Here's an update on the Tremec. I haven't been to the dealership since the Wuhan flue hit (that's what it's called here). I teach auto mechanics to High School Juniors at a Career and Technology Center and my days have been crazy since they closed school. Imagine trying to teach auto mechanics online to students and you can't tell them to do anything "hands-on" because if they got hurt - that would be a problem!! I'm busier now because of putting daily lessons together, making quizzes, having Zoom meetings with them, and the list goes on. I am not complaining!! I'm really glad I can still stay in contact with my students and work with them in this way. It's just not most ideal! This is probably the most time consuming period of time ever in my teaching career.
OK, moving on......Here's some pictures of the progress.
Here's the bottom of the cross member. You can see the bottom of the new top plate, the heavy mount area, and the nuts on the back side used to bolt the metal mount on.
After I cut the front off to fit, I bent the bottom lip down some and rolled the sides in. Once I weld it, it'll plenty strong
I also put a bend on the top for strength and welded it. I'm using grade 5 bolts and I'll put heavy duty washer on them for final assembly.
The first hole in the floor. The frame is bolted in and the trans is against the floor. I have 1/4 inch spacers raising the trans that I'll be removing. I want to make room for the trans with them in (plus extra of course). I have it marked with tape to show some areas of concern. At this time I think I might cut a large section of the tunnel and raise it to what I need, or maybe make a new tunnel, not sure yet.
Here you can see where the shifter is. I purchased the piece from SST for the early B-body that allows a shifter to come up through the correct hole on the left. Not sue if it'll work on a C, but it looks like it will. The trans is only 1/4 inch too high for sizing, but it looks like the console needs to be raised a little with the tunnel. If I raise the tunnel, the console mounts go with it of course. Could work.
This is a picture from SST website. It's an early B-body (same console as a C) with their kit that includes everything to go from an auto to the manual Tremec. The shifter comes through the floor in the same place as it does in my car. This is why I purchased the adapter for the shifter.
Here's a YouTube video to show the cross member and mount.
If you watch my videos and like them, please give them a thumbs up or maybe subscribe. Thank you!!! There's a video of a V8 Aerostar I built many years ago (my son also posted videos of the van) and a video I made of my sister's Rat Rod. I'll be posting some videos of my '29 Mercedes Gazelle and Mustang GT when time permits.
