Chevybaker Trans Crossmember

[Dick Steinkamp]

Does anybody have a transmission support crossmember for a ChevyBaker (65'66)? I believe they are all the same...stick, auto, 6, V8.

Thanks.

[Warren Webb]

I have one. I was going to use it on a 66 commander I bought, but now I'm just going to use the car for parts to my 66 Daytona.

60 Lark convertible
61 Champ
62 Daytona convertible
63 G.T. R-2,4 speed
63 Avanti (2)
66 Daytona Sport Sedan

[gordr]

Dick, I removed the one from my '65 this evening. Only the park brake cable was holding it in.

I took a pic of it, and will put it up on photobucket tonight, and post it here. I will also take some critical dimensions off it.

It occurs to me that it might NOT work for a Chevy engine + Chevy transmission going into a Lark, as I'm not sure if the rear mount pad on the 100% Chevy setup is located the same relative to the front mounts as it would be on McKinnon engine + FOM or manual tranny. Might be fore or aft, and up or down. Holes in the cross-member are slotted, so you have about 3/4" fore and aft slack. As far as up and down go, you can use shims to go up, but you can't go down. The frame rails are NOT parallel at this point, so you have only a tiny amount of fore and aft movement possible there.

I can tell you that the upper surface of the transmission mounting bracket is about 1/4" above the plane of the top side of the inner flanges on the frame rails. You could probably make a very satisfactory crossmember from a piece of 2" by 1" channel iron.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[Warren Webb]

When my overdrive trans went south on the 66 Daytona, I put a T-10 4 speed in its place, even using the fiberglass Stude shifter plate in the floor, installed about 1/4" forward of the normal location. The only other thing i had to do was cut a section from a Jeep Wrangler front bumper & make a short adapter for the rear trans mount to the Chevybaker crossmember.

60 Lark convertible
61 Champ
62 Daytona convertible
63 G.T. R-2,4 speed
63 Avanti (2)
66 Daytona Sport Sedan

[Dick Steinkamp]

Thanks Gord and Warren.

This is just one of many "gotchas" that are involved with an engine transplant .

Just this "gotcha" alone is pretty 3D in nature. In addition to those fit issues pointed out by Gord, it can't occupy much of the space between the mount and the floor pan or it will not leave enough room to snake the exhaust through. Also, it can't be much below the frame rail or it will hang up on every railroad track and speed bump. The channel was my first thought, but if I mount it on top of the frame flange it might intrude too much into the exhaust space and if I mount it on the bottom of the frame, it might end up too low.

I do want to try a Chevybaker one. I don't think that there is a true "bolt in" (there never is on ANY part of a swap [^]), but it might be the closest compromise.

Peterson has a couple also (when it rains it pours ). If you can post that picture and the dimensions, I'll try to make some kind of a determination if it has even half a chance of working.

Thanks, guys!

[gordr]

Pics of the crossmember are now up at http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/b...hu/Crossmember

[Dick Steinkamp]

Thanks, Gord. I'll do some measuring tomorrow.

I assume the crossmember mounts with the crossmember flanges on top of the frame flange and with the crossmember tube "up"?

[gordr]

quote:Originally posted by Dick Steinkamp

Thanks, Gord. I'll do some measuring tomorrow.

I assume the crossmember mounts with the crossmember flanges on top of the frame flange and with the crossmember tube "up"?

Yes, it sure does. And the middle bracket points forward.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[Jerry Forrester]

Dick,you'll be better off to get an early Nova tranny crossmember (flat, not round), cut the ends off and weld on the angle brackets like the Studebaker crossmember Gord showed. The flat crossmember gives you lots more space for the exaust that the round one does.

Jerry Forrester
Douglasville, Georgia
Be sure to check out my eBay store
http://stores.ebay.com/CHROME-CHROME-CHROME_ and my EZ33 store http://tinyurl.com/2g2j88
for your shiny Stude stuff


More pix of Leo the '55 Pres HT here...http://tinyurl.com/2gj6cu

[Dick Steinkamp]

quote:Originally posted by Jerry Forrester

Dick,you'll be better off to get an early Nova tranny crossmember (flat, not round), cut the ends off and weld on the angle brackets like the Studebaker crossmember Gord showed. The flat crossmember gives you lots more space for the exaust that the round one does.

Thanks, Jerry. There are also the "generic" ones with various drops that all the rod shops sell.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/3279,444_Straight-Tubular-Transmission-Mount.html

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/4219,444_Tubular-Transmission-Mount-with-2andquot;-Drop.html

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/4325,444_Tubular-Transmission-Mount-with-4andquot;-Drop.html

[Dick Steinkamp]

I did some rough measuring yesterday, and it should be close. I might have to do as Warren did if there is not enough for and aft play using the slotted holes.