[Dan]

I´ve heard that you can use a larger clutch from an s10 if you have the flywheel machined with new holes for the press plate to bolt to. This leads me to believe that the input shaft for the s10 and opel 4 spd is the same.

My question is, is it possible to change the bellhousing from an opel 4spd to a s10 5spd and possibly modify the shifter on the 5spd, get the clutch hooked up, etc... and have a cheap alternative to the getrag unit sold on Opel GT Source?

The possible oddities I can think of are:
input shaft position and depth
speedometer cable hookup may be wrong
output to the driveline will probably be a custom unit
shifter position may be way off, like in a Shelby Cobra
actual size of the tranny may be too large
tail mount will be custom

Anything else you can think of that would really hold it up? I think I can talk to the machinist instructor to take care of a custom lenght input shaft, but if the position is wrong I don´t know what to do other than a custom bellhousing, which would kill the plausability of this project.

 

[opelmark]

You can use the S-10 clutch, Dan--many on the Classicopels list have done it--but using that gearbox on your GT may be a time consuming, frustrating & ultimately very expensive experiment. Modification CITY. I suspect that if it were a viable alternative to the Getrag 240, every Opeler worldwide would have known about it by now... but if you´re serious about tackling this project, I´ll sell you a GT bellhousing for $5, which should just about cover the shipping. . .you do the work, I´ll kick down a bellhousing, & we´ll call it an Opel R&D experiment. Whaddya think?

 

[opelmark]

BTW, Dan, where do you FIND these Mazdarattis? Sounds exotic... and Happy New Year to everybody.

 

[erichm70gt]

Greetings -

I am a newbie also - however I have an article that describes a GM 3.4L swap using an S10 5spd because the shifter is mounted at the tailshaft & actually aligns quite nicely in the stock shifter hole in the tranny tunnel.

This is really an ´FYI-Only´ due to the fact that there are SO many variables in a drivetrain swap where the mounts are custom fabricated. However - IF such a swap is reasonably do-able, it would be a nice, ´affordable´ upgrade.

Just my 2 cents!

Erich

 

[Dan]

Mazdaratti

The Mazdaratti is a rare car indeed. The company is owned by Ford Motor Co, built in Italy, sold by select Holden dealers in the 80s, in Australia only. I was in Au on vacation in 98 and saw it, I had to have one. It is a 2 seater with a small block V8 and blows through the 1/4 in 9.8 seconds stock. I paid 30,000 for the car and had it imported to the US. It was kind of hard to get in so I had to register it as a show vehicle only since it will not pass US emissions or safety standards. I have a special stall in my garage that is temperature and moisture controlled with pollen filters.
During transport a fender was badly dented, so I had to have another shipped over from the old factory in Italy. It ran about $3000 for the fender and another $2000 to match the color. They had to try it 3 times to get it right.

 

[Dan]

Mazdaratti

I actually just made all that up, I was just having some fun with you guys. Mazdaratti is just my nickname for it, it is an 87 Mazda B2000 with a chevy 5.0L and Turbo350 tranny.

http://www.geocities.com/69nova.geo/mazda/


If the pics don´t show up you will probably have to click the link to the site and open them from there. Geoshitties is bad about linking to your own pics.

 

[Dan]

Tranny

forgot to mention I picked up a 73 4spd at the yard for $50. Shifts dry fine, didn´t see any filings in the pan, so I have a bellhousing to play with now.

Now I need to find an S10 5spd to see how they look togeather.

 

[GoinManta]

Dan.. talk about GREEN... !

I just wish I had half the patience you all did.. I could never get any of my things to look that clean and detailed.

Charles

 

[jim m]

I am all for expermentation, BUT if I were going to modify my GT i would put out the $$$ and get a 5 speed Getrag from OGTS.

why because they know what they are doing and it is much easier to install with thier " know how."

Just my 2 cents and 8 years of Opel knowledge.

BTW I do have a 5 speed in my GT and it is NICE!

 

[Gary]

Now I need to find an S10 5spd to see how they look together.

A picture is worth......Link to 4 speed - T-5 photo

 

[RallyBob]

tranny swaps

Damn! That thing is gonna need a 4" long driveshaft to fit into a GT......

