Chevy Newbie

[GENT]

Hello All-


My name is Jared and I live in St.George Utah. I have owned a 1976 Chevy C-10 for 2 years now,and always just thought of it as a work truck,nothing special.Usually my Daily Driver take up most of my attention; 2005 Dodge SRT-4. I love Muscle cars,tuner cars,euro cars......basically any kind of car,I am just a car guy. I have mainly been into Mopar, but brand loyalty means nothing to me,I love ALMOST anything with an engine and wheels. Anyway I want to go to college,and the only thing stopping me now is my SRT-4,so I plan to sell it and fix up the C-10 for a daily driver!


Here she is:


1976 C-10 Fleetside 350 4 bbl., Auto, A/C

What I love: Comp. Orange Paint(is that what Chevy Calls it?)
Dual exhaust with Glasspaks
350 4bbl. gotta love the torque!
3.42 Rear gears (makes for a fun 'round town truck&#33
Heavy duty suspension with front sway bar!


What I hate: AUTOMATIC.....dont know why I ever bought a vehicle with an automatic

The previous owners son rolled it on the drivers side,so its needs some body work,and when it rains it leaks in the cab.

So I am new to the Chevy world and the truck world and will need some help,that I hope I can get from you guys! Also if there are any other good boards for my truck let me know!


A pic of my SRT-4:

[TXcrew]

welcome man.i am a car guy too.i just dont care for tuners. i ad a 95 civic ex back before fast and he furious. that i fixed up a lil. but once i got my truck. i havent looked back.

[GENT]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TXcrew &#064; Sep 4 2006, 02&#58;48 PM) [snapback]63969[/snapback]</div>

welcome man.i am a car guy too.i just dont care for tuners. i ad a 95 civic ex back before fast and he furious. that i fixed up a lil. but once i got my truck. i havent looked back.
[/b]

Thanks Man&#33; I like your avatar&#33;&#33;&#33;



One question I have is:

What are my options for a manual tranny? This is going to be a street driven truck,and its 2wd,so I dont want a "work truck" tranny if you know what I mean.Something more for performance&#33; Are there any Modern 5 or 6 speeds that will swap into my truck? What kind of cost am I looking at. Whaen I priced out a five speed swap for a Plymouth Duster I had it was like 4,500 bucks I have always been told that chevys are cheaper to work on,and have a better aftermarket......is this true?

[DBYRD]

id say that holds true, plus im a chevy guy true and true and honestly i cant think of a better base vehicle to build off of than a chevy for many more reasons, mainly they r fairly reliable and so far they havent made that many mess ups as far a designs go so we&#39;ll see in 07 what they got for us&#33;

[RedHeartbeat]

Any 4.3L V6 or V8 transmission will bolt into there. If you buy a newer transmission that has hydraulic clutch you will have an easier time adding the manual transmission. I had a 73 with the compound low transmission, quite a waste of fuel on a 1/2 ton truck. It had a manual clutch pedal, also. Get something newer from a 5 speed truck or even a 6 speed car. Converting to the 6 speed will be more expensive though. I&#39;d say go 5 speed manual if all you&#39;re wanting to do is convert to a manual transmission.

[kwkenuf]

Welcome to the forum. Since you have a small block Chevy you have a universe of options both factory and aftermarket. However, if you are looking for a 5 or 6 speed overdrive trans, you could either use a T-56 6 speed from a Camaro 93-97, (pre LS1) or an after market Tremec TKO 5 speed.
You could also swap in a Muncie or BW T-10 4 speed and put an overdive behind it. Depending on your trans choice you&#39;ll need either a hydraulic system or mechanical linkage setup (Z bar) for your clutch and you&#39;ll need a clutch pedal-brake pedal set up (check local wrecking yards for the pedal set)
Depeding on your intended use there is nothing wrong with a properly set up automatic trans by the way... and it sure would be easier.....

[DamnYankee]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GENT &#064; Sep 4 2006, 03&#58;43 PM) [snapback]63967[/snapback]</div>

A pic of my SRT-4:
[/b]

Something looks familiar about that car...man, what is it....

Ohhh yeah&#33; I saw one slowly fade away in my REARVIEW mirror the other day&#33;

Just messin with ya - welcome aboard&#33;

[xlr82sxs]

welcome to the forum bud&#33;

[GENT]

Thanks for the welcome.....and the info for a manual tranny swap&#33; I was definatly thinking of a 5 or 6 speed with a hydraulic clutch set-up. Any modifications to the tranny crossmember needed?

[kwkenuf]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GENT &#064; Sep 5 2006, 11&#58;33 AM) [snapback]64055[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the welcome.....and the info for a manual tranny swap&#33; I was definatly thinking of a 5 or 6 speed with a hydraulic clutch set-up. Any modifications to the tranny crossmember needed? [/b]

Depending on the length of the trans and the mount location you may need to slide the crossmember back a bit and drill new holes. Check the spec sheets for the trannys you are interested in and compare them to your existing mount location....