Six Speed Manual in a Grand Prix!

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

Here is the video

I have copied this progress report from GPONA, so it may be a little hard to follow sometimes, with my posts, and not the the other posters.

Here is the parts list for the six speed swap.

2006/2007 Pontiac G6 Manual Transmission (F40)
55351918 BRACKET,M/TRANS SEL SHFT LVR CBL $29.26
15788845 CABLE, M/TRNS SHFT LVR $96.32 (there are actually two different shift cables used, depending on which RPO the tranny is. I have no clue how you can tell the difference. I guessed and got lucky.)
15296498 HANDLE,M/TRANS CONT LVR $74.30
15296500 CONTROL,M/TRANS (W/O SHFT PATT) $81.84
90522038 SLEEVE,CLU ACTR CYL PIPE $7.83
12580258 CYLINDER, CLU ACTR $89.08
24233802 CYLINDER, CLU MAS $90.17
15782888 PEDAL KIT, CLU(W/BRKT) (INCLS SENSOR) $79.87
10357933 SHAFT KIT, FRT WHL DRV - RH $225.93
10357932 SHAFT KIT, FRT WHL DRV - LH $236.35
22668353 SHAFT, FRT WHL DRV INTER $242.30

You will also need a flywheel from a 1999 Chevrolet Camaro with a 3800 and Manual transmission. I bought mine brand new from CarQuest for $75.

You will also nee a custom clutch. I got some measurements sent off to SPEC, and got the clutch right the second time. I had them save it on file with a part#, so if you go with a SPEC, you can just use one of these part numbers. Part number SC883H-4 . That is your st2+. Stage 2 would be SC882-4, and stage 3+ would be SC883F-4 .

You will also need a custom CV shaft for the passenger side. Sean Carlini from Rockford Constant Velocity made one for me that is has a lifetime warranty. The spines on the G6 axle stubs are smaller than on the Grand Prix, so you will need two front wheel bearings for a 2002 Malibu with ABS.

You will also need to relocate your oil filter. I went with this kit from Jegs, and had to grind a little "excess metal" off it. JEGS 51715 - JEGS Remote Oil Filter Mounts - JEGS

You will also need to change your pulses per mile to 60662 in order for your speedo to be accurate.

I still haven't figured out my shifter boot.

June 6, 2008

I pulled the car into my friends garage, and we got the old tranny out in under two hours. Not bad considering that we hardly had any tools out there. Next time I will take my whole toolbox from work. I haven't done anything exciting yet, so the first pictures will be kind of boring.

My friend Jerry and Me

You can leave the struts in place for this swap

Jerry working hard

It is out!

My destroyed differential.

New flywheel on left, stock flex plate on right.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 7, 2008

Well I got it all torn down, and started to fit the transmission today. A little more work is required than I first thought.

Removing the center console.

We don't need this anymore!

Making room for installing the clutch pedal.

We need to somehow fit a master cylinder in there.

I had to pull the wiper cowl off to unplug the connector for the wiper motor.

Here is what we were after.

And it is out.

The room we need.

Longer flywheel bolts are needed.

The flywheel on the engine.

The tranny in place.

It looks like I will need to modify the unibody.

My subframe is sitting about 3 inches lower than it should be. and there still isn't room.

Removed heat shield, and I got almost all the room that I need.

Well I just got home, and here is the latest report. We have successfully made the transmission fit.

My best friend Ben (left), and my brother Josiah (right).

Ben Welding.

Bens wife holding little Ivan. It is a rather tight circle, because my brother Josiah, and best friend Ben, married two sisters. So Ivan is "our" nephew, and Josiah's boy.

The shift counter weight ground down so it won't hit the exhaust crossover.

Ben Welding.

Jerry grinding the weld. The welder is not really made for this kind of work, and the rods were damp, so the weld wasn't the best. We ground it down and made it look good.

Ben enjoying a root beer float.

I'll be putting the Clutch and shifter in tomorrow after work. I'll keep you posted the best I can.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 9, 2008

We are working on it again tonight, and are running into one problem after another. First off, the G6 Clutch does NOT bolt up to the Camaro flywheel. Second, the G6 CV axles spin freely inside the splines on my Grand Prix axles. My solution is this. Just use bearings off a Malibu. I will have to cut metal shims to put between the hub assembly and the steering knuckle, but I am sure that this will be driving down the road yet.

Noah

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 10, 2008

Just a quick update before I go to bed. No pictures because I forgot my camera, and my friends internet is too slow.

We are running into more problems with the intermediate shaft mounting to the the engine block, but my friend is really good at fabricating, and he has a good plan. I was working on mounting the shifter on the floor, and actually got that done. I also had to take the dash the whole way out to get enough room to mount the clutch pedal. I will hopefully get that mounted thursday. Another bit of good news, the "N" body bearings do work with 3/16" thick spacers behind them. No news on the clutch yet. I cannot use the G6 flywheel because the bolt pattern is wrong, but I will see what the Fiero guys can help me find out.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 15, 2008

After a long night last night, I got the clutch pedal and master cylinder mounted. My friend Ben got the intermediate shaft mounted to the engine, and it looks like the cv axle wil be about 2 inches to short. I think the drivers side will be about right. I will hopefully get some pictures up soon. With a little grinding, I got the cv axle to clear the engine mount, but even worse, it hits the oil filter. I will have to move it. We will engineer that this afternoon.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 27, 2008

Here are the long waited for pictures. They still aren't totally up to date. For a progress report, I have dropped my CV axle off at a machine shop, and they will lengthen it for me. I haven't really worked on it much.

