340 auto crank

[Bens340]

Hey all. swapping my auto car to a 4 speed, does anyone know how deep the hole should be for the pilot bearing in an auto crank? ive read i may have to cut 3/8s off the input shaft but i havnt found what the actual depth of the hole should be. i was using the brass style pilot bearing, which is installed but the trans isnt sliding in all the way, but will slide into the clutch splines but only slightly. all input is appreciated.

[Kern Dog]

That can happen even if the input shaft isn't too long. Aligning it all to mate up correctly can be a challenge.
You could try removing the pressure plate and clutch and try fitting the transmission to the bell housing that way. If it fits and bolts up, you know that the input shaft is fine and that the problem is a matter of trying to jump through all the hoops without trouble....that could be the issue.
In the Tremec installation that I did 3 years ago, the transmission fit the bell, the whole she-bang went together easily. When I pulled the trans and bell, installed the clutch and pressure plate then the bell, the transmission really gave me a heck of a time. I wiggled, shook it, struggled and cussed. I ended up tightening up the mounting bolts a little at a time despite the instructions advising against it. The issue was simply that everything was tight and snug so it was hard to just fall into place.

[John_Kunkel]

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[Bens340]

thank you guys for the input, i did try tightening the bellhousing to the block little by little. it just didnt feel right and i still had about a 1/4 inch or so gap, bellhousing to engine. i backed everything off, wiggled the output shaft slightly back and forth, turned the engine over slightly and still no luck. im going to get back under there this weekend and check everything again. lining everything up can be pretty tricky sometimes but i havnt had this much trouble in idk how long thats why i was figuring something wasnt right.

[DownZero]

Are you using a clutch alignment tool?

[Bens340]

yes i was. so an update i got everything installed. it was a combination of everything being new and just tight. i pulled everything apart, loosley attatched bell, that helped me match up the hell to the trans to get the perfect angle

[John_Kunkel]

OK, the bell is aligned to the block with two dowel pins which I assume are there, are they? And the trans aligns to the bell with the front bearing retainer, there should be no "wiggle room" with both installed. Since this is a conversion from an automatic, the bellhousing alignment needs to be checked with a dial indicator as outlined in the FSM...did you do that? If not, you might have problems associated with misalignment.

[Bens340]

little update, finished up the swap and have been driving it for the past couple weeks on and off... such instant gratification doing this, way more fun to drive. the combo is an early b body trans with a mount i made to put the shifter at the back of the tailhousing, prices of the correct trans with the duel mount set up and availabilty locally to me made this more worth it to me. stock clutch pedal set up with the mcleod hydraulic throw out bearing set up and street clutch, flywheel is just a stock one. very fun.