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The Roach

That is about as perfect as a guy can expect, I have never been quite that lucky. All my bell housings are over 50 years old however, that is a nice looking piece.


Yeah, I think I got pretty lucky. That +2 is more like 1 1/2.
 
Frame connectors and boxes look great. Yeah, I was thinking 8-3/4 is plenty for me too, but if I can get a new Dana for the roughly cost of a new sure grip chunk and restoring what I have, I might as well go with the new Dana.

My understanding of the TKX is it comes with two options, a close or wide ratio:

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Figuring out my gears is what is holding me up on pulling the trigger ordering the TKX and rear end. You are way ahead of me on this build so I will be curious what you end up with and your assessment. I'm just shooting for a fun driver.

Looking good and you are flying along. You have your own body guy that comes to the house? and can you send him here? :lol:
Me personally I’d run the close ratio with a .68 for 5th and a 3.73 gear set would be perfect for that. I didn’t care to cut my tunnel on my Charger so I went with a T-56 Magnum close ratio because I like the gear ratio spread better in a 6-speed. I’m running 3.91 gears and could even do 4.10.
 
Seven cans of spray undercoating later ….

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And I have a new freshly cut hole in the floor.

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My Charger is currently on my lift waiting for you to roll that under it,and eight bolts later that and my car will be one!
 
Almost ready for a test fit.


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Careful rolling that backwards - looks like there could be a tipping point when the wheels are pointing away from the transmission. I had a similar occurrence once with my setup I was rolling around. I thought it was OK but suddenly it toppled and broke both my transmission and my bellhousing.

I'd hate to see that beautiful assembly damaged - or even worse, to force the Mrs. to take care of you while you mend!
 
Test fit success!

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I need to gain more clearance here. Beating the high point down isn’t enough. I think I’ll cut a piece out and have the body man weld in a piece of sheet metal.
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I also need to cut just a bit more out of the rear of the tunnel

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The reason that I had the engine sitting so high on the dolly was to have it at the same height as the car was while sitting level on the roll around body dollies.


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Looks great RC!

How is the space on the sides for headers, etc.? Since you have the revised front suspension, will you change up the inner fenders as well?
 
We usually put in a factory 4 speed floor hump to give added room on the drivers side of the Tremic transmissions. We block off the factory shifter hole in the floor hump. We usually have a console that covers everything.
 
Looks great RC!

How is the space on the sides for headers, etc.? Since you have the revised front suspension, will you change up the inner fenders as well?


With no torsion bars and rear facing steering linkage, there is pleeeeenty of room for the headers. When the engine goes in permanently, the headers will be on.

The left side inner fender needs to be replaced. The right one is fine.
 
Did you use the thinner version of undercoating to achieve a smoother finish when paint is applied or the can type you use a shultz gun to apply
I just used SEM spray cans and applied it heavily in the spots I had cleaned off. It’s not completely uniform with the factory applied stuff, but it’s good enough. I’m not worrying how good the underside of the floor pans look.
 
Almost ready for a test fit.


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Side note:
The Holley 3G Hemi motor mounts move the engine forward 1.75" for what I'm guessing is better clearance for the front end accessories. This is in applications using a stock K member. Those that go this route must test fit the engine and trans to ensure that the shifter stub and doghouse are in the correct position.

I recall that you're using an aftermarket K member. I wonder if they place the engine forward as well. This will affect water pump/fan to radiator clearance.
 
Seven cans of spray undercoating later ….

View attachment 1475900

And I have a new freshly cut hole in the floor.

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Nice job so far Mark.

I'm not sure if you plan to do this, but on my GTX we used similar undercoating, then gave it a matt clear coat (several coats of course) to make clean up a lot easier. The clear coat also prevents the undercoating getting sticky again or getting messed up while working underneath later on.
 
Side note:
The Holley 3G Hemi motor mounts move the engine forward 1.75" for what I'm guessing is better clearance for the front end accessories. This is in applications using a stock K member. Those that go this route must test fit the engine and trans to ensure that the shifter stub and doghouse are in the correct position.

I recall that you're using an aftermarket K member. I wonder if they place the engine forward as well. This will affect water pump/fan to radiator clearance.


The QA1 frame has mounts that have some wiggle room and I have the engine as far forward as it can go. The 392 (only) has a little box on the back of the intake manifold that’s not on the 5.7 and 6.1. I was advised that there would be a clearance issue in that area. Just waiting for my 3-speed wiper motor to come back to see how much metal I can steel out of that area.

There’s plenty of clearance in front of the engine for the radiator and fans.
 
Without looking at it, how much wiggle room forward would you have? Is it possible to lower it? I'm not familiar at all w/Gen 3 hemis, but what is that box on the rear? Can it be relocated? I'm ignorant on them.

The reason I ask about the wiggle room is this past winter I moved a SBC forward 1.25 in and lowered it 1.5 in in a street rod by fabricating new motor mounts. Then re-fabricated the trans mount.

Your build will be amazing RC.
 
Without looking at it, how much wiggle room forward would you have? Is it possible to lower it? I'm not familiar at all w/Gen 3 hemis, but what is that box on the rear? Can it be relocated? I'm ignorant on them.

The reason I ask about the wiggle room is this past winter I moved a SBC forward 1.25 in and lowered it 1.5 in in a street rod by fabricating new motor mounts. Then re-fabricated the trans mount.

Your build will be amazing RC.


Thanks, I'm pretty excited about today's progress. As I mentioned, the mounts have some wiggle room on the tubular "K-frame", front-rear, and the placement is dictated by the placement of the washers. I have the engine as far forward as it can go and it can't go forward any more. In the picture below, the front of the engine is to the left. I supposed that someone with skills could reengineer it, but it also involves the transmission mount and I aint got that kind of skill.

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Below is the mystery box on the back of the intake. While it does bolt on, there is a passage directly into the intake manifold, and as you can see, a sensor does plug into it, so it must get some kind of reading from inside the intake.

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