auto-stick swap

[benny_64]

i am very intrested in swapping out the auto tranny in my 64 lark to a 4 or 5 speed tranny. do i have to go stude trans. or are there other options. i have the stock 289 in it. any advise appreciated. benny.

bdm

[whacker]

Benny, the easiest thing would be a three speed with overdrive conversion using the parts from a donor lark with that setup. That would give you five speeds, and the engineering would all be done. If you want to get into fabrication, the T-5 five speed is another option, but since you have an automatic to start with, you need to consider the addition of the clutch pedal and the rest of the linkage that goes with that, as well as a new driveshaft and related mounting and alignment problems. The T-5 would work best with a different bellhousing than you have now.

[benny_64]

so does the donor tranny require fabrication (crossmember/linkage/driveline)?

bdm

[whacker]

Well, it would require all the parts from the donor car, but they should all fit without modification. I do think it would be the easiest way. I think you would want a new transmission mount and a new clutch disk. And the overdrive wire harness. The rest of the stuff should all be a bolt-on fit if you pick the right donor car. The advantage to this is that if you have a question about how something fits, you can consult the shop manual or look at how it fit in the donor car. If you don't want the column shift, you could get a floor linkage conversion. I think there would still be a little fabrication, but less than an off brand setup. Why re-invent the wheel?

[benny_64]

i am more just moling it over, a floor shifter would be great but my biggest concern is freeway driving. i could gear the rearend but that can get just as costy as a tranny swap if you don't know how to gear a axle. and where do you find gears for a dana 27? your right though, why re-invent, but i bought this to be my daily driver and i do alot of freeway driving. right now i max out at about 55-60 (guessing) on the freeway, i am nervous to go faster due to there being no tach, i have been going off the oil pressure. benny.

bdm

[Roscomacaw]

Benny - 55 or 60 with a 289 - and you're "topped out" I don't think so! Not unless you're running 4.10 or 4.55 gears at the rear. Remember, the Plain Brown Wrapper and the Chicken Hawk (probably the best known Studes racing today) both have 4.55 gears in the rear axle. And both have been driven to WELL over 100MPH, time and time again! I doubt you're getting close to flinging any parts outta that 289 anytime soon. Of course, if you do have gearing like that in your type 27, it's not doing much for gas mileage, to be sure.[V]
I'm gonna sing the same tune as whacker here. The 3-spd OD is the optimum trans for performance AND economy. And with the (already engineered) bolt in parts from a standard shift car, you're good to go.
You'll need everything associated with the stick shift,O/D tranny (a T-86 of '58 thru 66 vintage) - the bellhousing, the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel and pedal W/linkage, the pertinent mounting parts, and the driveshaft. And let's not forget that you'll have to pull the pan on the engine so you can install the longer bolts to mount up that thick flywheel!
Since you feel you want a floor shifter, you can buy a good aftermarket one that'll work with your T-86 and thereby save some effort in swapping out the auto trans steering column for one that works with standard shift! And all this is doing it the "easy way"[}] You'll really be rear end deep if you wanna try and go with one of the known 5-speed swaps[V] But of course, people DO do such things - and IT IS your car after all. I personally happen to prefer easy, myself.[:I]
Oh - you mentioned a 4-speed also. I wouldn't bother if saving on RPMs is your goal. 4th gear is still a 1:1 ratio, so there's no "advantage" in doing that.
Before you map out where you wanna go with this, maybe you ought to crawl under the rear of your Lark and find the rear end ratio tag on the center part of the rear axle. Find out what gears you're working with. If in fact, you have 3.73 - 4.10 or 4.55, those would be great gears to work in unison with that 3sp O/D T-86. You'll have great get-away and yet be able to loaf along at 70!
Another thing to consider is whether or not your car's experiencing slip in it's tranny at speed. Does it pull strong when you step into it at speed[?] I actualy think such a scenario is a long shot but I AM trying to cover all bases here.[8)]

Miscreant at large.

