Tremec 5 speed conversion in a 1970 Charger

[Kern Dog]

Three of my ordered items came in today. The Carpet from Rock Auto, the bellhousing dowels and the clutch UP-Stop bumper.
What the heck ???

Really? That is it ?? The pictures I saw online had no mention of size and no reference to scale. I had no idea they were this small. What a laugh. I could have just made something instead. In fact, I am probably going to since the pedal sits much lower than stock. I'm going to figure something out...
Oh, the Dowels...

The slotted end goes in the block.

The other end on the left one sticks out of the block and has an Allen set screw that spreads the slot open to stay in place.

The flats allow the use of a wrench to rotate them. They are long enough to adjust with the bellhousing in place.
Cool!

 

[moparedtn]

Three of my ordered items came in today. The Carpet from Rock Auto, the bellhousing dowels and the clutch UP-Stop bumper.
What the heck ???
View attachment 1058493
Really? That is it ?? The pictures I saw online had no mention of size and no reference to scale. I had no idea they were this small. What a laugh. I could have just made something instead. In fact, I am probably going to since the pedal sits much lower than stock. I'm going to figure something out...
Oh, the Dowels...

View attachment 1058495

The slotted end goes in the block.

View attachment 1058496

The other end on the left one sticks out of the block and has an Allen set screw that spreads the slot open to stay in place.

View attachment 1058497

The flats allow the use of a wrench to rotate them. They are long enough to adjust with the bellhousing in place.
Cool!

Yep, that's all there is on the bumper. It pops into the hole in that bracket up under the dash there.
Makes a world of difference in a stock setup, I can tell ya - that metal on metal sound if you don't have
a bumper gets real annoying real quick.

Very impressive, those dowels. First time I've seen close-up of what they are designed to do. Thanks!

 

[Kern Dog]

I took yesterday off to lay on the couch and watch episodes of Chicago Fire with the wife. Nice, relaxing day with a great lady.
Today though....
Yesterday was sunny and cheerful. Today was cloudy and gloomy. I got a few things done though.

The top side of the console plate got a smear of the JB Weld. I think this is going to look nice. I'll knock down the high spots and cover it with some type of plastic or vinyl.

The tunnel patch was welded in place along with the console brackets.

 

[Kern Dog]

I pulled the trans and bell housing out to extract the dowels. First though, I cleaned up the underside of the tunnel patch.

I spread some of this brushable seam sealer using a putty knife then a rag.

Followed by a little Krylon to cover the bare metal....

 

[Kern Dog]

The interior side will get a similar treatment. Sealed on both sides, this dude will not leak.

The dowel pins.....

I've never paid much attention to the block dowels. These seem to be quite short though, right?

They don't even stick out 1/4".

Not much to grab.....

SO I didn't waste much time trying. I grabbed some stock lug nuts....

Welded them on using the highest setting the MIG welded had...

And....

Cranked on them with a 1/2" drive ratchet...

 

[moparedtn]

Awesome! Very happy those cooperated with you, Greg.

 

[watermelon]

those inner pieces of the dowels have not seen the outside world in a long time....

good job Kern!

making this look easy



watermelon

 

[Kern Dog]

I welded the lug nuts on leaving about 1/8" gap behind so I could use a Carpenters nail puller behind them.
They may be original for all I know. The block is dated 1974....!

 

[Kern Dog]

With these new dowels in.....

I was able to go from THESE numbers....

To THESE:

 

[eldubb440]

I have removed some studs and broken bolts like that.......not only does the nut give something to grab, but the weld also turns the stud cherry red helping break it loose........kind of a double whammy

 

[Kern Dog]

Those numbers are WELL within spec. .003 left to right and .0025 top to bottom. The instructions allow a .005 limit.
The offset dowels were a bit tricky and very sensitive. This is my first time doing this sort of thing. I can't help but wonder....What is to keep them absolutely locked in place and to prevent all movement? They have allen lock screws tightened to the limit.
I mean, I'll use locktite on the bellhousing bolts and make sure they are tight but what about the shaking and pushing while installing or removing the transmission?
If the Tremec spec is so tight, how am I to know that there won't be a problem if the bell slips a few thousands over time?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

What angle is your dial indicator contacting the inside bore & It's not a true 90.. Is it greater than 60? 75? The indicator needs to be as close as possible to a true 90 degrees to minimize cosign error..

Also you still have numbers that don't add up to equal which points either to a bore that isn't round or a problem of repeatability..

 

[1 Wild R/T]

What is to keep them absolutely locked in place and to prevent all movement?

My understanding is those dowels have a set screw inside the split that expands the dowel...

 

[Kern Dog]

What angle is your dial indicator contacting the inside bore & It's not a true 90.. Is it greater than 60? 75? The indicator needs to be as close as possible to a true 90 degrees to minimize cosign error..

Also you still have numbers that don't add up to equal which points either to a bore that isn't round or a problem of repeatability..

I cannot get exactly 90 degrees to the bore. The components are too bulky. I did 3 sweeps.
I was rounding off the numbers. .006 TIR horizontally and .007 vertically was what I got. There were a few instances where I rounded UP or down depending on the resting position. I flicked the needle to make sure the readings were right.

 

[Kern Dog]

My understanding is those dowels have a set screw inside the split that expands the dowel...

View attachment 1059557

Yeah, those are tight. I mean that even with them tight, I wonder what keeps them from clocking. They thread through the end and drive the point in toward the block. IF the threads of the dowels were somehow tapered and the screws spread them open, I could see them staying in place. I look at these like I do a "Red-Head": anchor bolt for concrete.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

The greater the deviation from 90 degrees on the dial indicator the less accurate your reading, if the angle is 75 degrees your reading is off by around 20%

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Yeah, those are tight. I mean that even with them tight, I wonder what keeps them from clocking. They thread through the end and drive the point in toward the block. IF the threads of the dowels were somehow tapered and the screws spread them open, I could see them staying in place. I look at these like I do a "Red-Head": anchor bolt for concrete.

In a sense yes, but a red head flexes a lot & concrete gives a little

The block doesn't flex at all & the dowel doesn't flex much... The forces applied when installing the bell shouldn't be to great...

Oh, and the threads cut into the dowel are tapered...

 

[Kern Dog]

In a sense yes, but a red head flexes a lot & concrete gives a little

The block doesn't flex at all & the dowel doesn't flex much... The forces applied when installing the bell shouldn't be to great...

Oh, and the threads cut into the dowel are tapered...

Thanks. That is encouraging.

My technique:

Install the dowels. Tighten the center set screw.
Install the top 2 bellhousing bolts and the bottom 7/16" backwards bolts, installed snug.
Check runout and record numbers. If out of spec.....
Back off bell bolts, back off dowel set screws, clock them slightly, tighten set screw.
Tighten bell bolts.
Recheck runout. If still out of spec....
Repeat.
Repeat.
Those are essentially the instructions as outlined in the package I got from RobbMC Performance.

 

[hunt2elk]

I can't help but wonder....What is to keep them absolutely locked in place and to prevent all movement? They have allen lock screws tightened to the limit.

I always think about that as well. I draw lines on the bell housing parallel with the flats of the dowels after everything is together with a black Sharpie. Then they can be visually checked when changing oil or whenever you are under the car just for piece of mind.

 

[moparedtn]

Yeah, those are tight. I mean that even with them tight, I wonder what keeps them from clocking. They thread through the end and drive the point in toward the block. IF the threads of the dowels were somehow tapered and the screws spread them open, I could see them staying in place. I look at these like I do a "Red-Head": anchor bolt for concrete.

The RedHead comparison is a good one, from what I read on those.