powerglide to th400

i have a th 400 i want to put in my 1966 elk i have a powerglide in it now. all i need is a crossmember and a drive line. will the crossmember that i have for my powerglide work? if not what year of car can i use or truck 2 wheel or 4x4? thanks for you tine and info

Yes, your current crossmember will work, you just have to slide it back on the frame. There is only one crossmember for all trannys in the '64-72 Chevy A-body, the crossmember holes should already be in the frame for the TH-400 location. You will have to replace the trans slip yoke (spline count and diameter are different) and shorten the driveshaft a little. You will also need a TH-400 trans mount, the case-to-mount bolt pattern is wider, compared to the 'Glide.

There are two different crossmembers for 64-72 A bodies. Standard car crossmembers (wide) and convertible/HD crossmembers (narrow). Your El Camino should have a convertible/HD frame under it. Since it is boxed, the crossmember mounts on brackets welded to the inside boxing instead of to the bottom of the open frame channel like the passenger cars. I don't think the 400 was an option, so the frame probably doesn't have the extra brackets located rearward of the PG brackets. You will have to fab up some brackets and weld them to the frame if this is the case. Then it is simply a matter of moving the crossmember back, finding the correct length driveshaft with the larger, TH400 yoke, and hooking up a kick-down switch since it is electrically controlled on the 400.

You are correct. The TH400 was not offered in the A-body line until 1967. The PG crossmember will work, but if the Elco has a boxed frame you will need to relocate or extend the current welded on tabs to accommodate the new location for the TH400. I thought the Elco used the station wagon C-channel frame, in which case you only need to slide the crossmember to the correct location and drill the appropriate mounting holes in the lower frame rail. Note that there are three different tailhousing lenghts on the TH400. Which one do you have? The A-body cars used the short tailhousing for factory TH400 installations.

Thanks Redsdad, I forgot about the Elky being a boxed frame, and I knew that - we are running a 67 Elky as a race car!! Man, I really hated cutting that frame to tub the car, but thats what my buddy the owner wanted. Rust free New Mexico car, too.