Lookie what $5000 buys you....

[Kern Dog]

I'm in a bit of a lull with the project.
I was chugging along at a decent rate and could still be but I decided to pull back a bit. I need a transmission, drive shaft, cooler lines, external cooler, (since the radiator I'm using has no internal cooler) and some type of kickdown linkage. I could forge ahead and buy all of these things but I decided to hold back. I have mentioned this before but to recap: I have a 5 speed manual trans swap planned for my other Charger and when I do that, it will free up all of the transmission related stuff that I need for Jigsaw. I currently have a car up for sale that I hope will fund most if not all of the Tremec 5 speed kit.
I did have a few ideas on what I can do in the meantime.
I could bolt up another 727 and slip the engine and trans in place. This would allow me the ability to get the exhaust system in place. The headers I have are Hooker #5903.

I put Fast Ratio Pitman and Idler arms in so there might be some interference issues. I intend to modify the headers for clearance if possible. I can then pull them back out to sand and paint them with High temp VHT paint. With the engine in place, I can run the wiring, the fuel system, put in the radiator and hoses, etc. Once I get the transmission out of the other car, I can just do a transmission swap in this one and put in all the remaining stuff. Stay tuned, I'll be back with more updates soon. Thanks for checking in!

 

[66 Sat]

At least you have your main car on the road, so you have the luxury of time. My biggest issue with working on my car is the downtime when it's off the road. If it's more than a week I start to get agitated. Maybe I need to buy a second classic car as a backup...

 

[Kern Dog]

I am a guy that HAS to have some sort of project. I am not satisfied just tinkering and washing a car.

 

[HawkRod]

At least you have your main car on the road, so you have the luxury of time. My biggest issue with working on my car is the downtime when it's off the road. If it's more than a week I start to get agitated. Maybe I need to buy a second classic car as a backup...

Two is always nice - then you always have one to drive, even when wrenching on another! I currently have three: two Road Runners (a 70 and 73), and a 62 Corvette I received from my father-in-law. The 73 is currently a project, so I keep out of trouble.

The hard part is on a nice day when both are running - which to drive!?! Oh the dilemma!!!

 

[Joske2]

Any progress?

 

[Kern Dog]

Hello there!
The last of what I did pertained to getting the electrical system sorted out so that once the engine and transmission are in, The car should be able to start and run. I was at a point where I would have needed to dig into the bank account a bit deeper. Part of what has made this build fun is that I have taken a lot of used parts and repurposed them. Stuff that was still good has been pulled from the shelves and put to work. The radiator, headers, exhaust system, brakes, sway bars, Fast Ratio idler and Pitman arms, wheels, gauge cluster and numerous other parts were good, used parts that just needed a little work to be ready to go.
I got to the point where I needed a good 727 transmission, a transmission cooler and lines, kickdown linkage and a drive shaft. I am not on a tight schedule with the car so it wasn't imperative that I spend the money on those things. I had been considering a Tremec 5 speed manual transmission swap into my red Charger and in doing so, it freed up the very parts that "Jigsaw" needs to be completed. I will start on the 5 speed swap after Christmas and set the 727 parts aside. My guess is that by late January, I can resume this project and have something else to report.
Thank you for watching!

 

[Kern Dog]

Finally a bit of progress...
I started gathering stuff to connect the 383 to the 727 that I pulled from the red car.
The 727 was rebuilt in 2006 and has performed well since then. The case was stained when I got it so I sprayed it black. The paint didn't stick well, maybe because due to the porous nature of aluminum, the case must have had solvents or ATF imbedded in that caused the paint to peel so easily. I pressure washed the 727 yesterday.

 

[Kern Dog]

Today I was ready to put the motor mounts on.
Last week I replaced the RH mount in the Red car, Ginger. The RH mount was weathercracked and squashed but still in one piece.
I've noticed a difference in thickness of the mounts and it has me wondering which is correct.

The thickness is right at 1 1/2" for the mounts that were on the engine.

 

[Kern Dog]

New aftermarket mounts I had in the shed......

That is just shy of 1 1/8".

If I were going to use cast iron exhaust manifolds, I would just go ahead and use the new mounts to be done with it. I'm going to use headers though so the difference in thickness may have an effect on how the pipes clear the steering linkage.

 

[Kern Dog]

The engine height may have some effect on the drive line angle but I'm not sure of how much. The mounts in the pictures below are from a 440 from a 71 Chrysler. It is odd that it had such an early casting date for a 1971 model.

This one is approx 1 1/4".

Hard to tell but this one is also approximately 1 1/4". The "Made in Korea" markings mean they are not original though.
I'll post this tech question in another forum.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I've never measured the thickness but I have noticed newer ones seem to be thicker that I remember new ones being back in the 70's & 80's...

Now that your posting the Chrysler @ 1.25 I'd say that is probably the right number..

 

[Cranky]

The casting date on the engine isn't that far off of the norm. The car may have been an early build too? Do you have the build date for the 71 Chrysler?

 

[Kern Dog]

No, That Chrysler was only here for a short time. I parted it out in 2009. I don't have any other information on it.

 

[Kern Dog]

I am getting ready to jump back in here.

The 5 speed swap into the red car freed up several parts that I needed. Transmission with converter, drive shaft, shift linkage and the kickdown cable kit.

The 383 has been hanging on the engine stand since last Summer....

BDF6 sold me an exhaust system.

The engine bay wiring is functional. I even tested it for spark.
I do not plan to keep these tires on the car for any extended street driving. They are probably 15 years old or more.
I probably should go register it in my name. The car has been off the road since 1995. I have a Non-Op tag on it.

 

[Migsbig]

making good progress.

 

[Kern Dog]

They look SO nice when they are freshly rebuilt.

No leaks, the paint hasn't flaked off anywhere yet....

Jigsaw is ready for the transplant!

 

[Kern Dog]

The "Torque Converter Drive Plate" as referenced in the Factory Service Manual is fitted and torqued to the 55 ft/lb spec using Locktite.

The service manual had this great tip......If you place the small hole drilled in the 12:00 position here...

Then put the converter with the drain plug at the 6:00 position....

Doing so, this aligns the converter to "flexplate" bolt patterns and you can just put in the bolts with confidence that you won't spin the engine and find the one oddball bolt hole that doesn't line up.

 

[Kern Dog]

It sure is easier to attach an engine to a transmission OUT of the car!

In a web forum, a guy wrote of installing an engine and transmission together, referring to it is "Doing the banana" . That is damn funny and quite appropriate.

Yeah, nobody was around so I did this myself with the hood on and had it in place within 30 minutes. No scratches to the car or the engine .

 

[Kern Dog]

Boom!

The bell housing sits real close to the trans tunnel.

It might be hard to tell with the firewall being a few different colors.

The transmission mount sits pretty tall.

It sits MUCH taller than the height I had for the 727 in Ginger.

That crossmember was modified to use a spool mount .

 

[Kern Dog]

The manual bell in Ginger has more clearance even with a larger flywheel.

Both engines are in the stock locations.
I am unfamiliar with that cube shaped transmission mount. Most of my experience has been with the spool design. I don't mind a taller mount. It will keep the headers up closer to the body.
Next up...Put the car on the lift to install all that stuff that SUCKS to do on your back!