The motor I'm building for my camaro will go in my nova in a year or so and I'd like to move the tranny too. If I bought a five speed tranny for it, does anyone know if it would be feasable to stick it in a '74 Nova??

 

What you would have to change depends on what 5 speed you're planning on using. If you're talking about a thirdgen T5 transmission, you'd have to get a regular 4 speed, old style bellhousing so you could mount the trans straight up, along with the Nova mechanical clutch linkage parts. The thirdgen T5 bellhousing tilts the trans towards the driver's side, so it wouldn't work right in an old Nova. The same goes for the stock hydraulic clutch parts from a thirdgen. Your best option would be to buy an aftermarket Tremec TKO 5 speed. Several companies offer these as complete conversion kits with all the parts necessary for your particular application. Besides that, the Tremecs are incredibly more stronger than the weak T5 trans. I'd say there's no contest here, go with a Tremec. They're fairly expensive though. Plan on roughly $2500-$3000 for one with all the conversion parts.

 

I actually had a tko 600 in mind. If I recall correctly you dont have to tilt those. They have a couple different shifter positions also. Why would the bellhousing need to change? I would like to rig up a hydraulic clutch in the nova as well. It used to be a four speed, with an automatic column put in, then a b&m ratchet shifter. Not sure how a five speed would feel though in the nova..........

 

If you decide to use a thirdgen T5 bellhousing with the Tremec, they offer an adapter plate that will put the trans in the straight up position. If you went that route, you'd have a bellhousing with the slave cylinder mount. Lakewood also sells an aftermarket bellhousing that's setup with the slave provision, and 2 different sets of trans mounting holes, tilted for T5, and straight up for all other manuals. You'd actually love having one of these 5 speeds in your Nova. They have great gear ratios. You can run low rearend gears for the best takeoff, and still be able to cruise right along on the freeway thanks to the 5th gear. A lot of guys with old Novas, Chevelles, Camaros, etc. are running 4.10's or better in the rearend, and still driving on the freeway at a sane rpm. My 69 Camaro has a Muncie 4 speed and 3.73 gears. If I could afford it right now, I wouldn't hesitate to ditch the Muncie and put a TKO in!