ArdWrknTrk Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Cory, i think the challenge may be finding a manual pedal assembly and the pivots/Z bar to fit a pre '84 (or '83 for 460 pattern bellhousing) Oh...that never even occurred me. If I was doing a manual trans swap, I would go hydraulic, and I also recommend a 5spd (which can only be hydraulic anyway). If you already had a donor truck sitting there with all of the 4spd manual trans parts you needed, and it was a mechanical clutched truck, then sure, by all means use it. You can modify or fabricate a shifter for a 5spd so that it looks like a factory 4spd...that's been done before. However, the hydraulic clutch master cylinder might stick out like a sore thumb in the engine bay if one was trying to keep a truck 1980 original. So, I guess there are three options: 1. 4spd manual trans with mechanical clutch (Would be original to 1980-1983) 2. 4spd manual trans with hydraulic clutch (Would be original to 1983/1984-up) 3. 5spd manual trans (ZF5) with hydraulic clutch (original to 1988-1997) The 1980 cab should have a hole in the floor already for the mechanical clutch (With a rubber plug in it). Hydraulic clutch would require drilling holes in the firewall (maybe not preferred). Gary made the Zf work with a mechanical linkage. But he had the parts (and tools -mill, lathe, Tig welder) to piece it together. I think that the '80 truck won't accept a hydraulic pedal assembly (bolt in) I'm sure you can fit a clutch master cylinder to the 1980 cab, but you will probably want to do the firewall reinforcement at the same time. Patrick states he's a purist, so there was no 5-speed or hydraulic clutch back then. It's a T-18 or a NP 4-speed with the mechanical clutch in that case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Gary made the Zf work with a mechanical linkage. But he had the parts (and tools -mill, lathe, Tig welder) to piece it together. Oh...in that case I wasn't paying attention. I thought Gary's truck was a factory hydraulic clutched truck to begin with. He removed that and installed a modified ZF5 with a mechanical clutch mechanism? Seriously?... I must go do some reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Gary made the Zf work with a mechanical linkage. But he had the parts (and tools -mill, lathe, Tig welder) to piece it together. Oh...in that case I wasn't paying attention. I thought Gary's truck was a factory hydraulic clutched truck to begin with. He removed that and installed a modified ZF5 with a mechanical clutch mechanism? Seriously?... I must go do some reading. Not big blue. That was always hydraulic clutch. Whether it was his dad's truck (before he decided on the E4OD) Or one of the others (like Rusty or Brownie) IDK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Not big blue. That was always hydraulic clutch. Whether it was his dad's truck (before he decided on the E4OD) Or one of the others (like Rusty or Brownie) IDK It was Dad's truck. I added a ZF5 and originally used a clutch release lever from the ZF5 with the original mechanical linkage. But the clutch pedal pressure was so high it was obvious something was wrong so I started looking at the release levers. That's when I discovered that the hydraulic levers had far less leverage than the mechanical levers. So I cut an NP435 lever and a ZF5 lever apart and put them back together giving the ZF5 inside end much more leverage. It worked a treat. And I still have the lever should someone need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 It was Dad's truck. I added a ZF5 and originally used a clutch release lever from the ZF5 with the original mechanical linkage. But the clutch pedal pressure was so high it was obvious something was wrong so I started looking at the release levers. That's when I discovered that the hydraulic levers had far less leverage than the mechanical levers. So I cut an NP435 lever and a ZF5 lever apart and put them back together giving the ZF5 inside end much more leverage. It worked a treat. And I still have the lever should someone need it. But this guy would need the pedal assembly, frame and bellhousing pivots, Z-bar, bellhousing, fork, floor plate, stick, boot and gearbox. And a new column if he wanted it to look right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 But this guy would need the pedal assembly, frame and bellhousing pivots, Z-bar, bellhousing, fork, floor plate, stick, boot and gearbox. And a new column if he wanted it to look right. Yes. And the mechanical linkage is, as you said, a challenge to find. And if you do find a set it'll need a serious rebuild as they are always badly worn given the large number of moving parts and the lack of lubrication they got. Personally, I'd go hydraulic clutch linkage. Much, much easier to find. But I'd do as you said and add the firewall brace, for sure. As for it not being original, very few people know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 But this guy would need the pedal assembly, frame and bellhousing pivots, Z-bar, bellhousing, fork, floor plate, stick, boot and gearbox. And a new column if he wanted it to look right. Yes. And the mechanical linkage is, as you said, a challenge to find. And if you do find a set it'll need a serious rebuild as they are always badly worn given the large number of moving parts and the lack of lubrication they got. Personally, I'd go hydraulic clutch linkage. Much, much easier to find. But I'd do as you said and add the firewall brace, for sure. As for it not being original, very few people know that. Right But I'm not the one who says he's a purist who doesn't want to irreversibly change their truck. Cutting a hole for something that was never available, and modifying the cab to accept the later pedal assembly seem contrary to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampedout Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Love that blue and white paint scheme! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thing_in_a_box Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Love that blue and white paint scheme! I appreciate the heads up on what it's going to take to swap out the automatic for the manual. I know it would make my life easier if I just stick with the automatic, which would keep it true to the VIN, but since I'll be rebuilding everything I figured I might as well. I've been looking around for a donor that I could pull a manual from, but either I've missed them or they've been out of my price range at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I appreciate the heads up on what it's going to take to swap out the automatic for the manual. I know it would make my life easier if I just stick with the automatic, which would keep it true to the VIN, but since I'll be rebuilding everything I figured I might as well. I've been looking around for a donor that I could pull a manual from, but either I've missed them or they've been out of my price range at the moment. Well, if you really are interested in decapitating your transmission tunnel I'm sure many of us could help you scrounge the parts needed. I had been asking Ray about modeling the bellhousing side Z-bar pivot in CAD and having it in Shapeways library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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