bowtie6‘s ECOTEC permanently met the new AISIN 5 speed Solstice gearbox. It took some doing to get the right bolts because they were not supplied with the Mallett “take out” engine. But, after some searching, I found the nine metric bolts that hold the two together. Here are some pictures (and a little extra) of the event. The clutch actuator has been installed, the only thing missing is the special metal pipe that fits on the side of the hydraulic actuator. This pipe will be modified so I can use my Camaro clutch master cylinder. I’ll pics on that later.
BTW, the header you see has all been hand made from stainless tubing. The bung for the O2 sensor will be on the other side of the flange. Take a look:
First off very nice write up, I have enjoyed reading, you have faced a few of the same issue I have come across using this engine / gearbox set up. I do have one question. In the pictures of the gearbox your shiftier is not hanging of the back like the ones found in the Solstice or Sky; did you fab this up? if so what parts were used? This set up would correct my issues I am facing. with the shiftier being to far back..
Hmmm…. Well – I am impressed. You are the only person that has caught this little “detail” – very good observation.
Yes you are 100% correct: the shifter location has been altered. You see, in bowtie6, engine placement was paramount (I’ve covered this before several times). We wanted to have the engine exactly where we wanted it, which was as far back as possible. This was done on the premise of keeping the engine weight as far back as we could. Motor mounts, tranny mount and the shifter location then were all made to fit placement and not the other way around. Hope that makes sense.
When we moved the engine back, it made the shifter fall in the wrong place. My cousin Jim took the shifter mount apart and was able to modify this in such a way that we brought the stick forward a bit. Yes, it required some machining but that is what makes this so much fun!
Finally the stainless rod that acts as the shift stick (which is not the one in the Solstice) was heated with a rosebud and bent to fit my driving location. When I’m in the car the shifter falls exactly in the right spot – not too far forward and not too far rearward – it is perfect. We did try to make a “gated” shifter enclosure instead of the “boot”, but that just did not work out – the throw just did not accommodate for a Maranello style gate… Can’t have it all I guess…
Thanks for the info. Think Jim might want to make another set of headers, identical to yours?
I am sure Jim would be willing to make more headers like this. However, the big problem is that this all fits as a package: the flanges on the collector match the flange on the rest of the downtube that eventually is welded to the resonator. It would be hard to do this without the car in the shop to make things clear and line up.
I forgot to ask: what did you do for a fuel pump? I want it in the tank and was told I need at least one with 50 pounds pressure. My tank is only 7 inches in height. David
I’ve covered the fuel pump and fuel system in a previous post. CLICK HERE
I am in the process of doing the same with a Sunbeam Alpine (1955). The engine and trans together. I would like to see how you hooked up the clutch cylinder and who made the ex. header. Did you use the cat. conv? What did you do for cooling fan?
I used the clutch master cylinder from when I did the V6 conversion. It is from a fourth gen F-Body.
The header is all stainless – as is the entire exhaust system. My cousin Jim made all that from scratch. I do not run a cat. There is an 02 sensor bung welded at the main collector. This is done so it becomes as hot as required as quick as possible.
Fan is made by SPAL – the same as used by the boys from Maranello. They are not cheap, but they are the best.