[jttrettel]

I am embarking upon converting my 61 from the slim jim to a 4-speed and would like to get some input from all of you.

First, other than what is available from fabcraft, do any of you have or know of a pedal and linkage setup for sale? I want to use the 63-64 stuff since it's a more simple setup. I already have a bell housing, 2 clutch forks (once you start looking the just appear in twos), flywheel pp and clutch. I still need the pedals (power brakes) and rod setup. Any help would be appreciated.

Second, what steering year steering column(s) can I use? Is it 61-62 only or can I also use 63-64? Can I make mine work by just removing the shifter arm?

Thanks,
Justin

[Pontirag]

its out there. join the poci and work it.baby ...work it

[jttrettel]

I'm a member of POCI...I've seen some in the monthly magazine, guess I could post an ad myself. Thanks for the tip.

[Steve Barcak]

Justin,
the 61-64 column should work fine. The 63 and 64s are much easier to locate as Pontiac made a lot of GPs in those years and they were all floorshifts.

You can also use your existing column by just taking out your shift lever. There will be the stub there though.
Keep us posted on your progress.

[tom s]

I think Brad has 63-64 stuff right now.Saw it on ebay.Tom

[Keith Seymore]

Justin - Subscribing to see how it goes, and to root you on.

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

Justin,
the 61-64 column should work fine. The 63 and 64s are much easier to locate as Pontiac made a lot of GPs in those years and they were all floorshifts.

You can also use your existing column by just taking out your shift lever. There will be the stub there though.
Keep us posted on your progress.

I have also used the existing column by (carefully) cutting the stub off and then mounting a Sun tach on the column to cover the hole.

K

[Stuart]

I know some people have sawed the stub off the steering column, filled it with fiberglass or epoxy and then repainted it with good results.

If you're looking for new linkage, Fabcraft is the only game in town. For used parts, watch the classified ads here, on the POCI website or eBay. Remember that the pedals and clutch linkage will be the same on three speed cars.

[pfilean]

Watch e-bay also. Pedal sets come through occasionally. Just do a parts search for 61 Pontiac and hope it doesn't find too much useless stuff.

[jttrettel]

I look fairly often on ebay, here, and craigslist. I have missed out on a couple setups recently, then there was the latest setup that the guy decided not to sell me.

Thanks for all of the tips and I would appreciate any further help you can offer. I keep you posted on what I do.

[Ragtop Man]

Seen several scrap '62 GPs, the closest common family member, including one salvage car on ebay, dunno if it is a stick but it will have the column. No disrespect to Steve, but, definitely worth throwing a call to Desert Valley Auto Parts or California Pontiac Resto to see if they have a manual '61-4, or a Grand Prix with the column you need. Good luck!

[poison heart]

I was going to try to find a GP steering column when I do the swap in my cat. On my 59 I just pulled the auto shifter off the column and left the stub there.

[Phil Thompson]

There is a set on ebay right now look under 62 pontiac parts,
I searched for 2 or 3 yrs. for all my 62 parts. I got some from fabcraft, i got the pedals from Jimmy Kellett at Kellett's auto salvage in Laurens S.C., he built a nice replica of Fireball Robert's #22 62 catalina and has a nice 61 Ventura

[jttrettel]

Phil,
Thanks for the heads up on the ebay parts. I'll keep an eye on them.

Isn't the general consensus that the 63-64 parts are prefered over the 61-62? Also, do I need the entire pedal bracket to do the conversion, or can I just add the clutch pedal to my existing bracket?

I just picked up a 63 GP column from a guy for a good price. I hope that it will work in the 61. I will know in a week or two.

[jww]

Hi, Phil:

Just my opinion, but unless I were building a car to be judged I would avoid the 61/62 clutch linkage like the plague. There are several points and pivots that can wear and it's just a funky setup as far as I'm concerned. If it were a great set up, Pontiac would have stayed with it instead of going to "conventional" frame and bellhousing mounted pivots and counter-shaft.

Not to knock the e-bay parts on sale, but I'd bet my shifter those parts are worn and would probably need attention before you could use them anyway.

