always wanted one and now i got one picked it up in Florida and drove it home to houston with no problems. its an automatic, i will try to turn it into a manual floor shift car. any tips on how to do this would help me out. (dumbass me learned today this is not a bubbletop, i am always glad to learn something on the HAMB)
So its got a hydro and you want to switch it to a manual? I am seeing 1,2,3&D there correct? really nice lookning car but I think that is a 2 door sedan if I am not mistaken. really nice car. 283 car or 348?
That looks pretty nice... '59s are on my list of favorites..close to the top Black is just icing on the cake. I'd lower it some and drive it with pride!!!
It's not a bubbletop, it's a two door sedan and it's one of my favorites too, bubbletops are '61 to '62 GM lower end hardtops.
I have a Muncie M20 in my '56 Nomad and would love to put a 700R4 behind it instead. Lower first gear plus overdrive sounds nice with the 3.70 rear gears I'm running
Well to change the auto to a standard would require a petal setup and of course the trans. It depends then if you want to look stock or modified. You could source a standard colum or go aftermarket to get rid of the automatic indicator. And then the question is do you want manual or hydrolic clutch.
Yes it does make you sound stupid when you call a post car a bubble top. The term bubble top did not exist before 1962 and the Bel Air ht came into existence it was the way to tell the difference between a BelAir ht and an Impala ht. You had to distinguish which one you had so the nick name was born. I 'm not calling you stupid just trying to educate you. No body ever called a 61 HT a bubble top until after the 62 Bel Air made it popular. I had a 60 Bel Air HT and it was just a Bel Air HT and not a bubble top even though it had the very same top as the Impala HT.
Very nice and super clean bubble top bro. Congrats. Tell us more about the drive from Florida to Houston. That had to have been a blast
nice car ---drive it while you gather parts for trans change--don't take it down for more than a weekend at a time---pay no attention to the rude nitpickers, while they are mostly correct about the origin of the term it has evolved to the point where your car can be included[ in the opinion of most people ]---congratulations
while they are mostly correct about the origin of the term it has evolved to the point where your car can be included[ in the opinion of most people ]---congratulations Nit Pickers...it's not a bubble top!...its a 2 door sedan car....now if it was a hardtop 59 it would be closer to looking like a bubble top. No evolving. Really nice 59 by the way. I'd drive it as is, you might really like the combo, should get you pretty good MPG.<!-- / message -->
To go standard trans, buy the linkage parts, and trans of your choice, easy to find through auction sights. The crossmember has to be modified or replaced to fit a 700r4, a stock crossmember wors with a 3 or 4 speed, I'm not sure about a 5 speed. The driveshaft will need to modified to fit the standard you choose. Factory service manuals are available online, and have great schematics for the parts needed to go with the standard. Mine has a 427 and a 4 speed, all factory parts for the bellhousing and linkage, obviously some fab for the hurst floor shifter.
That there, my friend, is a way cool car. The only thing i would do is hammer it down a tad. It looks too nice to monkey with. Changing to a manual seems to be more work than it's worth. (.02)
It's not that hard to change it over from an automatic...need pedal (clutch & brake) assembly, bell crank, original tranny mount...I have all that and it's for sale. R-
That would be most of the uninformed people under 30 correct? The term has not evolved it is just not being used correctly, that's the same as saying if a lot of people start calling a model A a duece it is alright to call a model A a duece.
The first thing to do is to buy a "FACTORY GM" 1959 Chevrolet shop manual and assembly manual. These are reprinted and can often be found used on Ebay for a good price. These will have good illustrations of how and where the factory clutch linkage goes. As far as parts....Try to find a complete clutch AND brake pedal & linkage setup from any 1959 or 1960 full size Chevy. Stick brake pedals and auto brake pedals are slightly different. The easy way is to remove the entire brake & clutch pedals and bracket assembly in one piece from under the dash and replace the auto brake pedal and bracket assembly. You do not need to change the steering column to a stick column if you are going to a floor shift. Since you have a V8, you will need a V8 bellhousing....Either a stock 59-60 V8 one or a scattershield, (such as a Lakewood), will work. The rest of the clutch linkage is the same between V8's and sixes, (except for the cross shaft pivot that screws into the side of the engine block). Remember to get the cross-shaft bracket that welds to the left frame rail. You may, or may not need to modify your driveshaft. I've never had a 700R trans, so I do not know how it compares, length-wise with a Muncie 4 speed. The rear half and center bearing will be the same, no matter what trans is in the car. The front half varies in length, according to the length of the trans. A 4 speed , (or 3 speed O.D.), has the shortest front driveshaft half, while a 3 speed has the longest. The stock rear motor mount crossmember works with a Muncie. There are two sets of holes in the frame brackets, to vary how high the crossmember bolts in.
just some ideas. My 59 Biscayne came with full Impala wheel covers on body color steel wheels with skinny whites. Didn't seem right for a poor man's car to have full wheel covers. So we changed it to poverty caps and then changed it again to chrome reverse up front and black steelies with cheater slicks in the rear. Just something to ponder. It was born with a Powerglide, but now has a THM350 with correct indicator. I guess the change to manual is your choice, but IMHO, it is going to be a fun car to drive just the way it is.
I forgot to say, beautiful car, Miky2001, regardless of whether or not it's an automatic or manual. I'd drive the snot out of it if it was my car.
Great car, drive it like it is for a while, and look for the stock petals etc. do not start the change until you have everything needed. By then you may decide to keep it an automatic.
beutiful car .the only real bubble top is a 62 belair when they used the left over tops ,all the others are just trying to ride on the wagon.
Dropping the nose will give it a killer rake. Left over part's from the '61's made the after thoughts ('62) a true bubbletop?
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