NJRR
Well-Known Member
Hi all-
I've owned my 70 RR for about 6 years. It was totally restored by the previous owner. It is an original FC7 car with a matching# 383, but non-matching 727. When the restoration was done, it was also converted to a bucket seat, console shift, with an air-grabber and go wing added. About 2 years ago, I decided I wanted a 4speed. My thought was to sell my current car and buy a 383 or 440 4speed. Well, the reality of the market killed that plan. I couldn't sell my car for enough and then be able to buy a 4 speed in as equal condition for the same money. Plus, I know how solid my car is and who knows what I would be buying, especially long distance. All that being said, I decided to keep the car I know is solid and just convert it to a 4 speed.
For the last 6 months or so, I have been investigating 4 speed options, getting quotes on conversion "packages", prices from local Mopar specialists to do the conversion. I basically concluded that it would cost me around $5k to have someone do it for me with a package conversion kit. That was out of my budget too, so I started looking for the individual pieces to do the conversion. A few weeks ago, I found a brand new Hurst console shifter, handle and all linkage for a pretty good price on Craigslist. This weekend I scored a 4 speed tranny that came out of a 69 Charger for $225 off of Craigs also. I think I can get all the parts I need for under $2k
My plan is to do the conversion myself. My 22 year old son is psyched to do it with me and I figured it will be an awesome father-son project. My plan of action is to rebuild the tranny over the winter while I scour the planet for the rest of the parts I need: bellhousing, flywheel, pedal assembly, z-bar plus frame mounting bracket, 4 speed hump and clutch, which is one part I will buy brand new.
The first thing I plan on doing is cleaning up the trans that I bought. The case has minimal surface rust and is dirty/oily after sitting for years in the garage of the guy I got it from. I was thinking of spraying the whole thing down with brake cleaner to get all the gunk off and then opening the case cover, removing the drain plug and spraying down all the guts with brake cleaner too to remove all the old gear oil and thicker goop in there. Does anyone think the brake cleaner would cause any harm to any of the components? After the gears were all clean and the brake cleaner evaporated, I plan on spraying it with a light coat of WD-40, to prevent any rusting. I want to clean up the case and paint it with some cast-iron paint to give a nice look and protect it.
I know this is a long post and thanks to all who had the patience to read it. I'll post pics and updates as I go along with all steps of my project. It's supposed to be nice out tomorrow (50 degrees), so I plan on cleaning up the tranny with the brake cleaner. If anyone has any tips, feel free to chime in. All help is appreciated and I am sure I will be calling on all the knowledge contained on FBBO (especially welding in the 4 speed hump and z-bar bracket, which is the only thing that gets me nervous!!). Many thanks in advance. Also, if anyone has any leads on the other parts I need, PM me. Also, greatly appreciated. That's it for now.- Abe
I've owned my 70 RR for about 6 years. It was totally restored by the previous owner. It is an original FC7 car with a matching# 383, but non-matching 727. When the restoration was done, it was also converted to a bucket seat, console shift, with an air-grabber and go wing added. About 2 years ago, I decided I wanted a 4speed. My thought was to sell my current car and buy a 383 or 440 4speed. Well, the reality of the market killed that plan. I couldn't sell my car for enough and then be able to buy a 4 speed in as equal condition for the same money. Plus, I know how solid my car is and who knows what I would be buying, especially long distance. All that being said, I decided to keep the car I know is solid and just convert it to a 4 speed.
For the last 6 months or so, I have been investigating 4 speed options, getting quotes on conversion "packages", prices from local Mopar specialists to do the conversion. I basically concluded that it would cost me around $5k to have someone do it for me with a package conversion kit. That was out of my budget too, so I started looking for the individual pieces to do the conversion. A few weeks ago, I found a brand new Hurst console shifter, handle and all linkage for a pretty good price on Craigslist. This weekend I scored a 4 speed tranny that came out of a 69 Charger for $225 off of Craigs also. I think I can get all the parts I need for under $2k
My plan is to do the conversion myself. My 22 year old son is psyched to do it with me and I figured it will be an awesome father-son project. My plan of action is to rebuild the tranny over the winter while I scour the planet for the rest of the parts I need: bellhousing, flywheel, pedal assembly, z-bar plus frame mounting bracket, 4 speed hump and clutch, which is one part I will buy brand new.
The first thing I plan on doing is cleaning up the trans that I bought. The case has minimal surface rust and is dirty/oily after sitting for years in the garage of the guy I got it from. I was thinking of spraying the whole thing down with brake cleaner to get all the gunk off and then opening the case cover, removing the drain plug and spraying down all the guts with brake cleaner too to remove all the old gear oil and thicker goop in there. Does anyone think the brake cleaner would cause any harm to any of the components? After the gears were all clean and the brake cleaner evaporated, I plan on spraying it with a light coat of WD-40, to prevent any rusting. I want to clean up the case and paint it with some cast-iron paint to give a nice look and protect it.
I know this is a long post and thanks to all who had the patience to read it. I'll post pics and updates as I go along with all steps of my project. It's supposed to be nice out tomorrow (50 degrees), so I plan on cleaning up the tranny with the brake cleaner. If anyone has any tips, feel free to chime in. All help is appreciated and I am sure I will be calling on all the knowledge contained on FBBO (especially welding in the 4 speed hump and z-bar bracket, which is the only thing that gets me nervous!!). Many thanks in advance. Also, if anyone has any leads on the other parts I need, PM me. Also, greatly appreciated. That's it for now.- Abe
I was going to put cardboard and newspaper to soak up the runoff. I thought brake cleaner would be better than kerosene or diesel, like Chilsam suggested, because it evaporates fast. Disposing of the kero/diesel would be a bigger hassle.