I bought just a clutch pedal from Brad @ Fabcraft as well as a new repopped countershaft (z-bar), ball for 63-64 bellhousing and frame mount and put this in my 62 and it all worked out fine. I have a 61 Catalina project and I'll do the same to it when I get to working on that car...........

Again, JMO........Jerry

[jww]

Sorry: my post today should have been directed to Justin.......

Hope this helps

JWW

[jttrettel]

Thanks again to Phil. The seller of the 61-62 pedals and linkage also had an auction for a 63-64 hd "green spring" pedal and linkage setup. I won that auction, but it was missing the hd pedal bracket. Just so happens that there was a separate auction for just the hd bracket. I was able to buy it too. So I think I have all of the needed linkage now for a pretty decent price. In the last couple weeks I've also been able to get the bellhousing, clutch fork, and column. I should be able to start fitting parts in a couple weeks!! Should be exciting to see how everything goes together, but I seem to be off the ground.

Thanks to all here for their help so far and if either of the gentlemen that sold me the pedal and linkage stuff today, an extra thanks goes to you!!

[jttrettel]

Figured I'd give those of you following this conversion an update. I received many of the key parts that I need this past week and I was able to make some progress today.

As mentioned previously, I bought a 63 GP column based upon Steve's info that it would work in my 61. I disassembled it this morning so I could see how it all went together so I would know how to take the 61 column apart. It wasn't too bad to get apart, so I moved on to taking the column out of the 61. As Steve suggested, the two parts are nearly the same. I did notice a couple extra slots in the outer casing of the 63 column at the bottom end nearest the rag joint, but no apparent functional difference. For those looking to do the same, there are only two things from the 63 that you really need. First, there is a inner sleeve that slides up into the outer housing at the bottom end that fills the hole that the shifting mechanism sticks out of and connects to the trans. Second, and the purpose of the whole swap, is to use the collar at the top that doesn't have the gear selection arm sticking out. All I have to do now is send all the parts out to paint and then I can put it all back together. I'll snap some photos tomorrow to document everything in case anyone is interested.

For the pedals and clutch linkage, I ended up buying a couple things off of ebay to piece together a nearly complete 1963 heavy duty upper pedal assembly. I did discover that I am missing two pieces, from the diagragm below, #2, the clutch control spring anchor Pin, and #24 over center arm to spring plate. I plan to make #24 out of some plate steel, but I'm going to have to figure something out for the anchor pin. Anybody have one for sale?

The ebay parts also came with some lower linkage pieces that look fairly complete, but I'm not sure and don't know if they are even correct. Are the lower parts different from the standard parts? I assumed that they were since the uppers are different, but I'm not sure. Do any of you have a picture or illustration of what I should have?

That's all for now. More after I work on it tomorrow.

[TheMonkey]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

.... There will be the stub there though.
...

Rotate it up past park, and use it for a tach mount! Tach wiring routes cleanly down the column through the stub hole too.

[jttrettel]

Here are some comparison photos showing the two column housings side by side, blakc is 63 and green is 61.

Pic608 shows both entire columns that are dimensionally the same.

Pic607 shows the steering wheel end, they are the same on that end too.

Pic610 shows the rag joint ends that are functionally the same, but the 63 column has 3circumferencial slots in a spiral pattern that the 61 column does not have.

Pic612 shows the filler sleeve that slides into the rag joint end of the column to fill-in the holes at the bottom of the column.

Finally, Pic613 shows the collars.

The column is headed to paint this weekend, then back to installing it.

[jttrettel]

I've also made a little progress on the pedal setup since my last post. I was able to duplicate #24 from the illustration using some 1/8" plate steel. Seems to fit pretty well from what I can tell. No pics, but will post one later.

I am however still looking for item #2 if anybody has one. I'm pretty sure I can make one out of 1/2" square stock, but need to borrow a torch to get it bent properly. May attempt that this weekend if I get time, but if somebody has one that they would sell at a reasonalbe price that would be great.

As for the lower linkage that came with the purchase, it's a cobbled together 65+ z-bar setup, so in the interest of time I will likely buy the lower z-bar setup from Fabcraft unless one of you have a set to sell.

More to come.