4-speed conversion 67 Coronet

[69Runner]

Anxious to finish this off but family comes first. The SL3131 grease might arrive by Saturday but there are a few more things to do before the transmission goes in anyhow:

1) Install flywheel and verify bellhousing face runout (6 thou tolerance)
2) Install clutch
3) Install Z-bar and linkages
4) Install steering column

 

[69Runner]

Flywheel, Street Pro clutch and bellhousing are in.

This is the grease we used on the pilot bearing:

 

[69Runner]

Spent a few hours wrestling with the transmission on the weekend but we had to set it back down on the floor. The combination of pilot bushing in the crank register and the diaphragm clutch means the input shaft needs to be very closely aligned to find its way in. The 7/16" threaded rod guides in the 2 top holes were not helping as they were too long.

After the fact I realized the back of the engine could be lowered even more until the oil pan touches the steering link. That will provide a better angle and more clearance as the shifter bosses on the tailshaft move forward past the floor brace/crossmember. We will have 3 sizes of guide rods (made from cut-down 7/16" bolts, 2.5, 3 and 3.5") to use on the bottom 2 holes. Also read somewhere to hook up the clutch pedal to help out as the transmission reaches the bellhousing.

Round 2 is coming up soon...

 

[TxDon]

Do you have a transmission jack or are you doing the A833 bench press?

 

[69Runner]

I made a wood base which holds the transmission upright, then that contraption sits on the end of a 3-1/2 ton floor jack. But it is tippy - there is a risk of everything sliding off. Thanks for the tip - if round 2 is unsuccessful then I will seriously consider it. The wood base worked for me a few years ago but come to think of it the clutch was the 3-finger (Borg and Beck?) style and the pilot bushing was further in. I remember it being easier!

 

[69Runner]

Do you have a transmission jack or are you doing the A833 bench press?

Fortunately 2 of my teenagers helped out greatly, and they learned a valuable lesson in using their hands and their heads. Although just a hobby for me I have a renewed respect for those who make a living doing this. I'm still sore today but all this crawling around the car has trimmed me down some.

 

[69Runner]

We will be trying again to get the transmission mated up to the housing this weekend. The oil pan is now making contact with the steering link, and since our last attempt I verified the bushing will have clearance on the input shaft.

Picked up some pearls of wisdom from these links:

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/remove-4-spd-transmission.89283/page-3

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/project-slick-1973-dodge-challenger-implanting-the-416ci/

This is also a good write-up even though directed at the slant 6:

http://www.slantsix.org/articles/4-speeds/ODA833fourspeed1.htm

 

[Daves69]

I like to use at least one threaded rod as a guide so I can start a nut on it once the trans is started. Using two can help walk the trans in evenly while shimmying the tail housing around and forward.
A thin film of your grease around the bearing retainer flange might help also.
A spare yolk or even the drive shaft can help with starting the spline into the disc. Click in a gear and give it a twist if it hangs on ya'.
Maybe drill and tap a hole in your jack saddle to bolt your fixture down. Use a ratchet strap to hold the trans on it.

 

[69Runner]

I like to use at least one threaded rod as a guide so I can start a nut on it once the trans is started. Using two can help walk the trans in evenly while shimmying the tail housing around and forward.
A thin film of your grease around the bearing retainer flange might help also.
A spare yolk or even the drive shaft can help with starting the spline into the disc. Click in a gear and give it a twist if it hangs on ya'.
Maybe drill and tap a hole in your jack saddle to bolt your fixture down. Use a ratchet strap to hold the trans on it.

Thanks very much for the advice Dave - never thought of greasing the input bearing retainer! I had sanded off the overspray in the housing but a little grease will definitely help. I will also cut down the all thread to use as you have suggested.

 

[69Runner]

It's in. A combination of several things resulted in success. Having the oil pan (supported by a scissor jack) resting on the steering link, making sure the throwout bearing was not hanging up on the leading edge of the bearing retainer, short 3" guide bolts and a little grease on the flange were the most significant factors that differed on this attempt. We also released the clutch to align everything for the final 1/2" of travel - the plastic alignment tool is not precise. Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and advice. It should be straightforward from here on.

 

[69Runner]

Spoke too soon! The following issue had us scratching our heads for a few minutes. When clamped in a bench vise, the shifter would go into reverse no problem, but mount it in on the transmission and there was no reverse (over and up).

Turns out it has to do with the mounting pad. Ours is a very nice aftermarket piece which lacks any relief cuts. A spacer had been included with the package but I tossed it aside, thinking its purpose was to relocate the shifter.

Well, I was wrong.

Hurst equipped... at first we had no reverse (making it a Hurst without revurst?)

Even with a 1/4" drill bit to align the levers, something was wrong.

This is what the pin looks like in its resting state. With the shifter on the work bench, by hand most of us are not strong enough to engage reverse so it's not immediately obvious if the (simple) drill bit adjustment is right.

In the bench vise, we did not initially notice how the pin was popping out when reverse was engaged. This pin extends beyond the shifter body.

Therefore the shifter mounting pad requires relief in the area of the pin to function properly.

 

[69Runner]

Maiden voyage, so far so good.

 

[69Runner]

Wrapping up this project pretty fast. We clocked 50 miles on the weekend. McLeod recommends 500 mi of easy city driving for clutch break-in, or the equivalent of 1200-1500 shifts. I wound the motor to 3500 rpm a few times but eased up on the shifts. Nice to have the the air/fuel gauge to see what's going on in different situations. With the 727 I rarely saw anything over 3000 so we will take it easy (until the 500 mi mark ) but so far no surprises.

It's a completely different car, as might be expected. Fun factor X 10 compared to the auto. Plus the satisfaction of working on this with my boys, then teaching them to drive it. We had some herky-jerky moments, and a take-off in 3rd gear. On level ground you can just let out the clutch and the old 440 gets this beast moving smoothly. Idle is set down to ~600 rpm now and it seems to run cooler but we're also out of the 90+ heat so maybe that's just my wishful thinking.

We'll finish this off with a new carpet once we get the floor hump in place.

It's all downhill from here.

 

[HYRDGOON]

Nice work man! Glad to hear you're getting to enjoy the car all over again and with a new spin (maybe literally!)

 

[440jimr]

Did you get everything buttoned up; carpet, shifter boot, etc...?