TKX 70 Charger

[Kern Dog]

It looks good enough to have been OEM but I never have seen another one like it.

 

[fontleyroy]

You beat me to them by maybe twenty minutes... Good for you! I bought them from Summit the same day... Rowing gears is fun...

View attachment 1763161

Working on the floor? I call that being a floor whore... Bought my lift close to thirty years ago & have zero regrets...

Timing is everything!

 

[fontleyroy]

Thats not too bad. Maybe 8 years ago or longer I paid $7k for my complete T-56 Magnum from SST. Included everything. Right down to the driveshaft ,clutch ,hydraulic clutch set up, shifter, fabrication template and metal.

Forgot to mention driveshaft was not included. Steel is $550 from SST and he said about a hundred more for aluminum.

 

[fontleyroy]

Should have mentioned that a I do not have a lot of free time. I have 14 hour work days, a wife, three kids, two dogs, a cat, and a hamster. So I try and squeeze in a few hours on the weekends so please bear with me on this project! Today I removed the trans and the flex plate. I had to remove the drivers side of the exhaust as I have cutouts and of course I just had to weld them in. I installed the flywheel and the bell housing for run out measurement. Total hours today was 3.5. Removing the upper bellhousing bolts really beat me up. Total hours so far = 14.5.

 

[70ChargerRT]

You’ll get it. I was stuck on a 6-7 days a week, 12-14 hr job for seven years, with no vacation days, and only a few holidays off here and there.

 

[fontleyroy]

Today I was able to enlist my daughters friend to turn the crank so I can do the bellhousing runout measurement. I ended up with .004 with no offset dowels - got lucky! I ended up turning the crank as he called out the measurements. Something about non mechanics not being able to turn ratchets properly. I was also able to install the pedals. I circled the factory dimples for the manual bracket drill holes. Time spent today 3 hours. Let me also state that having quality tools to do this type of work is essential. Mechanic tools are the definition of the saying 'you get what you pay for" and without a doubt worth the investment. That brings total labor time so far to 17.5 hours.

 

[fontleyroy]

Two hours today to put the clutch in. Remove bellhousing after runout measurement. Clean/degrease flywheel, clean/degrease clutch, clean degrease pressure plate. Install pilot bushing. Install clutch and pressure plate. Start all six bolts. Begin torque. All but one bolt will not bring the plate flush to flywheel. Remove everything. One bolt hole in flywheel not machined completely. Had to tap out the threads. See picture, look at all that metal taken out of that hole. Today 2 hours. Will get back to it tomorrow. I have time off till the end of the year and I am hoping that I can put more time in the garage. Total man hours so far - 19.50.

 

[fontleyroy]

Another couple hours in garage today. Installed the clutch and the hydraulic bearing and the bellhousing. Had to take some metal off the bellhousing bore as it would not flush onto the trans. Had to use two 1/4 inch spacers to get the proper bearing cushion. Busted my pinky finger nail torquing in the bellhousing and called it a day - I will be losing that finger nail. Total man hours 22 hours.

 

[Charlie Brown]

I think you lost me here when you refer to - " Had to take some metal off the bellhousing bore as it would not flush onto the trans. Had to use two 1/4 inch spacers to get the proper bearing cushion" - Could you expand on this explanation please. I'll be doing this conversion myself shortly and am trying to be as prepared as possible for any glitches.

 

[fontleyroy]

I think you lost me here when you refer to - " Had to take some metal off the bellhousing bore as it would not flush onto the trans. Had to use two 1/4 inch spacers to get the proper bearing cushion" - Could you expand on this explanation please. I'll be doing this conversion myself shortly and am trying to be as prepared as possible for any glitches.

Its easier to mount the bellhousing to the trans on the bench to install the hydraulic bearing and the line and the plate. The bellhousing would not install flush to the mounting face of the trans. I used 80 grit Emory cloth to take some aluminum off the hole in the bellhousing to mount flush to the trans. The bearing cushion is specified by SST to be minimum of 1/8 to 3/8 inch.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks for this. Appreciate it.

 

[fontleyroy]

Its easier to mount the bellhousing to the trans on the bench to install the hydraulic bearing and the line and the plate. The bellhousing would not install flush to the mounting face of the trans. I used 80 grit Emory cloth to take some aluminum off the hole in the bellhousing to mount flush to the trans. The bearing cushion is specified by SST to be minimum of 1/8 to 3/8 inch. View attachment 1773832

Here a picture of the bellhousing with the section I had to take some off circled in red.

 

[fontleyroy]

Here a picture of the bellhousing with the section I had to take some off circled in red.

View attachment 1773844

And the bellhousing mounted to the trans afterwards.

 

[fontleyroy]

Thanks for this. Appreciate it.

You are welcome. If you have not read Kerndogs post on his swap I highly suggest you do. He and Coronetdarter have documented the process better than I can. I am just trying to give a total man hour count to do the swap for the first time.