73 Sport Coupe wheelbase question

[georgeramos]

hi all, I am planning on converting the 73 coupe i purchased last year to automatic for my wife to drive. A fellow forum-mate has offered to sell his rebuilt trans with most (if not all) necessary parts needed. The trans however was out of a Spider. My question is are the wheelbases the same and will all the parts interchange with a coupe. Im guessing since the coupe only ran til (75?) it was never offered in auto trans. Anyone know?

Thanks

[vandor]

The Coupe was never offered with an auto trans. The 124 Sedan and Wagon from that period were.
The Coupe has a longer wheelbase than the Spider, it has the same wheelbase as the Sedan/Wagon. You need a driveshaft from an automatic sedan or wagon. I just sent one to the crusher one week ago...

[RoyBatty]

Hey George,
Can I talk you out of the manual trans from the Coupe when the time comes?

[divace73]

From what I have heard you may have to modify the transmission tunnel to fit the automatic box in? Has any body had experience in doing it?

[georgeramos]

Roy, my other option for an auto trans comes from my friend Grover who has a TC sedan. Since the wheelbase of his car matches mine I will likely go that route and he MIGHT want the 5 speed as trade. If not you will be the first email.

Thanks for the info, if anyone has done it I'd love to know the experience and wether mods are needed.

[RoyBatty]

Is Grover fuzzy and blue with a red nose?

[RoyBatty]

Sorry, I just can't help myself.

[vandor]

From what I have heard you may have to modify the transmission tunnel to fit the automatic box in? Has any body had experience in doing it?

Maybe you are thinking of the 131 transmission conversion. Both the Sedand and the Spider came from the factory with an automatic, so I am fairly sure the tunnel does not need any mods.

[divace73]

From what I have heard you may have to modify the transmission tunnel to fit the automatic box in? Has any body had experience in doing it?

Maybe you are thinking of the 131 transmission conversion. Both the Sedand and the Spider came from the factory with an automatic, so I am fairly sure the tunnel does not need any mods.

Possibly, I do have a 131 in my car, others have stated that the earlier spiders have a smaller tunnel than the later spider??

I had 'assumed' it may have been for the automatic option offer in the later spiders??

Does anybody know for sure if the transmission tunnel stayed the same throughout production?