 

[Dan]

Hmm, would probably cut out one of the drivelines and just run a single piece, shifter position looks reasonable, but would have to be cut in half, if the bellhousing is removeable it could be possible to fab that part up. Would have to look at the input shaft lenght and placement. Still looks possible, but more fabrication than I expected. Maybe a 5spd from a mid 80s camaro, I´m sure those have a removable bellhousing and may be a bit shorter, definately a shorter shifter than that hog. Thanks for the pic, it puts things in perspective. My dad´s friend has one with a cracked bellhousing, hit from the front corner REALLY hard and pushed the motor sideways while the tranny staid mostly straight. He´ll let me have it to play with. Maybe I can find a Camaro trans to try out too.

On a quest to find a cheap alternative to the Getrag!

 

[Gary]

The Camaro shifter is too far back on the trans. The pic I used is the S-10. It is the standard T-5 and the bell housing unbolts. The front spline is the same as the Opel clutch and the Rear spline the same as the Opel Automatic driveshaft. I´ll try to find some photos of the bellhousings.

 

[wally]

I have a tranny from a camaro, it is considerably shorter, but the shifter placement actually seems rather close. I am planning to use an Opel bellhousing, with an adapter i made on our CNC Router at work to bolt the 2 together. The only thing I am worried about is the speedo cable, but I´ll figure that one out when I get that far (if I ever do....hehe)

 

[steveyoung]

8) for what it`s worth,i`d go with the ogts 5 speed.it fits plus it was matched by somebody that knows opels.as for me keeping it original is alot of it.i feel in love with the car in 1974 at the age of 14.about 5 years ogo my dream came true i got a 73 gt with 73,ooo,after 3 years as a daily driver it`s over 120,000 and time for a refurbish.so it`s on blocks now and getting ready.i can`t wait till i get a 5 speed,it`ll been one of the last things a buy.a 4 speed will work,but for any highway trips a 5 is a must.

i just think ogts is a dream come true,i don`t think there is anything they don`t have.

 

[RallyBob]

I think you guys should investigate the use of the Chevette T5 tranny. I know of numerous people who´ve done this swap...apparently it bolts directly to the Opel block, and only the two upper middle bolts don´t line up...but not by much. Same clutch spline as well.Also lighter in weight from what I understand, and has a shorter tailshaft. Remember, the Chevette is just an Americanized Opel Kadett C, it has a torque tube and everything.

 

[Dan]

Are there any strength concerns with the Chevette tranny? I wouldn´t want to be going through them all the time when I get my motor done.

 

[GoinManta]

The Chevette 5-speed is rare.

Also there are TWO Chevette 5 speeds. One Gas and One Diesel, the Deisel one is far too long. You need to find one from a gas powered Chevette.

Also I know of one problem, it requires a good degree of modification to get the speedo cable to fit.

 

[Davegt270]

I ran a S-10/S-15 T-5 in my GT for over 3 years


took it out after a lady totaled my GT in 96

there was a write up in the Blitz some years back

at the time used Getrag cost $1500

if you look at Gary´s pic you see the shifter is two peice

once you take the to portion off the its the perfect ht

i used an Adapter plate from Manta-Part cost $110

on the Opel bell housing the throw-out Bearing slider thing is removed (the T-5 has its own) then 1/2 inch or so is hacked sawed off the end

the rear auto Trans mount holes are used with a very very short Auto drive shaft

the tunnel was massaged a little (so little in fact you might not even tell)

speedo was a custom made one cost $26 (never did get it calibrated

the clutch adj was a pain, never did get it perfect
the stock clutch adj bolt was now to short (because of the thickness of the adapter plate)
also very little room to adj it

the Trans is pretty heavy to

i thought it was a great setup but i am the only one

John curry is the only one on classic Opels that drove it

the Trans had .72 over drive which was great i think i had it at 5000 RPM with 205-50-15 tires and 3.67 gears

and i had more pedal left

Mark i could bring it up from TX if you want to have a look at it

HTH
Davegt27

 

[opelmark]

Sure, I´d definitely like to see it next time I´m in Denver. Let me know when you get back from Texas with it, maybe we´ll put it in your racecar!