Re-Rebuilding the 440-493 in a 1970 Charger

[Kern Dog]

When you installed the clutch and pressure plate, did you use one of those plastic splined centering shaft tools to support the clutch/pressure plate center then remove after it's bolted on? I've only ever done a clutch job by myself and recall that tool made it very easy to get lined up.

Yeah, I forgot to show that part. I saved the alignment tool and stowed it with the paperwork from the Tremec Installation.
I suspect that the transmission went in easier because of 2 things: The clutch must have been aligned better and the assembly lube on mating surfaces.

Here is a small confession.
I make these build threads for a few reasons. ONE is that I like to pass along information and sometimes to get advice on better ways to get the project done. Another reason is that THIS is an open and public record. I can go back in 2-5 or 10 years and read what I did here.
I've been at car shows and approached by FBBO members that commented on the Tremec thread and how it helped them.
That is a good feeling to hear that.
SCORE!

 

[Mopar Hunter]

Is Mary helping or a friend? If not, that’s a lot of work for one person.

 

[Kern Dog]

Nope....I'm out there alone.
I did get her help determining #1 TDC. I had her press her thumb over the spark plug hole while I cranked it over with the breaker bar.
She will be enlisted when I bleed the clutch and brakes.

 

[RemCharger]

 

[cdr]

Putting our differences we have had in the past aside permanently !!!! I have to commend you for this rebuild thread, all very well done & documented, you are doing an AWESOME job, with all you have done now, that Charger will be a MUCH bigger handful, you are going to need some sticky tires for sure, keep up the great work & thanks for sharing your efforts, have a great day Mr DOG

 

[Kern Dog]

Thanks, Charlie.
I don't recall having any animosity toward you. I must have offended you by accident in the past. You have been a friendly and helpful person from what I remember. Maybe we disagreed on a few things and I rambled on too much about it.
I can be a loudmouth, I'm aware of that.

 

[Kern Dog]

The car is so dusty!
Thursday I pumped the four month old gas out. I’ll put fresh 91 in it before I fire it up.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

View attachment 1354722

The car is so dusty!
Thursday I pumped the four month old gas out. I’ll put fresh 91 in it before I fire it up.

The car might be dusty, but the engine is clean! Very nice work

 

[HawkRod]

Kern,

First, great job documenting your build!

This picture tells me either (a) something is wrong with your measurements, or (b) your bellhousing is incorrectly manufactured

The numbers indicate -.011" on the left and also a minus -.018" on the right. If that were true, that means your hole isn't round, but is actually egg shaped (I doubt that). Setting up to measure the offset is a pain; I have struggled with it too.

Bottom line is I think it is likely your measurements were off.

 

[Kern Dog]

I agree, my imperfect angles surely resulted in imperfect measurements but they did repeat as I spun the engine.

I interpreted the -11 and -18 numbers to mean that if I could just shift the bell to the left by .15 that I would be almost perfectly centered.
The problem is that these dowels don’t allow that. Everything moves in an arc. Moving to the left will also move the bell up or down slightly.
I wish I knew someone close by that knew this stuff. Advice given online can be hard to interpret.

 

[69sunfireGTX]

You mean shift to the left by .003 and up .003 that would put you centered. Or very close to center.
With something like you are seeing I would usually measure in more positions to make sure that there aren't defects in the housing at the spots you are measuring

 

[beanhead]

The last handful of posts have been informative for me. I've always been a 727 guy when it comes to hot-rodding Mopars, and have limited experience with manuals compared to some of you guys, and mainly factory stuff at that. Thanks to all.

 

[Kern Dog]

Even the first time I used this dial indicator last year, I wasn't able to get the numbers equal from one side to the other. I picked up the needle and reset it each time before I recorded the numbers to make sure it wasn't hung up on anything.
In the 1500 or so miles I've driven the car with the 5 speed, there have been no problems other than the tendency to bump reverse when downshifting from 5th to 4th. I wish there was some type of gate over the "channel" into reverse. Once I got to be better at shifting, it wasn't much of an issue.
My point is that while the measurements may not have been perfect, they were repeatable..... and with the transmission operating properly, either I got lucky or I was close enough for it to work.
I wouldn't mind improving my skills though. If only I knew someone within 100 miles that had the tools and the skills!

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Just keep driving it and you’ll get use to it. Even though I daily drive a 5 speed Datsun 280zx, it took me a while to get use to my 4 speed GTX. Either way, a manual transmission is a lot more fun then an automatic. Just take your time and enjoy the car.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

View attachment 1354722

The car is so dusty!
Thursday I pumped the four month old gas out. I’ll put fresh 91 in it before I fire it up.

DUDE! - That's a Bad-*** photo with the motor up front all painted and shiny and your red Charger in the background.

And...SOooooo jealous of all that garage space you have!

 

[Kern Dog]

If you still want to do that Borgeson steering box swap, you’re welcome to drive up here.
My retirement starts in…..November.

 

[Kern Dog]

Bada.BING.

Yesterday I painted the headers with some high temp paint. Today I installed them along with new gaskets. I used anti-sieze on the header bolts and spark plugs.
All the hardware had already been cleaned and set aside.

You can see my shoes in the picture above....

There it is, ready to go back in....

Tight fit around the starter.

Same with the clearance around the right side of the bell housing.

 

[Kern Dog]

Wheeled into place and....the clock starts NOW.

By myself, I lowered the lift, moved the cart, lowered the lift, eyeballed everything for clearance, lowered the lift....

Will the valve cover clear the hydroboost accumulator?

The left side looks good.

Front end seems fine.

Ready to bolt it all up.

I had to stop to clean the transmission crossmember. I couldn't install it dirty.

Boom...All in.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Awesome!

 

[Kern Dog]

Zero scratches, zero frustration, the hood stayed in place and I did it alone. It would have been nice to have a buddy around just to talk to but that is how it goes sometimes.

The valve cover does clear the hydroboost.

The A/C compressor will just swing back into place. I never disconnected the lines so the R-134 is still charged.
It is hiding under that black T shirt.

The drive shaft is in.

Speedometer signal wires are connected, Oxygen sensor for the Air-Fuel meter is too.

The front shocks are bolted up and the UCAs are connected to the steering knuckles too. I still need to install the torsion bars. It sits really low with it resting on the bump stops.

This was by FAR the easiest engine installation that I have ever done. If you don't have a car lift, get one of those jigs that attach to the bumper brackets and use the engine hoist to lift the front of the car.
There was no anxiety over scratching anything and it went in quick.

Lots of stuff left to do but priority will be forming hydraulic lines for the hydroboost.