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Borgeson 800126 Install 1971 Charger

Saturday Feb 29 Day 4:

Got the old leaky gearbox out of the car!!! It didn’t want to come out, I’ll tell ya that… It put up a fight. More like the exhaust header didn’t want the box to come out. If you have the stock exhaust manifold you will find it much, much easier to get out. My header made it very challenging.

I was not able to raise the box up and out… It ended up having to come out the bottom, so I not only needed the torsion bar out to remove the starter, but the gearbox as well. I rotated and moved the gearbox around, and moved the header around while adjusting the position of the gearbox for several minutes. I elected not to be under the car when it broke free, making the last adjustment to the header position from above leaning over the driver side fender. Then it finally dropped out under it’s own weight and landed on my Daytona floor jack box, which I had placed underneath to catch it, and break its fall. Better to land on that box than my chest.

It was a tight fit, and just managed to pass between the header pipe and inner fender / frame rail.

I cracked my oil dipstick tube during all this, so I will have to buy a replacement. The flared base of the dipstick handle didn’t fit properly over the dipstick tube anyway. The dipstick looks like a stock stick, but I don’t think the tube is stock. I should have pulled the tube out of the engine, before trying to get the gearbox out. It seems the tube just force fits in the hole in the block. I guess there is an O-ring inside the hole to keep oil from leaking out around the tube?

After getting the box out and examining the shaft that attaches the lower control arm to the K-Frame, I found a torn piece of rubber around this shaft. So now I may have to end up removing the lower control arm to have the bushing replaced that’s inside it. I guess the torn rubber was attached to the bushing and has broken off. Wasn’t counting on rebuilding my front suspension, so I wasn’t happy to find this, as it now prevents me from proceeding with installing the new Borgeson gearbox..

A comment was made a few posts above implying that my headers must be cheap, and that’s why I had so much difficulty getting the box out. I’ve had two people that saw the headers in person, say they are made of good quality steel. Don’t know what the brand is, but I’ve been told they are not cheap junk.

My headers are LONG tube, not standard length, and I think they were probably meant to be used with a manual steering gearbox, so depending upon your header design and pipe routing, you may or may not have as much trouble as I did. I know I was able to remove all 6 flange bolts without breaking any and I can get my spark plug socket on all 8 plugs, without any restriction from any of the header pipes. I’ve heard complaints regarding this about some TTI and Doug’s headers, and from their prices I don’t think they are considered to be “cheap”.

As you can see in the photos, the header gasket I pulled off the head is a Mr Gasket Ultra Seal. Came off in one piece, but has 4 small cracks on one side around the center ports. This gasket was not leaking prior to removal. I got a set of Remflex as replacements, so will see how they work out..

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About a month has passed since my last update. I've lost count how many days I've worked on this. It has turned into an epic!

Had to clean up and paint the mounting surface of the K-Frame. Solve my broken dipstick tube dilemma. I'm saving the stock tube and stick that I initially ordered from Classic Industries for future use if I put the stock HP exhaust manifolds on the engine. I ended up getting a Milodon flexible tube and dipstick to use instead. Will have to fabricate a custom mounting bracket for the upper end of it. The bracket will allow me to anchor the upper end of the tube to the same motor mount bolt that the stock tube mounts to.

Replaced the valve cover gaskets, because they were old and leaking. Totally removed both headers from the car and cleaned them up as best I could. Cleaned all 12 header bolt mounting threads in the heads with a Summit Cleaning tap. The threads were filthy. I can now screw my header bolts in by hand!

First attempt at mounting the Borgeson box to the K-Frame was a fail. I ended up with malformed threads in the top two mounting holes. I fixed them with the excellent ARP 1/2"-13 Cleaning Tap. I posted more details about this in the Brakes, Steering forum.

Will be attempting to mount the box again tomorrow.. With the gearbox, header and starter out of the car, there is so much space, you could almost stand between the engine and inner fender! Car has been on the jack stands and floor jack since Feb 15th, for seven weeks! That is crazy!

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Got the Borgeson gearbox mounted to the K-Frame today. But had to promptly remove it when I discovered my Headers won't fit on the engine, with the Borgeson gearbox installed on the K-Frame. It is simply not going to work..

That's right the BIG, BULKY stock gearbox clears my lead header pipe, allowing them to bolt to the engine head. The smaller, lighter Borgeson gearbox DOES NOT clear the lead pipe, not even close.. One of the reasons I bought the Borgeson was I thought I would gain more header clearance than I had with the stock box. In reality, it turned out to be the total opposite..

The header you see in the photos, being held out of the way with rope. Unfortunately, no way it will bolt to the engine head with the Borgeson in there. Last photo shows how the lead header pipe cleared the stock box, with only the addition of a dent to the pipe. Even with the dent, it won't clear the Borgeson. I'd have to totally mangle the lead pipe to even attempt to clear it.

