Tremec TKX 5-Speed Conversion

[CoronetDarter]

The never-ending project keeps on going.
I got under the car this weekend to poke around and see if there was anything obvious going on with the brake system. It still felt squishy at the top, but the brakes slow down the car and lock up when the pedal is slammed. Turns out there were three fittings on the distribution block that I was able to tighten about an eighth turn. Afterwards I bled the brakes and they feel better. But I drove Dwayne's Satellite while at Greg's shop, and his brakes felt the best of any classic car I've even driven. I still think there's room for improvement on the Coronet.
The other pebble in my shoe was the throttle response. I'm running a Lokar throttle cable, and had a Lokar kickdown cable with the automatic. After removing the kickdown cable, the tension increased slightly on the throttle cable, not allowing the throttle plates to snap closed at idle.
I dug up the original throttle return spring, still freshly painted. The spring helped some, but warm idle was still around 1100 rpm. The carb-end assembly on the Lokar has a threaded stud with locking nut, allowing precise adjustment. A couple of turns and the throttle was dialed in.

 

[CoronetDarter]

I also want to point out the height of the air cleaner assembly. Back when the car was still at Greg's, he rebuilt the assembly, welding on a longer neck to the bottom of the drop-base. Originally I needed a drop-base for the air filter to fit under the stock flat hood; with the six-pack hood clearance isn't an issue. But the base was impinging on the choke housing, leaving a gap.
Now there's plenty of room underneath.

And at least 2" to the bottom of the hood scoop.

 

[watermelon]

that’s some fresh air flow into that carb




watermelon

 

[CoronetDarter]

Brakes are bled, idle is adjusted, time for another drive. This time Maria took the wheel.

 

[Kern Dog]

That is great!
I wanted to make a completely NON offensive comment to the video on Youtube but your comments are turned off.

 

[CoronetDarter]

That is great!
I wanted to make a completely NON offensive comment to the video on Youtube but your comments are turned off.

Non offensive comment...I can only imagine.
I'm still new to creating YT videos so I'll go in and adjust the settings.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Watching the video Maria seemed to have some difficulty getting into first... Is that just a matter of practice? Or do the synchro's need to break in?

 

[Dennis H]

I thought it dropped in ok. With the power of the Mighty Mopar, it can easily be walked around corners in second. Unlike the Opel.

 

[HawkRod]

I thought it dropped in ok. With the power of the Mighty Mopar, it can easily be walked around corners in second. Unlike the Opel.

can you imagine that Opel with a stroked small block in it?!?

Rich: Your next project!!!

 

[CoronetDarter]

Watching the video Maria seemed to have some difficulty getting into first... Is that just a matter of practice? Or do the synchro's need to break in?

Good question. I think it was apprehension on her part, not wanting to grind the gears. To shift into first the shifter has to be nudged to the left just a bit, and she was pushing straight ahead.

 

[CoronetDarter]

I thought it dropped in ok. With the power of the Mighty Mopar, it can easily be walked around corners in second. Unlike the Opel.

Right - 1st gear is only for getting out of the garage. The Opel - nothing happens below 3,500 rpm.

 

[CoronetDarter]

can you imagine that Opel with a stroked small block in it?!?

View attachment 1597844

Rich: Your next project!!!

There are a couple of ways to rebuild the engine to increase displacement from 1.9L up to 2.0 and even 2.2. Yes, I've looked into it.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Opel needs a Miata engine/trans two liter 181 HP, 6 spd...

 

[CoronetDarter]

Opel needs a Miata engine/trans two liter 181 HP, 6 spd...

80% increase in hp.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

80% increase in hp.

And extremely reliable with virtually zero maintenance..

 

[Kern Dog]

Hey Rich, have you considered posting up the most accurate account of what this whole conversion cost?
There are some guys that jump into these projects and get surprised at the hidden costs for stuff they didn't even think of.

 

[70vcodeRT]

Anyone else having the speedometer cable leak with their TKX? I'm using the SST kit. They just suggested packing it with grease. Just curious if I'm the only lucky one.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Anyone else having the speedometer cable leak with their TKX? I'm using the SST kit. They just suggested packing it with grease. Just curious if I'm the only lucky one.

Is it coming through the cable? Or from the point where the cable housing meets the trans housing? If it's coming from the point where the black cable housing meets the metal adapter I would use adhesive lined Heat shrink tubing to seal the black sleeve to the metal housing... Same fix that's been used on push button TF shift cables for years...

https://www.amazon.com/Pack-inch-Heat-Shrink-Tubing/dp/B07CVYH99R/ref=sr_1_18?crid=B8OC4QVMZI0O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uMrOIr5sa2K0DlFawNHKNi4tvyl2IbbQ_GozUnjCk97YLCATHa8QCICZsmwDqti-P_N9B_ESkoMr9Cc-DX_EqA9dH-FE0UMIkRd_7jsRIM_hShwTuGu98gRDsnYdAo3cUzSn3Z4UG0nbOx3ZncTe3u_bgmo_CwVd2oM12W8Bi5kEF6YdA1n-JnuZBm6Odo6XdaxFM6AclmB0D3ixtyKKwoHKIISt9RRnMl2rkbr0Hzk.xbND5EroZAgTzgRYrXHm-Agp6baGet6LyOTXsb2JCnw&dib_tag=se&keywords=heat%2Bshrink%2Bwith%2Badhesive%2Blining&qid=1711077044&sprefix=heat%2Bshrink%2Bwith%2Badhesive%2Blining%2Caps%2C651&sr=8-18&th=1

 

[Dennis H]

TKO leaked there. SST is dry.

 

[watermelon]

if at the point where the cable is inserted into the transmission

i recall there being an o-ring

possibly it got pinched/cut

skip to the 8min mark of video

watermelon