Tremec 5 speed conversion in a 1970 Charger

[Kern Dog]

Just a heads up on those dowels. I believe Summit sells .500" diameter which is for a Ford. Mopars use .496". I may be mistaken, but you better measure them before ordering another set from Summit. Here is what I always use.

https://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/dowels.html

I just ordered from them, thanks to you. I was thinking of ordering from Summit again even though their sizes are slightly too large. I was going to get some crocus cloth and try to sand off a bit to get them to fit.
THIS is a better way, though delivery will take longer.

Regarding the dial indicator and magnetic base:
There are certainly better ways to go. Experience teaches you what worked in the past and what did not. It seems to me that if I was able to start at zero, make a full revolution and have the dial return to zero that the setup is accurate.

 

[moparedtn]

Makes sense to me....
How did the factory do it, does anyone know?
Heck, DID the factory even bother doing it?

 

[Kern Dog]

According to the article, yes they did.

See the bottom left of the picture with the drawing.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

For example, the welded rod onto the tab thingy @1 Wild R/T speaks of - what would you do with that?
Bend the end of the rod at a 90* to be the "pointer", then measure the gap between the end of it and
the edge of the bell hole at (4) places (like reading a spark plug gap)?

The purpose of the rod is a solid mount for a dial indicator... Bolt it to the crankshaft flange then mount the indicator off of it... Typically you use an indicator clamp like this...

To clamp to the rod and to the indicator or a second rod depending on what your trying to reach... See the dovetail around the indicator? The clamp above has a dovetail clamp...

Mag bases are quick an easy, but unless the mounting surface is ideal they tend to move pretty easily which means the measurements are useless... However as Greg pointed out if when you return to the first measurement the number is the same then the indicator hasn't moved.

 

[Kern Dog]

If I had been formally trained in this stuff, I would have been better prepared. I'm just a Carpenter that works on cars for fun.
When I see an office guy try to build a fence or a house, I laugh inside too. The cheap tools they buy, the way they make mistakes and do things the hard way. Experience and training show us a better and faster way of doing things.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

If I had been formally trained in this stuff, I would have been better prepared. I'm just a Carpenter that works on cars for fun.
When I see an office guy try to build a fence or a house, I laugh inside too. The cheap tools they buy, the way they make mistakes and do things the hard way. Experience and training show us a better and faster way of doing things.

Absolutely true... When I build fences it takes me a long time.... But they don't fall down....

I built the wall, the gate & the awning.... Pretty sure it'll all still be here when I'm gone...

 

[Kern Dog]

The added thickness of the flywheel would have made it impossible to fit the dial indicator in place. I could have cut off some length of the rods but as it was, I got it at the far end of adjustment and was able to get the number.

 

[hunt2elk]

I have found that this set up works pretty well if you ever come across one for sale. Clamps on a longer bolt in the crank or flywheel and the gauge is 1 1/2" or so diameter.

 

[moparedtn]

According to the article, yes they did.

View attachment 1056684
See the bottom left of the picture with the drawing.

Wow - I guess technically, the factory didn't check it - because they final drilled the indexing hole
after the bell was installed on the engine!
How cool is that??

 

[moparedtn]

If I had been formally trained in this stuff, I would have been better prepared. I'm just a Carpenter that works on cars for fun.
When I see an office guy try to build a fence or a house, I laugh inside too. The cheap tools they buy, the way they make mistakes and do things the hard way. Experience and training show us a better and faster way of doing things.

AMEN!
Ditto, me and my profession vs. me and, well, anything else I tackle.
The phrase "he knows just enough to get in trouble" comes to mind...

Speaking of what I do for a living.... BRAINSTORMING here:
What is the thread size of the flywheel bolt holes on the crank flange?
Could a threaded stud be installed in one of them, then some sort of rod coupling (or the clamp rig
@hunt2elk shows) be used to mount the gauge?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Could a threaded stud be installed in one of them, then some sort of rod coupling (or the clamp rig
@hunt2elk shows) be used to mount the gauge?

Yup... But that introduces a C clamp into the setup.... They are good but not as good as the full circle clamp... Plus if you do it that way you need to use a lock nut, otherwise the bolt will rock on the threads...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

To touch on the C clamp a little more... the anvil side of that C clamp has a V cut in it to make it lock on to a round shaft well... That does work well but the size of the V dictates a small shaft, as the diameter goes up the V would need to be deeper...

That all said, here's a nice used Starrett unit like hunt2elk showed....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STARRETT-1...327588?hash=item4470dd4d64:g:Z2UAAOSwkqFf~MwG

 

[hunt2elk]

To touch on the C clamp a little more... the anvil side of that C clamp has a V cut in it to make it lock on to a round shaft well... That does work well but the size of the V dictates a small shaft, as the diameter goes up the V would need to be deeper...

That all said, here's a nice used Starrett unit like hunt2elk showed....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STARRETT-1...327588?hash=item4470dd4d64:g:Z2UAAOSwkqFf~MwG

That looks exactly like the kit I have, except it is brand new. Good price as well. That would work a lot better than what you have now KD. Just remember to lock the bolt down with a nut like was previously mentioned.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thanks. I'll stick with the setup that I have. It isn't ideal but it works.

 

[Will-Fonkjam]

Kern, this is good & I think you're on the right track! Been there, done that -except mine was a 4spd to a SST TKO.
Take your time here.
Watermelon's post (Post#159) will be your next challenge. Getting those old stubborn dowels out in tight confines can call for some... creativity .

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Easiest way to pull the original dowels without a dowel pin extractor tool is to drill & tap the dowel.... As you thread the bolt in it will push the dowel out...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

That looks exactly like the kit I have, except it is brand new. Good price as well. That would work a lot better than what you have now KD. Just remember to lock the bolt down with a nut like was previously mentioned.

Actually it is used, but treated very well like the precision tool that it is.... New it's a $300+ set... So that one is a bargain...

 

[moparedtn]

Actually it is used, but treated very well like the precision tool that it is.... New it's a $300+ set... So that one is a bargain...

That rascal has everything a fella would need to, say, check alignment on a 440 with a factory 11"
bellhousing you think?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

That rascal has everything a fella would need to, say, check alignment on a 440 with a factory 11"
bellhousing you think?

Yup..

 

[Kern Dog]

With the 727 out and the SST bell housing in place (At least temporarily) I looked at the instructions on what to do next. The instructions state to measure from the bellhousing and drill two reference holes in the trans tunnel. These two holes are used from inside the car to lay a paper template on the top of the trans tunnel to show where to cut. The Tremec install does require the installer to build a rectangle shaped opening that will be covered by a sheet metal box sort of like this:

The Tremec requires the hole in the tunnel for clearance for the top of the transmission case to get a proper driveline angle.

Those black circles represent the holes where the paper is to be laid over to mark for the cut in the tunnel.

View attachment 1056957