My buddy has a 74 Nova with a 350 HO engine swap coupled to the original TH350 auto trans. Just recently the starter gear shroud broke off (wtf) and ruined both the starter and flywheel, therefore we had to drop the trans to address the issue.

Now that its all taken apart, he's thingking of trying to swap in a T5 or Saginaw 4 speed manual trans. There's a bunch on eBay, but we're not sure how everything would bolt up with a T5.

The bellhousing would bolt up fine, but would the shifter be too far back?? And the crossmember wouldn't bolt up either I assume. Most of the T5's we've found for sale are out of 80's F-Bodys, do they have to use a hydraulic clutch, or can a mechanical style clutch setup be installed?? Also, what kind of linkage/pedal setup would work??

I'm thinking the 4 speed Saginaw would be much easier, since the car was available with that originally, and the clutch is a mechanical style. We found an online vendor who sells the complete clutch pedal linkage kit for a 68-74 Nova, which would make that part much simpler. Plus, I believe the crossmber design is very similar for the TH350/Saginaw.

The T5's can be had for cheaper, but do you think its worth the extra difficulty of trying to get it installed properly?? Or is it near impossible to get the clutch setup to work in the Nova?? Also, would the T5 hold up to 330HP and 380ft/lbs of torque??

Sorry for all the questions, I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks