Hello All! Happy to have joined the community.

I just purchased a 1970 Delta 88 2 door (with a 4 door parts car of the same year). I am VERY proud of her. The previous owner said the transmission was bad. I plan to confirm this in a few weeks when work slows down a bit. If that is the case, would it be possible to convert it to a manual transmission? Cost effective? Practical?

If I understand correctly the did NOT offer a manual transmission for the Delta 88 after 1967?

A few bits I need some confirmation on. Crankshaft needs to be machined for pilot bearing? Bell housing, flywheel, and clutch can all be BB olds / buick / chevy / interchangeable? The factory 4 speed of the time period was Muncie M20, M21, M22 ?

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!

 

Well, it sounds to me like you've got the answers. Crankshaft is the biggest problem. You'll likely have to fab something up to make the Z-bar work, unless you go with a hydraulic clutch. But yes and yes on the bellhousing, and transmissions. What part of California are you located in?


John

 

I'm not finding the old post. But a few years ago I saw an ad for a full sized car that I thought was 1969-71 vintage with a manual transmission. I believe it was a three on the tree setup, not a floor shift.

John

 

There was a 70 delta 88 convertible on cars-on-line.com last year w/a 3 on the tree. It was for sale for several months and finally it sold. The car had no options, it even had manual brakes! I believe it was in Louisiana....

 

The factory 4 speed muncie for a full size Olds had an extra long tail housing on it. It was shared with 65-68 full size Pontiacs and 65-66 full size Pontiacs.

Flywheel is strictly 68 and newer V8 Oldsmobile piece only.

Bell housing are shared with all V8 Pontiacs 65 and newer and some Buicks if equipped with dual starter application bell housing. Hard parts to find will be clutch and brake pedals.

Henry

 

Possible? Definitely.
Cost effective? Probably not
Practical? Depends on your definition.

I'm pretty sure the column shifted three speed manual was offered through at least 1971.

Correct, crank will need to be machined for the pilot bearing. You'll need the 1968-up flywheel. Use a '581 bellhousing. Clutch pedal and linkage will be the problem. You may find it easier to adapt an aftermarket street rod style pedal assembly with a hydraulic clutch. Of course you'll need to fabricate things like the clutch safety switch and the backup light switch.

 

My next one after I finish my current project will be to buy a really nice 71 Delta 88 Royale Convertible, build a 71 W-30 motor for it with the 68-69 OAI style induction, and convert over to 4 spd. M/T.

 

Correct. Through '71, it was the base trans in the 88s. Last year for the 4-spd B-bodies was 1966 ('64-'66, all M20s).

 

I live in the sprawling urban metropolis of Rancho Cordova, CA. In fact, home to quite a few amazing gear heads.
I’m realizing the “cost effective” part is probably right out the window. I’m anxious to build her as fast as I can, however, as my nerves calm down I want to take the time and money to create a quality machine.

Factory manual transmission:
That’s fantastic information! Three on the tree! Never really considered that as factory offering, but it sure was. Personally, I like the idea of having the big luxury cruiser land yacht with shifter poking up out of the floor like a bench seat pickup truck.

Clutch Pedal:
The Z-Bar is the tradition mix of rods and linkages? It would seem my best bet is to (a) create a bracket, mount an aftermarket pedal (any suggestions?) and clutch safety switch to the bracket. (b) Clutch master on the firewall, I’ll have to see the space situation, bracket somewhere near the bell housing, and mount the slave to it. (c) Hydraulic line in-between. Reverse switch is by the shifter on reverse position? Where does that go?

Bell housing:
For clarification, I can use Pontiac, some dual starter Buicks, but no Chevy? What is a “ ‘581 “?

Crankshaft / Pilot Bearing:
I have an extra Crankshaft (motor in a box more like) from a 72 Delta 88 I had. Can I take the crank and the pilot bearing to a machine shop and have machinist fit it? Also, if I stroll in my local Napa auto parts, what application should I request the pilot bearing from? Cutlass? Year?

Flywheel / Clutch :
Ah! Same question as I mentioned. What application should I be looking for on the flywheel and the clutch? Cutlass? Year? I would imagine that hinges largely on the spline count of the transmission. Which transmission should I be hunting for? Recommendations? Should I focus on finding an earlier olds extra long tail housing 4-spd ?

Driveline:
I will need to have it made after I find the transmission? I don’t even know where I’d take it yet. Ill ask around.

 

Thank you for your help and patience. I just figured out the "quote" function of the forum.

 

All reasonable assumptions.

I would just add that you may be able to modify an earlier B-body (or even A-body) pedal assembly more easily than fabricating one from scratch.



Exactly. The Chebby bellhousing bolt pattern is different from B-O-P.



The last three digits of the GM part number.



Yes. See this thread, and use this diagram:

crank20dimentions1.jpg



The bearing is a 7109 (standard numbering system).
eBay and O'Reilly have them, at first glance, but you should be able to get a good one (such as Timken or ***) much cheaper if you keep your eyes open.



Olds '68 or later (use the '64-67 if you have a crank from those years - the bolt pattern is different).



Exactly, for the clutch disc. For the flywheel and pressure plate, obviously, it's irrelevant.



M20: Wide ratio
M21: Close Ratio
M22: Close ratio, square-cut "rock crusher."



Good luck with that. They're out there, but not many were made.
A short-tail one with a longer driveshaft should be fine.



Look for driveshaft shops - they usually do a lot of work for heavy trucking and equipment companies.

Good luck!


- Eric

 

Hey! Thanks for the info guys. I blazed through the pilot bearing / conversion thread. VERY interesting. Eric, thanks for breaking everything down. Once I recover from the purchase of the two cars, I am going to begin gathering and putting everything together. Would a write up be in order? I've never done one, but used many. Time to pay it back a little?

 

Here's more info on the 581

 

You're welcome.

Writeups are always welcome, especially about unusual subjects.

- Eric

 

That made it much easier. I dont want to get ahead of myself, but in the name of progress, I am going to buy the pilot bearing later today. Maybe drop off the crank next week?

 

Fleet Pride will make/modify a driveshaft for you more inexpensively than a custom, racing type, driveshaft


http://www.fleetpride.com/truck-part...estern.html#CA


They shortened mine for a little over $100

 

Hey! That's alright! The have a shop with driveline service 25 min away from me.