tranny, wheel, cam questions

drk said:

I've got a 66 coupe with a 3spd right now. I'm going to grab a t5 sometime in the next week and the conversion kit... which kit do you recommend? I also hear hooker super comps are the only long tube headers that fit a 66 with the t5. Has anyone heard anything else about this?

With addition to the headers and transmission I plan on throwing a 600cfm carb, single plan manifold and perhaps just a cam. Stock 289 heads (but recently rebuilt). Should I wait to throw in a cam with heads or do a cam swap now?

I plan on running 16x8's with 4.5 inch BS. I plan on running a 225/50 tire as well. Got granada brakes on... Any fitment issues on a 66?

Also, can I put a posi track/ locker on a stock 8 inch rear end? It won't be used for drag racing, rather just back road driving. I don't need strong axles but need some sort or limited slip differential.

Click to expand...

As far as conversion parts go, I recomend the Modern Driveline cross member. You will need a custom drive shaft as well as some way to operate the clutch. Since your car is a 3 speed already you can keep the z-bar setup if you want or you can switch to a cable/hydrolic system. If you keep the z-bar, I think you also need to buy an adaptor plate for the T5 to fit your current bell housing.

The heads/cam/intake swap can be done later. I would get the trans swap done first and make sure there are no problems with it before you do anything else. One upgrade at a time makes diagnosing a problem easier.

The Granada brakes will for your 66 fine but you might need a new outer tie rod. I can't remember if you need a different one on a 66 or not. I'm not sure if 4.5" of backspacing is correct, you might need a wheel spacer with that rim.

You can put a posi into an 8". They are available. I don't recomend puting a locker in for street use as they can cause unpredictable responses from the car when going around curves/corners.