5spd and top

[1966D100]

Ok, i was wondering what 5spd to use/get for that LeBaron (i was told to look it over a make an offer) as well as finding a place that makes a replacment convertible top.

Also, would i need any new shafts when the 5spd goes in? or will it work with whats in there? I'm just excited i might pick up a turbo convert, because i've never owned either one. :giggedy:

And I'd love to have a nice strong 5spd behind that engine so i can "break in the clutch" :shifty:

 

[Dr.Jass]

Get something that was bolted to a Turbo built '89 or later. You're gonna need a new set of half-shafts, if memory serves. Probably a good idea if you're gonna beat on it anyhow, since they're cheap and the ones in there are already God-knows how old.

A top's easy... click here. Kee is, or at least was, Year One's supplier. Nice folks with a quality product. Go glass on the rear window (you won't have a choice if it's rear defrost). Also, pop for a headliner--you won't regret it.

 

[1966D100]

Ok, also when i install the 5spd, i've noticed the Lebarons have the center console....which is cool...to a point. It looks like its molded to the dash :doubt: , is there a way around that or can it be removed and still make it look fairly decent (like fill the whole with an oversized "boost gage" or something?). Also, since its EFI, will the computer need to be changed out? If so (i assume it will), what should (where should i) get/buy one from so it knows i have a 5spd now, not an auto.

And one last thing, i hear these things are not to nice on head bolts. Does ARP make a set of head bolts for these engines? I noticed a 2.2 Powered mini-sprint in an old mopar performance catalog once, so, do they have a stonger set of head bolts? I need to know these things before i get to deep into this car.

 

[Dr.Jass]

It probably already has the 11mm head bolts in it; ARPs won't be any better since they are a torque-to-yield design, meaning they stretch and can only be used once. Pull the head and you'll need new bolts. Don't dick with it until you have reason to do so.

Yes, you'll probably need a different computer. Check your local auto-parts store (I prefer Auto Value/Bumper-to-Bumper ) and they can get you a newly-remanufactured unit, or you can take your chances with what's in the transmission donor... as long as it's the same year.

Make sure you grab all the pedal stuff, too, including the cable. You'll need everything.

Also, if you can, grab an analog cluster. The digital dashes have been known to be troublesome, and they're ridiculously expensive to repair. If memory serves, it's a bolt-in swap--no sender/sensor/wiring swap. I think all the computing crap is inside the cluster itself.

Why yank the console? Just take the shifter boot out of any 5-speed J-/G-body (LeBaron/Daytona) of similar year, and leave the console alone. This ain't a '71 E-body, man... the console is the same between auto and manual. The auto's shift-indicator plate just gets replaced with the boot.

Warning: both Turbos and convertibles are addictive; combining the two is like crack-laced heroin. You might forget you have a couple of trucks wanting your attention.

 

[1966D100]

Warning: both Turbos and convertibles are addictive; combining the two is like crack-laced heroin. You might forget you have a couple of trucks wanting your attention.

:bwuhaha: Yeah yeah, i know. But the Dakota, sadly, is going to go. That engine stays (good god, if i get money after college, i'm having a 3.9 turbo with a sheet metal intake so help me god :gaga: ) But that body and frame wont last up to the engines ricer terrorizing prowes.

Hey, since you work at one of them there fancy pants stores, how 'bout a price quote on one of those compu-thingies? LOL (we got a nice Bumper to Bumper down here)

 

[Dr.Jass]

They might not give you the same price I do... and I can't look anything up until I know what the hell you've got!

 

[1966D100]

True, and i still need to deal with the Peon some how (yet still no title...so i payed for it, but the title isn't in my name. Last time i talked to my friend, i still called it his car. He got a little pissed he was like "we've been calling it 'your car' for a while" and i'm like, just cause we call it 'my' car, doesn't make it mine untill my name is on that title, last time i checked, it was your name on there before you lost it :bwuhaha: ) so that might give him some insentive to get me that title so i can get it started, get the title over to my name, and post its face over the campus faster than a missing kid. I want that thing gone if i take on the LeBaron. But first I'll see what the LeBaron has to offer me aside from the turbo and the convertible.

Though i am really tempted to gut the Peon, through a fuel cell in the trunk, and run the shit out of it in the local 4cyl division up in my parents place...but i might get some Lebaron fixing money from it if some one is desperate enough to buy it.

 

[Dr.Jass]

Hell, advertise it locally as a rebuilder/parts car. Someone will buy it with gas near $3/gallon.

Why doesn't your buddy just apply for a new title? If his name is on it, it's no big deal. In MI it costs like $11. Jeez.

 

[1966D100]

he's lazy and "busy" aparently (i.e....seems to spend alot of time at the girlfriends place...then again, i don't blame him lol) but yeah, his names on the car, thing needs plates but otherwise, yeah it could go for a parts car really good. Its a Sport with all wheel disc, really nice if it wasn't an auto. I'm sure some one would buy it...i just need the title so i can sell it

 

[68R/T]

Also, would i need any new shafts when the 5spd goes in? or will it work with whats in there?

Axleshafts interchange between 5sp & autos, but there is some changes in the axle splines over the years. If Hollander shows an interchange with whatever year the Baron is and the donor year, you're good-to-go. Or you can play it safe and get the shafts from the donor car.