in need of tranny help

hey guys, i appologize for i am a total newbie to building cars and i am working on my first project, and i need help. i have been offered a 4 speep manual tranny out of a 72 chevy pick-up and was wondering if it is possible to hook this up to a 57 283 engine? thanks in advance for any help

dirt

 

Should be a direct bolt in with the right clutch disc.

 

and the right bellhousing, it takes the one with the larger diameter center hole (68-up truck)

 

My .02 worth...57 block is not drilled for a starter. The starter mounted directly to the bellhousing,so...........You should check the block to be sure it is in fact a 57. 55,56,57 blocks did not have any engine mount bosses on the side of the block(three 3/8-16 tapped holes in a triangular pattern). If there are no such holes you will need an early bellhousing 55-57, these are not so common, but maybe someone here has one lying around. Those old bellhousings were prone to cracking in the area where the starter mounted. '58 and later sbc's all had starter mounts drilled into the block and just about any bellhousing will join the engine and trans. Good Luck

 

some 57 blocks are drilled, since you could get a Turboglide in 57. Also the 68-72 truck bellhousings use the 3 bolt starter, so you could use one of them, no starter holes needed in the block, and it would fit the transmission (unlike a 55-57 bellhousing)

 

That truck 4 speed is big, heavy and has a "gramma" low gear...OK for a truck, but I wouldn't want it in a car, especially a rod.
JMHO, happy motoring, Frank

 

yeah, that goes without saying...but thanks for saying it! definitely a truck trans, not quite suited for cars.

 

Buford brings up a good point, I think you'd be better off with a '68 up 3-speed, or any other manual for that matter. I've driven those granny 4-speeds in the past and hated them, they are like having a 3-speed because you never use first gear, but it's a really slow clunky shifting 3-speed! Oh, they are strong, though.

 

the only good thing about them is that they have that old timey shifter lever.

oh yeah, the other good thing about them is that they are usually free

 

Since you're in there, why not a 5 speed? Hell, then you get overdrive!

 

Tranny help?

 

not that kinda tranny, haha

 

hey i wanna thank everyone for thier help, and i realized today talkng to my broher that the granny gear would not be cool in a rod, so my hunt for the tranny is still on, but i do have alot more knowledge thanks to all your posts, thanks again.

dirt