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Those are some weird looking headers. No wonder the guys selling the Borgeson box had no warning against this problem. I have never seen a header built that way.
My 2 " TTI drivers side has cylinder 1 going along the valve cover.
CAA 1.jpg
 
Your engine seems to be further forward than mine too. Mine is a '70 Charger. Note where the sector shaft with adjusting nut/screw is in relation to # 1 exhaust header tube. Yours looks almost between 1 and 3. Mine is alongside # 1 tube.
 
Comparison of the stock gearbox installation, before I started all this, with the Borgeson box and coupler installed.

The stock input shaft is lined up pretty damn straight with the steering column. You can see the Borgeson input shaft and coupler are pointing at an angle toward the inner fender. The angle would be even worse if I hadn't installed the 1/16" shim between the mounting ear and K-Frame on the inner fender side. Of course I had to remove the box from the car, because it won't clear the header.. Couldn't get the header out of the engine compartment without removing the box. It was in there all of maybe 15 minutes..

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Test fitting the 1968 vintage Stock High Performance Exhaust Manifolds that were included with the car as extra parts when I bought it. I may end up just putting these on instead of headers. That's if they clear Borgeson box! They should!!

Got the Stock oil dipstick and tube, that I bought from Classic Industries, set in place in the last two photos. Was going to use a Milodon flexible tube and stick with the headers..

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Spent Saturday, my birthday, installing a Corona-Covid-19, made horribly in China, dipstick tube in my engine block. This tube was acquired from Classic Industries in CA, before they shut down. The base of the tube that inserts in the block was 10x larger in diameter than it should be. Took me 5 hours of sanding on it with 3M coarse Emery cloth before it was reduced in diameter enough that I could pound it into the block with a hammer.. Sand, test fit, sand, test fit, and repeat 50 times..

Not having the proper tools to fix the stick didn't help. Put the tube in a drill press vise, loose on a table, with a factory Chrysler power steering box laying on it to kinda hold it in place. Then held a long 1" wide stripe of emery cloth with both hands, working it back and forth over the end of the tube like a makeshift belt sander. This ultimately did the job, after a couple hours twisting the stick with one hand, and holding the emery cloth on it with the other failed to take enough metal off the tube. Sanded with medium and then fine grain cloth, polished it with a rag, then blew canned air through it to clean out any metal particles that got inside it during all the fun sanding. Then pounded that sucker into the hole in the block, almost got it fully seated too!

HP Exhaust Manifolds it shall be. Will be dropping them off Monday morning for media blasting and ceramic coating.. Ordered all the **** from Classic Industries (they opened back up on April 6th) that I'll need to install the manifolds (studs nut and sleeve kit, factory wire looms, plug boot heat shields, head pipe flanges/gaskets, and factory 3Q-70 plug wires). Won't get the stuff till the end of the month because of the virus. Just part of the longest and most drawn out steering box swap in Mopar world history..

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Remember when I pondered about the position of the motor mounts? My thought was that maybe they were on wrong, putting the engine too far forward?

383 mount 1.jpg

This is a 440 from a Chrysler. The mounting brackets are placed behind the lugs on the block after all. My thought was that IF they were supposed to be forward of the lugs and someone had installed them behind them, your engine might be too far forward.
383 mount 2.jpg

The above is a '70 383. The mounting position is the same.
My idea didn't pan out but I'm still curious as to why your engine seems to sit different fore/aft of the steering gear compared to mine.
 
Remember when I pondered about the position of the motor mounts? My thought was that maybe they were on wrong, putting the engine too far forward?

View attachment 938362
This is a 440 from a Chrysler. The mounting brackets are placed behind the lugs on the block after all. My thought was that IF they were supposed to be forward of the lugs and someone had installed them behind them, your engine might be too far forward.
View attachment 938363
The above is a '70 383. The mounting position is the same.
My idea didn't pan out but I'm still curious as to why your engine seems to sit different fore/aft of the steering gear compared to mine.

I checked my 1971 Dodge Service Manual yesterday, it shows the brackets placed behind the engine block lugs. My mounts are attached to the engine in the correct manner, as your photos also show. I asked another 1971 Super Bee owner, in another thread, about his gearbox location in relation to exhaust port #1 and he didn't answer. I inspected a video of another 1971 Super Bee, and it looked to me like its factory PS gearbox was in same position as mine was..
 
Got more accomplished on Sunday. The gearbox is now mounted, yet again, on the K-Frame. This time without the header. Got the 1/16 inch shim installed and all three bolts snugged. Will wait to torque them down once I've got the coupler and column installed.

Installed the Starter. Had to file some on the Bergman coupler so the metal saddles will slide in and out of it smoothly. Test fit the HP exhaust manifold. As you can see plenty of clearance, unlike with the header.

Had to do a little minor filing on the driver side manifold, by stud hole #3, so it can be mounted without rubbing against the dipstick tube. Then cut off and filed down two remnant posts for the removed valve mechanism from the passenger side manifold outlet flange. I didn't like them sticking out and I'll never be installing that valve anyway.