[benny_64]

i will have to go check what the ratio is, and i am pretty sure i am not going to fling any parts, but i know that the tires i have it are definatly smaller then what came stock, so if it came with low gears already then this is just making it worse. i didn't just want the stick for freeway purpose's, i just prefer it over auto. i do appreciate the advise and i too lean for easy in these situations. thanks for helping me out in testing the waters though, i think i should really put a tach in for a drive and see where i am sitting. on the freeway when my speedo says 75-80, i am getting passed by everybody, even big rigs, so i think 55-60 is a pretty good guess.

slow64

[jackb]

Measure the height of your tires...6.70 x 15 were about 29 inches tall
Also, remember if you swap any other bellhousing/tranny combo you must
"dial indicate" your new combo to your engine block...Sounds like you would need to "farm" this out...Will probably run you $200.+ for a good reliable shop to do so...maybe less from a Stude mechanic. With that 289, I'd be thinking rear axle of 3.31 with correct tires...It should cruise 70mph @ 3000 rpms...

[benny_64]

well my tires are only 25 inches tall, and when looking for the tag on my axle i found a small tag mounted to the dif. at the dif. cover. it had 2 numbers on it one being 3.o7. if this sounds like a common ratio to anyone please let me know because it would be very re-assuring if it is the ratio. i think i will go the easy route and put some tires on a few inches bigger and maybe a tach for good measures. it would be catostrophic for me to blow my engine since it is now my daily driver and the amount of sentimental value i have with this car, oh yeh, any ideas on where to find a tach cable?

slow64

[Roscomacaw]

Benny, 3.07 IS a legitimate number for that rear's ratio. And man, that's about as rev-reducing a ratio as Studebaker offered! You wouldn't wanna use that ratio with overdrive. And frankly, I wouldn't want to use it with even a straight 3-spd!
You need some 15" wheels and mount some 195X75 R-15 tires on the car. Or even 205X75R-15 tires. Even at that, I can't fathom you stressing your engine with that 3.07 rear! Do you have any idea of what sort of gas mileage you're getting???[:0]

Miscreant at large.

[benny_64]

i feel so much better now, no overdrive,i do already have 15" wheels, and i think the tires are 70 series. i have noticed that i am getting pretty good mileage for this car, especially with the 2 barrel carb ( soon to be a 4) but i also haven't pushed the limits on rpm's. when my speedo reads 75 it sounds like my engine is running at least 4000 rpm, maybe more, i pamper this car the best i can so i was just being a little over-cautious. thanks for the great advise. oh yeh, any info on where to find a tach cable?

slow64

[studegary]

I know that you said that you prefer standard shift, but I thought that I would mention that there are conversion adapters available to install a GM overdrive automatic transmission behind your 289 V8. I don't know what you are looking for in a "tach cable." A modern electronic tach simply uses a plain wire. An old mechanical tach or the old style of electric tach would require something special. Unless your transmission is slipping, I think that with proper tires, you will find your existing 289, AT, 3.07:1 combination good.

[Roscomacaw]

Benny - what good would just a tach cable do you??? Do you already HAVE a tach? When you say "cable", what comes to mind is a mechanical type cable ala Speedo cable. Man, you SURE don't want a mechanical tach in that thing![xx(] Any modern tach (even the stock Stude tack for '64 - if you can find one) used electrical wires and picked up it's "signal" from the ignition circuit.
Does your Stude have the viscous fan clutch on it? I ask that because the earlier Studes that didn't have a fan clutch can sound like they're really screaming when it's only that the damned solid mounted fan is making so much noise.

Miscreant at large.

[benny_64]

htis is the oldest car i have ever owned and was assuming it still used a cable, i was hoping to find and original tach and put it where the blank instrument that says studebaker is. but it would probably be a lot easier to use a modern tach and just put it fairly out of sight. i don't want a huge tach on the dash or column maybe a 2 and a half below the dash. thanks for the info guy's, i am sure i sound pretty ignorant but classics are new to me, and for being only 24 i think i made the right choice going stude huh.

slow64

[Dan White]

It is a lot easier going the other way, stick to auto than the way you are wanting to go! I agree with Studegary, get one of the conversion kits and put a GM auto with overdrive behind your 289. I know Steeltech sells them (I bought a couple of his a few years ago) and there is someone else now selling them also in TW. A 700R4 (the later models, not the early 80's version, get one out of a 90's Camero or Firebird) or a 2004R, better gear selection than the 700R4 (some don't like as well as the 700R4 these but the Buick Grand Nationals used them pretty successfully!).

If you work it right you could still use your Stude column shift linkage.

Dan White
64 R1 GT
64 R2 GT