Tremec 5 speed conversion in a 1970 Charger

[Kern Dog]

Recently I started wondering why all 69 and 70 Chargers had a woodgrain inlay in the console when there wasn't any other areas on the car that had woodgrain except for the SE cars. It seemed out of place to me. I looked at some YouTube videos of Chargers for sale to see interiors of them, hoping to see some semi-custom changes. I saw a few.....Some with the woodgrain painted black, body color, padded with what looked like Naugehyde (Ick.)
I decided to cover the center with some type of textured plastic, something sort of like this:

My thought is that since the sides of the console are textured plastic, having a similar texture on the top would blend right in.
Also, the chrome on these parts was fair at best. This gives me the chance to make another change...I'm going to paint these plates a satin black. I do love chrome but I want to see how I like it black.

 

[Kern Dog]

To get the paint to stick, I need to rough up the surface. I could have taken the parts to a Bumper shop to have them DEchromed but who knows how long THAT would take? Plus...Who still does this in California? The only Chrome shop I know of is quite expensive.
I decided to sandblast the parts.

I have THIS pressure pot:

But the hose was blocked. Remember this topic?
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/sandblaster-replacement-hose.209528/

 

[Kern Dog]

I did get the hose cleared and considered using this blaster since it was working fine now.
Back in 2013, I took delivery of a bunch of tools and parts from a car club friend. One of the tools was a Harbor Freight blast cabinet. I've always used a wire wheel, sanders and oven cleaner to get stuff clean so after letting the cabinet sit outside for years, I cut it up and recycled it. How ironic that years later, I needed one.
Yeah....

 

[Kern Dog]

Sunday I bought one. $189!
The instructions are in English BUT are terribly inadequate. It was like a Chinese IKEA cabinet or something. The panels are not labeled, the pictures are the size of a postage stamp BUT the hardware was all there. I assembled most of it myself but needed a helper tightening a few screws....A dude with Gorilla arms might have been able to reach both sides but not me.

Since the instructions are pure crap, I went on YouTube and found some videos with good ideas. Since I never used one of these before, those tips were great to hear.
One tip was to find a way to ventilate the inside. There are two holes punched in the walls, one on the back and one on the left side. The rear one has a baffle of sorts attached to the inside of the wall, presumably to keep from sucking sand out and to only suck out the dust.
I attached a hose to the shop vac...
.

The hole on the left side serves as the intake air...

I bought two bags of blasting material....Glass beads and Red Garnet.
The glass beads do work but the progress is really S L O W.

 

[Kern Dog]

A guy at a local NAPA store thought that I should start with the glass beads. He thought that anything more aggressive could damage the metal beneath the chrome.
I played it safe.
That Garnet sand really worked though. It roughed up the surface quite well....

After I took these pictures, I went over the parts again. The shine is gone from the areas that will get painted.
I did have an idea on a change that could be handy.
FBBO member "Watermelon" added cupholders in his console some time ago. I like that but it does reduce the space inside the console. I don't carry a ton of stuff in the car when I drive but a "cubby" or a pocket would be nice to have.
I'm thinking of putting in a recess just forward of the shifter opening right here:

This part had a thin sheet of metal with woodgrain over it. Underneath was this ribbed surface. Is this a 66-68 design? Those holes look like a mount for a tachometer, right?

 

[67charger383]

View attachment 1051010 View attachment 1051011

A guy at a local NAPA store thought that I should start with the glass beads. He thought that anything more aggressive could damage the metal beneath the chrome.
I played it safe.
That Garnet sand really worked though. It roughed up the surface quite well....

View attachment 1051012 View attachment 1051013 View attachment 1051014
After I took these pictures, I went over the parts again. The shine is gone from the areas that will get painted.
I did have an idea on a change that could be handy.
FBBO member "Watermelon" added cupholders in his console some time ago. I like that but it does reduce the space inside the console. I don't carry a ton of stuff in the car when I drive but a "cubby" or a pocket would be nice to have.
I'm thinking of putting in a recess just forward of the shifter opening right here:

View attachment 1051015
This part had a thin sheet of metal with woodgrain over it. Underneath was this ribbed surface. Is this a 66-68 design? Those holes look like a mount for a tachometer, right?

that top plate is '67 only and is from specifically a '67 coronet r/t with a rare electro luminescent console clock option.

 

[Kern Dog]

A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
I'm not sure of what I will do first. I am thinking of replacing the carpet and using this rug in Jigsaw. The seats have to come out to get to the carpet, the carpet has to come out to get to the bare floor.
The clutch and brake pedals need to go in. There is an oval body plug in the firewall for A/T cars that serves as a pass through for the clutch pushrod in manual equipped cars. I have several wires going through there that will have to be rerouted. This means a new hole and grommet. The kit uses an adjustable pushrod but with NO torque shaft/Z-Bar since everything on the engine side of the firewall is Hydraulic.
I have read that SST requires the installer to get the entire project together and in place, THEN measure for the drive shaft with the weight of the car on the tires. I will be doing this swap with the car on a lift so to do that, I'll set the car on the tall jackstands. Up until about a year ago, I thought that the front yoke on the drive shaft pulls OUT as the axle droops but a FBBO member informed me that I had it backwards. I've always measured for drive shafts by slipping a yoke in the trans, then sliding it OUT about an inch. SST wants the installer to measure from the transmission extension housing end.
The first steps underneath will be the removal of all the Automatic transmission stuff. Remember, all of it will be set aside for the other Charger, Jigsaw.
The instructions show to check the runout of the center hole of the bell housing in relation to the crankshaft. I've read about this in several threads and posts. The goal is to make the bellhousing as close to perfect center to the center of the crankshaft to ensure long transmission life, quiet operation and optimal performance. I need to buy a magnetic base dial indicator for that.
In construction, I have the good habit of making requests and orders BEFORE I need materials in case there are delays. Because of this, I am thinking of the delay I'll see waiting for the drive shaft to be made and shipped to me. I want to mock up the bell housing and bolt the transmission into place, take the measurements then send them the info. They can then build the shaft while I am busy with the installation. I have not seen this idea mentioned before. Am I the first one to think of this?

