i was told that it is a 1963 shifter. i have the engine and trans mounted in the frame......for the sake of this conversation let's say the trans shifter lever is 6 inches off the ground. i have the floor shifter mounted approximately 14 inches back of the trans shifter lever and is approximately 6 inches above the height of the trans shifter lever. I have a single linkage with eye bolts on each end. One to trans shifter lever and the other to the floor shifter. depress button on floor shifter lever and move from park to neutral the detent is fine.....then to drive the detent is gaining in distance......move to low and the detent is at the back of the shift gate leaving no room for the gear selector to move. I drilled a hole in the trans shifter lever to compensate for the pendulum effect about halfway up and the shift gate positioning is very nearly perfect. Park is fine....neutral works.....i will need to file back the detent on drive and low works but will need to modify reverse for it to "lock" in place. i believe that there is a secondary component.....ie reducer that comes into play on on stock applications to compensate for the trans shifter lever "swing" profile. The only way for me to get it work in my application was to drill a hole higher on the trans shift lever. happy to take pictures for anyone interested.
I get what you're saying. I had to do a similar thing to get my shift quadrant correct when I went from a Dynaflow to ST400 in my 62. I mis-understood and thought you were saying that the shift gates on the shifter itself were wrong. It makes sense that you would have to tweak the linkage a bit to get the correct throw when using a Riviera shifter in a non-Riviera car; even with the correct Dynaflow. It seems like the only way you could have it be spot on is to use a shifter from a 62 or possibly a 63 Wildcat.
I agree. I did a build on a T-350 for a small-block 400 Chevy that would take all that I could give it, but a stock T- 350 is a light to intermediate duty transmission. Also - all THM-350 transmissions are not the same. The lighter-duty 350s have clutch packs with fewer discs then the larger V8 units. My Chevy came with a SB 267 which I replaced with the SB-400. It ate the light-duty THM-350 very rapidly. I rebuilt it using a how-to book and after performing the suggested modifications it was bulletproof.
There are BOP pattern T350s. T350 was used in 70 GS350 making 315 hp and over 400 torque. I've run as quick as 11.60s with a 455 (550 torque) with nothing more than a shift kit in a junkyard transmission.
All THM 350s are not created equal. I doubt that any in stock form will stand up to the Nailhead"s torque, but as mentioned earlier, the 350 can be built up to take the power. The problem is that the THM 350 was never used behind a Nailhead and you will have to purchase an adapter setup. I would confine my choice to the THM 400 or the Dynaflow. If you already have the dynaflow, why make work for yourself? As another poster said - install a four barrel carb and manifold, and if you haven't done so already, dual exhaust. Those two together will gain you more then a transmission swap. If you want to go really fast, find an A body. It's lighter then the LeSabre.
I have a 400 in my 52 Buick with weighs 5000 plus pounds loaded for travel. Take for example leaving Phoenix, Az on 17 headed North to Flagstaff 100 degrees outside and at least half of the 100 miles plus is up hill. Four hundred forty foot pounds of nailhead torque at 80 mph would turn a built 350 into a metallic milkshake.
Part 2: Yes there are BOP-pattern THM 350 cases. But the Nailhead never used that pattern. The only transmissions that will bolt to a Nail are the transmissions that were attached to them. There are plenty of adapters that will allow many different transmissions to be bolted to the Nailhead; I have one that attaches my 700R4 to the 425 (actually 431) cubic inch Nailhead in the Buchev, But in my case the engine is about two inches forward of where it would have been without the adapter. Fortunately there was enough room to do that.