The new shifter

My modified center console

My dash all torn apart.

My modified firewall

My bearing spacer

My master cylinder bracket

My shifter ready for use. I had to take the whole reverse lock stuff off to make it fit in my console

Three pedals down there looks good.

my firewall going back together

Ben working on the intermediate shaft

Not cool

The new firewall

Good thing I have a strut tower brace

The bracket for the intermediate shaft

Ben and his moral support

Three pedals in place. For good this time!

The intermediate shaft installed.

The passenger side axle fits perfectly. Notice that I still have the grand prix bearing in there.

The drivers side need help, but that is why we have machine shops.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

June 30, 2008

I finally got back to work on the car, after a week and a half break. The lengthened CV axle fits just fine, and I figured out that I can cut and re-weld the oil filter adapter at a slightly different angle, and it will work fine. I'm still not sure what I will do about the flywheel/clutch, but I am going to try having a G6 flywheel machined to fit my crank.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

July 20, 2008

More progress

My lengthened CV axle

The Brake switch out of a 2001 Camry that I am using for a Cruise Control Disable.

I love how it looks with three pedals. I grin every time I see it.

My front and rear tranny mounts.

The rear mount.

The front mount.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

July 29, 2008

Today is a sad day for me. My flywheel came, and I realized why nobody else had changed the bolt pattern on one of these before. Because of the dual step design, it would cost more than it is worth. It looks like I am stuck with $750 setup from v8archie. So that combined with going to school this fall, it looks like this project will be on halt till next summer. I am really bummed out. I really miss not having a good car to drive, and relying on my bike or friends car.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 1, 2008

I got financial aid from FAFSA, so the progress will resume. As soon as my deposit clears I will order the flywheel from Carquest, and a custom clutch from SPEC. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Some of my brightest days have been right after the darkest night.

Noah.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 6, 2008

Here is another update. I sent off my clutch order last night, and will be getting a stage 2+ clutch. Here are up to date pictures.

Here are my Tranny mounts.

My shift cables.

My transmission range switch replacement.

I needed something to replace my shift interlock so I could take my key out, and this is what I decided on.

My center console back together.

You can tell by the cup holders that this car was never meant to have a manual.

Well that is all for now. I'll keep you updated

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 7, 2008

Well, as of tonight I have ordered the rest of my parts. The clutch from SPEC, a full size Camaro Flywheel from CarQuest, wheel bearings from Morad, and a remote filter adapter from Jegs. Yes, I know that I shouldn't have bought used bearings, but I don't have money for anything else.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 8, 2008

Well, the flywheel is 1.24" thick, so yes, I will have a rather thick pressure plate. The fluid that GM recommends is 75-80w APL-5. You can go to any GM dealership and order it. I just bought Royal Purple 75-90w from Napa, which will work just fine.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 12, 2008

Well, I got my clutch today, and I have made a serious mistake. I didn't realize that the throwout bearing on the tranny came with fluid in it and a check valve to keep it from spilling out, so my measurements are off. I thought that the bearing was 3.2" compressed, but it is actually 3.5" compressed. So I actually need a pressure plate with a thickness of 2". The pressure plate that I ordered has a thickness of 1.7". So just another set back. I was really hoping to have this thing driving by this weekend, but I will have to wait at least another week.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 30, 2008

I got my clutch installed last night, and man, does that pedal ever feel good! We are working on it right now, and I am hoping to have a first drive before the weekend is over.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

August 31, 2008

FIRST RUN LAST NIGHT!!!! IT WAS A BLAST!!!! For the first 300 yards that is, and then I mashed the pedal to the floor and broke my machined CV axle. So now I need to figure out something else for an axle shaft. There are quite a few electrical quirks that I have to figure out. Pictures will come later.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

September 7, 2008

I got the PCM tuned by Hotrodolds, and so that is taken care of now. Here are up to date pictures. I didn't take a whole lot, because we were giving it all we had to finish before last weekend was out.

Here are the pictures of my first SPEC clutch. The pressure plate ended up being 2/10" to thin, so I had to order a new one.

My second SPEC pressure plate.

My engine cradle

My rear tranny mount

My front tranny mount

I had to modify my universal JEGS oil filter adapter.

My broken axle

Ben's handywork.

All done!

I will try to get some Videos of the thing in action very soon.

**njbrain** · 10-11-2008

September 19, 2008

Well, I was going out to shoot videos and race my friends Jetta, and snapped the axle again. I will have to get in contact with an axle shop. At this point, nothing I do will hold up.