one shortcoming ive always disliked about the Nova is the lack of a third pedal.... i REALLY would love to row my own gears, ive been considering a Manual conversion. Ive considered 4 and 5 speeds, but i think go Big or go Home... T56 all the way!

Right now i got a TH350, for those who dont know trannys, its a 3 speed auto, not the greatest for gas mileage, but its decently strong but mine is on its way out. its starting to slip pretty bad in first, so here are my options. If i stick with an Auto, im not keeping a 3 speed. im looking at a 200 4-R out of a G Body for the Overdrive, as its a very simple swap. I would have it built to handle alot more power then im puttting out, just in case...

Option 2, being heavily considered... Yank out the slush box, and start the long, expensive T56 swap. Ill need a custom crossmember, a pedal assembly, a hydraulic clutch setup, a special bellhousing, flywheel, driveshaft, etc.. ill have to cut the tranny hump and enlarge it. I can prob keep costs down by getting a low mileage trans and all the clutch parts (besides the discs themselves, ill go new for that) from an F-body, and all the work will done by me and my friends.

My nova will progress more and more towards my original plans of a street warrior, so either a Built 4 speed auto and the T56 should be up to a bit of a beating, though the T56 will keep the revs down with the planned 4:10 gears....

what it all comes down to is money/time... while a new auto trans is cheaper and easier to replace, how freaking cool would a 6 speed in a Nova be? yeah its been done, but the thought of rowing through a double overdrive tranny with a classic hurst shifter jutting out of the floor just makes me smile...

just thought id get some opinions/comments/criticisim

Are we beginning to have a rash of obvious questions being posted in The Lounge now?

Be a man, grow some chest hair, and row your own gears. :AH-HA_wink:

Are we beginning to have a rash of obvious questions being posted in The Lounge now?

Be a man, grow some chest hair, and row your own gears. :AH-HA_wink:

oh trust me, the only reason im considering retaining an auto is for cheapness compared to the stick swap, but i think i can do the swap for under $3500, and some fun fabbing skills will be needed, but i think it will be fun...

i mean, my thrid gear is 1:1 ratio...final drive in a T56 is .50:1!!! thats insane crusing ability

It sounds good....

If you can manage it, a manual is always better.

I say go with the stick. I always wanted to do that with my Cutlass. Using parts from either a rare manual El Camino or an S-10. It'll be a blast when you're done. I wouldn't do the old 200-R4, kind of a turd. A 700-R4 out of something maybe. It'll be expensive and time consuming, but some things are worth it. I wanted to put the disc brakes and rear end out of an S-10 in my G-body too. Never got around to any of it. Sadly. Go for it!!!

there has been at least 1 great deal on a t56...<$1000 on e-bay. my bro picked it up for his Z-LT1 conversion...just depends if you're patient enough. hehe

Your Nova is a hobby car, treat it as such. :AH-HA_wink:

No to the 200r4, and if you touch a manual El Camino I will find you and hurt you.

Your Nova is a hobby car, treat it as such. :AH-HA_wink:

No to the 200r4, and if you touch a manual El Camino I will find you and hurt you.

the only reason i say a 2004r over a 700r4 is the gear spread, if you look at the rtios, the 200 has a much better gear spread, and although from the factory they dont stand up to much power, ive seen QUITE a few 400+ cars putting power through a 200, more power then ill have for a while...

2004r's can handle some serious thrashing... if you build them for that. there are several companies that make beefed up 200's how much though i do not know.

http://www.racetrans.com/

http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/index.shtml

http://www.gearstar.net/transmissions/list.php?catid=25

just a few places to peruse

well my best friends dad builds trannies for a living, so if i got a core he'd get the hi-po parts for cheap, and build it for a great price.... but having a nice shifter to fling back and forth gives a chill down my spine...

If you're looking for quicker ET's at the track, you have to be a really good driver to be faster in a manual than an automatic. A lot of the quickest drag cars are automatics, but you knew that, I'm sure. And they're more consistent at the track as well.

This is coming from someone who loves to drive manuals.

If you're looking for quicker ET's at the track, you have to be a really good driver to be faster in a manual than an automatic. A lot of the quickest drag cars are automatics, but you knew that, I'm sure. And they're more consistent at the track as well.

This is coming from someone who loves to drive manuals.

car prob wont be a strip car much, if it makes it there at all.. the closest track is a nice ride down to Englishtown, Jersey. The Nova will however be a street warrior, and although an auto is the quicker, id rather learn how to shift nice and quick then to have to rely on an auto...

Well then, grab hold of that stick and slam it.

Make sure you get somethin like a hurst competition plus shifter, moving a shifter a foot in each direction looks cool, but it cost time

i was looking for a shifter like the ones in my dads old tractor trailers... a 4 foot shifter wth a 3 foot throw!

With a skull-shaped shift knob that has glowing red eyes?