need mid engine transaxle help , options....

[the13bats]

I am surfing around the net trying to find help with my kit car project,
The car runs a full custom frame and Corvair front and rear suspension with the Crown style mid engine set up,
Mine has a large Chevy v6.

When I got the car the shifter cables which are poorly thought out were disconnected and the side cover of the tranny was just held on with finger tightened bolts,
Did I mention that while I have built customs, kits and vettes from the ground up I have never been inside a gear box....the tranny style shifts with the rod like a stock corvair not a side shift conversion like "Wills"

When I got the car here it was in neutral but the first time I tried to move the lever on the shift rod coming out of the tranny it locked in a gear,
looking into the tranny I do not see gears that looked ragged out and I see the rings the shift forks rode in but I can't get any slide of the gears perhaps 1/8 inch movement...but I do not know what I am doing anyway....hence why I am here.

I need to think about my options, I could just move on to Audi or Porsche gear boxes...

Seems the easiest would be to get what I have working again, I am in Orlando Florida and would love any recommendations on a shop or person who can work on this Saginaw without charging an arm and leg and still not really knowing what they are doing.
Sadly it would seem too many shops are clueless.

I have heard of but can get much details on replacing the gear box with a powerglide automatic...anyone have any details, pictures of that?
Is it much longer than what I now have?
Is it hard to find?

And now for when I go putzing around in the gear box again, how do I get it in neutral,
should the forks rings move forward or back or?
I would at least like to get the car where I can push it around.
I looked on Google but can find any pictures showing what the inside of the tranny looks like in each gear and you would think that is out there somewhere.

Many thanks for any help,
Cheers,
P.

[flat6_musik]

Did I mention that while I have built customs, kits and vettes from the ground up I have never been inside a gear box.....

I don't think so, since this is your first post.....lol....just messin' with ya. I don't think you've got too many options here if you don't feel comfortable working on it yourself, you don't want to spend an arm and a leg and you don't trust any shops around anyway. You might do well looking up a manual trans (muscle car) specialist who will go through it, tell you what you're up against and who could just whatever the trans needs. Whichever way you go, I think it's gonna be at least some $$, and especially if you go to the Audi or Porsche route. That's just part of this game. I do hafta wonder if something's up with that trans, being that the side cover bolts were finger tight.

I'll bet if you yanked out the trans, cleaned it up really well and downloaded and printed out a maintenance manual for that trans, you wouldn't be so intimidated to tear into it. I rebuilt my own 4-speed and it was like just one big puzzle.....and a simple one at that.

BTW, welcome to the forums, 13!

[Tom Z]

..the 'shifter cables' were likely for using the 'big-car' side cover,which the PO took off and replaced with the stock Corvair cover..it's a bit tricky getting the reverse 'finger' in the idler down in the bottom corner,and holding the shift forks in line with the synchro's to get the Corvair cover back on,,my best-guess is you're 'in' 2 gears,one being reverse,and probably 3rd/4th..it takes some effort to 'shift' the trans without the lever,and you may need to separate the trans from the diff,loosen the mainshaft some,to put the synchro's back in neutral easier and without breaking something..can you post a pic of the trans w/ sidecover off?

[the13bats]

I posted this a while back and messed with it some,
The PO was simply a dolt, one of those people who buys a car turn key or near it then says he built the whole thing when really he didnt know which end of a wrench to hold.

Nothing wrong with the tranny, one cable was froze up and the dolt pulled the side cover thinking it was internal,
Like you say it's tricky to get things where they belong to get the cover back on, but I have never let a piece of metal beat me no matter how hard it tried.

The cables on mine were low end, one doing the in and out on the shift rod the other the twist and it came in at a right angle to the other cable both on shifter end and tranny end making for a big gross looking to me build,

For the shifer I scored a Fiero 4 speed one, out of a 6 cylinder car, the cables exit it side by side, to get that at the tranny I will use a simple bell crank,

My tranny has no drain so I will add one....

Many Thanks and
Cheers,
P.