, so you need to measure exactly what length YOU need, because my Olds may not be the same input. That packard trans shaft looks long, so maybe it will reach. Another issue: If your Pontiac had/or/ will use side bell mounts like my Olds, make sure the trans face can fit between those bell mounts. I love putting things where they don't belong
Me too ,,and thanks for teh info Yeah its an old Honest Charleys adapter ,,lol I had one on the Offy ones ,,but was for Ford /Packard what fun would that be ?? and a 70's trans in a 50's FED would'nt look good
This is what a '55-'56 Pontiac bellhousing looks like. About all that bolts to it with no modification is a 55-56 Pontiac manual trans. A '57 will work with minor mods. Anything else you would need to at the least machine the center hole to be larger. The pattern is different also. And it's different from early Chevy also. If you can find one, most anything will bolt to a 58-60 Pontiac manual trans bell, they have the same trans pattern as most later GM transmissions.
I think RustyNewYorker has it nailed-- go to the '58-up bellhousing, then get or make, a GM to Packard adapter.
Little Wing, I've been watching your struggle to get this Packard hooked to your Pontiac and I think I can help. I ran this combo in my altered back in the early sixties. If you PM me, I'll send what I have.
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