The gas 5-speed was the longest of the gas transmissions so you will need to get the 5-speed shaft or cut down you current one. The floor pan has a plate in the shifter area that is different for the 5-speed and the two 4-speeds. If you have the ‘long’ 4-speed you only need to trim the hole a little to get the 5 to fit and you can reuse your console with a little tweaking.
Also you didn’t mention your year, but the pre-80 models are supposed to have a smaller tunnel than the later models and may not be large enough to accommodate the 5-speed. I don’t know for sure if this is true or not. The 5-speeds are kind of rare and I don’t recall anyone attempting this. I’ve got a ’78 I’m going to strip for parts that I’m going to try this on, but that might not be till next spring.
A couple things are unique to the 5-speed trans, you will need to make sure you get them with the trans if you go this route. The cross member and bell housing are unique to the Chevette. If you don’t have these 2 pieces the trans is pretty much worthless to you. If you have decent fab skills you could make a cross member, so that’s not necessarily a show stopper.
Rick Drake may be able to help you out if you can’t find anything local. He’s got a bunch of Chevette parts and is in Washington state if I remember right. Chevette.biz is his site and it has his contact info.
Hope this helps, Ra
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