 

[Kern Dog]

Should be fun.... What ratios? And what axle gear do you plan to use?

I have a 3.55 in there now but do plan to swap in a 3.91 SG. The 3.91 in overdrive will be a 2.50 final drive.
Elsewhere, some have mentioned the Magnum 6 speed like what is used in the new Challengers. While I like the 1st through 4th ratios, a .50 6th gear would be lost on me. I have a MP 528 solid cam with 1.6 rocker arms. It has a slight lope but nothing crazy. I suspect that freeway travel of 70-75 mph at 1700 rpms is well below the efficiency range of the engine. It would probably feel sluggish and get no better mileage with that tall of an overdrive. The added floor modifications and cost of the transmission add to the argument against it.
This trans has ratios similar to the Magnum in 1st through 4th. The Challengers with the manual trans use a 3.90 axle gear but with a slightly taller tire.
FBBO member Derwud has this trans with a 3.23. Dennis has a 3.54 Dana. I thought Watermelon had a wide ratio trans and a taller axle gear like a 2.94 or 3.23. The 3.91 may be a little short at low speeds, I guess I'll find out. I already have it here so it won't be an added expense. The trans uses an electronic speed sensor so calibrating the speedometer is easy and no gears or parts have to be changed.

 

[747mopar]

View attachment 1051010 View attachment 1051011

A guy at a local NAPA store thought that I should start with the glass beads. He thought that anything more aggressive could damage the metal beneath the chrome.
I played it safe.
That Garnet sand really worked though. It roughed up the surface quite well....

View attachment 1051012 View attachment 1051013 View attachment 1051014
After I took these pictures, I went over the parts again. The shine is gone from the areas that will get painted.
I did have an idea on a change that could be handy.
FBBO member "Watermelon" added cupholders in his console some time ago. I like that but it does reduce the space inside the console. I don't carry a ton of stuff in the car when I drive but a "cubby" or a pocket would be nice to have.
I'm thinking of putting in a recess just forward of the shifter opening right here:

View attachment 1051015
This part had a thin sheet of metal with woodgrain over it. Underneath was this ribbed surface. Is this a 66-68 design? Those holes look like a mount for a tachometer, right?

If you haven't tried silica sand yet give it a try, very sharp, cuts excellent.

 

[Kern Dog]

I was impressed with how the Garnet worked on a painted upper control arm. It had a hard time on the baked on grease but tore right through the paint.

 

[747mopar]

One thing I'll suggest is taking very careful notes of exactly where your transmission tailshaft is prior to the installation. I've heard good things about SST but when I put the Keisler TKO in mine I was irrate! My fan was damn near rubbing, exhaust was hanging low, shaker scoop would no longer fit... car was vibrating. They had pointed the transmission downward a significant amount to clear the cross member making a mountain of other problems in the process. From the looks, it appears SST has taken more aluminum out of that area, I imagine that will solve the problem.

Just an FYI, you mentioned about not liking the .5 overdrive of the 6 speeds, the Tremec 6 speeds you would buy for a retrofit don't even offer .5. You'll only see the .5 if your pulling one from a late model vehicle, in my case a Viper. The ones offered for retrofits have very friendly ratios for our cars much like your TKO.

 

[440SportSatellite]

In construction, I have the good habit of making requests and orders BEFORE I need materials in case there are delays. Because of this, I am thinking of the delay I'll see waiting for the drive shaft to be made and shipped to me. I want to mock up the bell housing and bolt the transmission into place, take the measurements then send them the info. They can then build the shaft while I am busy with the installation. I have not seen this idea mentioned before. Am I the first one to think of this?
View attachment 1051016

I can say that when I did my Tremec swap with SST they were very quick with the driveshaft after we got them the measurements. I think it took 3, maybe 4, days tops. Probably a couple more days in shipping time for you in CA. Their customer service is pretty good, they were a big help with any questions we had over the course of the conversion, so don't hesitate to call them.

 

[Coronet_Arch]

Following. I am considering a manual for my Coronet.

 

[tallhair]

Also following. Thinking a manual for my Coronet also.

 

[Kern Dog]

I ordered a dial indicator and some offset dowels from Summit Racing 2 days ago. Postage and shipping delays have me waiting for the stuff. I'm hoping to have the 727 out this weekend.
Removal of all the automatic transmission stuff will be the easy part. All I have to do is be careful with the parts to avoid damage. Everything will be cleaned and set aside to be used in the other Charger, "Jigsaw"..
Several months back, I had actually planned on using one of the 727s I have out back. There are 3 or 4 that came out of running cars. I had a factory high stall 11" converter reconditioned but now I'll just save it for a Duster 340 clone I have planned to build later.
I do want to go out and rip around a few more times before I start the swap.
This is my usual habit though....I have a tendency to stall and delay a bit before jumping in on a big project.
Once I start, I usually boogie through to the end though.

 

[chargervert]

There's a video arcade game somewhere missing it's steering wheel!

 

[Kern Dog]

I know it is a departure from stock but I love that wheel!

 

[moparedtn]

There's a video arcade game somewhere missing it's steering wheel!

*snicker*

 

[chargervert]

I'm just busting on ya! I have been known to depart from stock a bit myself!

 

[HawkRod]

Following!

Good luck with the swap!