This morning, I took the manifolds to AZ Custom Coating to be sand blasted and ceramic coated inside and out. They use Cerakote, and I picked C-189 Blue Titanium which is rated for temperatures up to 1600 degrees. It is a medium gray color with a bit of a blueish tint. My color selection was influenced by an episode of Nick's Garage where he built and painted a 440 Six Pack for a customer with factory manifolds. I think I like a bit darker manifold instead of a light gray/silver that is more commonly seen.

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Test fit the new steering pitman arm on the sector shaft. I don't yet know if the shaft is properly centered. I think how I have the arm installed in the photos is how it should mount on the shaft. There are scribed lines on the bottom of the shaft and the arm that line up. I notice there is an arrowhead scribed on the bottom of the shaft. Not sure where it is supposed to be pointing. I'll have to look at the Bergman instructions again, to see if there is any mention of the arrowhead.

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Mate I've been following this saga and you have great determination and patience.
One day you'll look back at this and laugh...it will be installed and driving good and it will all be worthwhile.
 
Nothing done this past weekend, was out of town in a cooler place up north. Exhaust manifolds should be ready to pick up on Friday. Also waiting on parts from Classic Industries needed to mount the manifolds. I placed the order on April 16th, and it still hasn't shipped out yet. I hope I can get this finished before the end of May, as it is already over 100 degrees here.. I'd like to be able to at least drive the car once before it hits 115.
 
Went to pick up my exhaust manifolds yesterday. They looked terrible. Do NOT even think about using Cerakote C-189 Blue Titanium. This color HAS changed, it is now a Medium Blue, and I mean VERY BLUE. To make a long story short, I was shown an old sample of C-189, which back when the sample was made, was a dark cold gray with a slight blue tint. I go to pick up my manifolds and they are BLUE BLUE BLUE!

I'm having to have all the Blue Titanium sandblasted off and re-coat them again, this time with the regular Titanium, which is a light silver/gray and heat rated even higher to 2000 degrees. If I had just picked the Titanium from the start I would have saved myself $90.. Unfortunately, I was trying to match a color I saw on Nick's Garage and instead they turned out BLUE, giving me the blues..
 
I now have the gearbox centered, at least as best I was able to, and the column connected to the coupler.

Connecting the column to the coupler was the most unpleasant thing I've ever done on a car in my entire life. I think.. If not it is way up there in the ranks. The fact that I did this in 95 degree heat in the garage added to the misery immensely! It was a hot, sweaty, greasy mess.. Went through about 5 pairs of disposable rubber gloves in the process. Trying to insert the saddles/retainer clip/column in the coupler with your gloves covered in black grease is anything but fun.

When I finally got it connected, I realized I had forgotten to install the Bergman "problem solving" boot on the column first.. So I had to uncouple the column and start over..

I found the "problem solving" boot to be too much of a PROBLEM to install. It just doesn't have as much give and stretch as the supplied stock "orange" boot cover. I installed the orange boot instead because much like a woman, it can stretch a mile before it tears an inch. I'm using the saddle shaft that was in the column before I started this whole fiasco, and no way was I going to try to pound it out. I couldn't get the tight problem boot over the saddle shaft, just wasn't happening for me.

After a barrage of cursing, and I mean a lot, I got the column connected a second time, which of course was more difficult than the first time. So here it is folks, after all the grease was cleaned up, another small step of progress..

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Tried to get the steering column mounted to the firewall and dash unsuccessfully today. No matter what I did I cannot prevent the column from rubbing against the column shift tube. Once I have everything tightened down, as you can see in the photos, the column rubs against the the inside of the shift tube at 12 o'clock position. It rubs when you turn the wheel, and it rubs when you move the gear selector lever. Can't even get a small flathead screwdriver between the column and tube at 12' o'clock.

There are 3 bolts that hold the column flange to the firewall (I have tried moving this flange as far upward as I can, by myself, with no improvement). There are 2 bolts that attached the column to the flange ( I have not attempted to loosen them).

As you can see the white spacer area between the column shift tube and the outer tube is even around the perimeter, so that looks centered properly. I've tried both a 1/8" thick metal shim under the 3rd column support position, and no shim at all in that same place. Either way, I still get the rubbing at 12 o'clock.

I've had to shim the upper two column firewall flange bolts because of a horizontal misalignment of my column mounting studs, which I have been discussing in another thread on the Steering section. But this problem is vertical alignment, not horizontal.

I don't know what to do to fix this problem.. So I have a blocker here.. Any suggestions from anyone?

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I have posted before about my frustration with the factory steering coupler and the flimsy tin retainer. I hate the damn thing. Of course, I always get responses from guys that claim that they have never had a problem with it. WTF, man ?? What is the secret to bending the damn thing to stay in place ?
 
Lol, I have the same issue. I’m gonna try the Bergman problem solver if that doesn’t work, I will tie it up with steel wire.

I have posted before about my frustration with the factory steering coupler and the flimsy tin retainer. I hate the damn thing. Of course, I always get responses from guys that claim that they have never had a problem with it. WTF, man ?? What is the secret to bending the damn thing to stay in place ?
 
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