Tremec 5 speed conversion in a 1970 Charger

[Kern Dog]

Yes I am. I practiced with "Jigsaw "and while it did work out, I plan to do a cleaner job on this car. I test fitted one of my rear wheels from Ginger and the improvement in clearance was great.

 

[Bighouse]

I’m watching- this is one of those ultimate upgrades.

 

[chargervert]

You have to be extremely careful around the paint! Do not rush it.

 

[Kern Dog]

You have to be extremely careful around the paint! Do not rush it.

I am going to use a panel bonding adhesive. I don't want to risk burning the paint. I may weld in places away from the outer body.
It will be tricky though. I'm going to cut out the hump and fabricate a patch using a round wheel tub from a truck. I have 2 sections from a Ford F-150 that I'll work with. That is the next project after this 5 speed job is complete.

 

[Imperial One]

I have had a few low geared vehicles that just leave me frazzled and tired after a long drive. The 2 old Dodge trucks that I have owned scramble my brain after a hour at freeway speeds. It makes me wonder how people just tolerated this when they were new.

I remember attending the first Mopar Nationals in 1981 in Chelsea Michigan. A colleague drove his car, a '69 hemi Super Bee, with 4:56 gears, FROM TORONTO. I can imagine how he felt when he got out of his car upon arrival.

 

[Kern Dog]

The Dodge trucks that I had also had really poor weatherstripping so the road noise was about the same with the windows down as up!

 

[Kern Dog]

A member either here or somewhere else suggested that instead of using the textured plastic for the center console, I consider a black vinyl overlay that fits in place of the woodgrain version.

This will be simpler and still look great. I just ordered a moment ago.
I also ordered carpet from Rock Auto. Black with "Mass Backing". It seems that ACC has cornered the market on carpet for our cars.

 

[HawkRod]

All I see is a red X instead of an image. Not sure if it is my PC or the same for all...

 

[Kern Dog]

It did the same for me. Here is a link to the Ebay listing:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...2&_nkw=1970+dodge+charger+console&_sacat=6028

 

[ckessel]

Your narrative on the install may seem long and chatty to some, but you can never have too much info doing a swap like yours. The installation instructions, for many things, leave out a tremendous amount of needed info. If you are not mechanically inclined or can work your way out of the project puzzle, this can be overwhelming and may cause some to give up. You are doing an awesome job with this thread. On your clutch master fastener surprise, that would have been a good spot for a small head 12 point bolt instead of the Allen that was supplied. Probably would have a better chance getting a wrench on it. Keep at it and I hope to see you at a show unless your friend in Sacto puts the squeeze on the shows again this year

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you, friend.
Last year I bought a "Liftmaster" garage door opener. Great product, crappy instructions. I've put together Harbor Freight stuff with terrible instructions as well. It seems that these companies don't explain or detail the assembly or parts nearly enough.
This kit is pretty good at the sub-sections but I don't recall seeing a "Start-to-finish" list of instructions. This is like building a car with an assembly manual that shows how to assemble an engine, transmission, the body panels and such but doesn't mention in what order to do it.
IN some cases, that can be frustrating. I am assuming that Silver Sport figures that the purchaser of their kits has some common sense and mechanical expertise. I am doing things in an order that makes sense to me. Others may choose to do it a different way. I left the carpet in to do the under-dash work simply because I wanted to be comfortable. I also did as many things with the car on it's tires before lifting it up for underbody stuff. That was just a personal choice and could have gone either way.
I've wanted to spend a couple of hours each day on this but as is the case so often, other things pop up and divert me away.
I hope to get back to it tomorrow, I DO want to get the 727 out and all the other A/T related stuff cleared out of the way.

 

[Kern Dog]

I hope to see you at a show unless your friend in Sacto puts the squeeze on the shows again this year

Wait....MY friend????

 

[ckessel]

Thought that would stun you. Keep up the good work.

 

[440 Charger]

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

Smart question.

 

[NotEnufGarage]

Greg, you are the Energizer Bunny when it comes to getting projects done! I wish I had your energy and motivation. If I did, I’d be driving my 70 Charger, 70 Challenger and Shelby Dakota...

Keep it up!

 

[Kern Dog]

Thanks, Tom.
I was a lazy bum the last three days. ZERO progress.
I got off of my *** today though. The 727 is out and the SST bellhousing runout has been measured.
Nice weather today. It would have been a shame to stay indoors.

Yeah...This is unusually warm for January. I'll take it though.

With the 727 pan drained, I got ready to unbolt the trans from the block. The torque converter bolts were first to go. I found a little surprise though.

Yeah...GOOD thing I was doing this swap. I was looking at a flexplate replacement if I didn't plan this 5 speed swap. I'm not sure what exactly caused this, maybe one time I didn't have the bolts tight enough and the converter rattled enough to cause a stress crack?

Two still in good shape but one was cracked and the 4th one busted out completely.

 

[dadsbee]

Did yah buy a lottery ticket...

 

[Kern Dog]

I have an oil leak but cannot determine the exact cause. I replaced the oil pan gasket last October with the plastic 1 piece molded model that got good reviews.

 

[Kern Dog]

Did yah buy a lottery ticket...

Nope, not yet.

 

[Kern Dog]

The right side of the block looks dry. The rear part of the oil pan looks wet though. Maybe I should try the Supraformance gaskets and "The Right Stuff" sealant?

Check out those dirty headers though!

It may be dripping from straight above at the valve cover. I usually put the car on the lift every few months to clean the underside anyway. I scrub the oil off using lacquer thinner and a Scotch Brite, then sprit on some VHT High Temp Silver.
I really thought I had the oil pan leak stopped.