Byaaahhh!! A NEW MEMBER?!

How is the 1-2 shift, though? The ratio drop is pretty dramatic. I would love to convert to a manual, ESPECIALLY since it takes less work that going to an overdrive automatic, but that gear drop makes me a bit hesitant.
 
Dr.Jass said:
You might want to contact Stretch. He got most of an A-body pedal setup from me several years back, but at it turns out the car he's looking at is already a stick so he may be willing to come off it. I don't think the countershaft or fork pushrod were there, nor was there a floor tunnel, but that still gets you most of the way there.

No promises, just a suggestion. If he's willing to come off the stuff, he's about as straight a shooter as you'll ever find. Total stand-up guy... and when he stands up, you'll probably be looking up at him. :D :D :D
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It's also an early A. Much cooler and lighter and much more "Fun" to stuff go fast parts in! If by "Stright shooter" you mean "Dick" then Yah thats me I guess. A Big Dick at 6'6 275# as it turns out. :D

I don't know if I want to come off of that stuff really. I'm kindof a horder when it comes to MOPAR parts. I don't even remember what all is in that box.

You know the more I think about it I might consider trading for some sort of trinket I might need. I like shiny!
 
lol how complete is the pedal assembly and what is it missing? Currently talking to Passon about a built 18-spline w/.80 overdrive. It's a bit higher than I originally wanted, but maybe I can make it work depending upon the price.
 
MADMarc said:
How is the 1-2 shift, though? The ratio drop is pretty dramatic. I would love to convert to a manual, ESPECIALLY since it takes less work that going to an overdrive automatic, but that gear drop makes me a bit hesitant.
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That 1-2 spacing on the stock setup does frighten people; it's pretty large. The nice thing, though, is you can run a relatively-mild gear and still storm out of the hole like it's got a much-deeper rear ratio. The best ratio I've seen for that trans is a 3.36, but good luck finding that ring and pinion. It was only used in 1960-61, as far as I know. If you're going to use one, you want the widest, flattest torque curve you can get out of your engine.

The pedal set Stretch has is for '67-'76 cars. I know, I had it first. :D I'm pretty-sure I described was was there a few posts back.
 
Ahah! I was wondering that, as well. Thinking that if I went with the 4-speed, maybe I could just go w/a 3.23 sure-grip unit and keep my my 741 case. Trying to find a speed calculator right now...I've come across it a million times, but now that I want to use it I can't find it. I REALLY don't want to be taching high on the highway. The 518 swap sounds nice because of the lower overdrive ratio, but dammit, I want a manual. Prices are going to come in pretty close to one another. The Passon unit is 3100 built, but I need to find a bellhousing and allllllllllll the other odds and ends to make it work. I'm thinking about 4500 after all is said and done, and it doesn't (I hope) require modifications to the cross member. The 518 is about 2700, adding an adapter makes it about 3300, the majority of the goodies are there, but I would need to figure something out with the cross member and floor support. Both floors need chopped, but the auto takes more.
 
Putting in a 4-speed tunnel is actually quite easy. The only floorpan modification is cutting a hole and welding on the tunnel addition. The only trick is not cutting through the floor brace, but you have spot welds that are a visual guide as to where you need to be careful. A-body 4-speed tunnel "humps" are available new, too. I completed the whole swap (including pedals and swapping to manual brakes, which requires a special bracket in that car) in a very-short time in my '81 LeBaron, which wasn't even available with a manual trans from the factory. I even had to cut the hole for the clutch countershaft pushrod, which on your car is possibly already there and just capped with an oval body plug. Hell, on the A-cars the bracket for the countershaft's LH ball stud is a bolt-on piece that's still available. On other models, it needs to be welded in place.

The A518 requires a lot of butchery and fab work to the floor and brace as well as the crossmember. Figuring out how to maintain strength in the floor brace alone would probably take you longer than a complete stick swap. No screwing around with mismatched transmission lines (3/8" on the A518, 5/16" on the car now) and other little headaches. The 4-speed swap is much easier.

The only problem with the A833OD swap from a swap standpoint is the oversized front bearing retainer, as the big-block was never equipped with one that size. However, fixing that is simplicity in itself (use an earlier bearing retainer, also still available last I looked). I also have a B/RB/Hemi '70-'74 aluminum bellhousing for sale if you decide on a factory-flange transmission. We'll talk about that a little more if you're interested in it.
 
Thanks a bunch for the input, Jass. What all cars can I get the linkage, pedals, and other parts from or is it specific to 70-2 a bodies? I found the floor humps online, whew. I believe that switching over to a hydraulic clutch I can do away w/the z-bar linkage too, correct? Awaiting some more information from Passon to get some more specifics on that transmission. Without going out and checking, I also read something about the a-body not requiring any cutting to the firewall because so many of the cars came with 3 on the column. I will absolutely keep you in mind if this is the route I go, thanks.

And very cool speed analyzer! I wonder if I can get 17 mpg out of a mild 500 :D...a guy can hope.
 
The swap to a stick doesn't require cutting on the firewall. The parts you need can come from any '67-'76 A-car, and the only drawback in the mechanical linkage, really, is the rubber isolator used at the clutch fork. Use one from a truck; it's a steel ball. You can go hydraulic but remember, that's non-adjustable for clutch wear and will probably add considerable expense. One thing to keep in mind, if you decide to go with a CenterForce clutch, you absolutely must get rid of the huge over-center spring on the clutch pedal or the pedal will stay on the floor. Voice of experience!

I have a friend with a '69 Charger R/T with a 492-inch RB putting 538HP to the rollers on a dyno (it's MPFI he literally built himself). He knocks down nearly 18MPG highway with a Richmond six-speed (which is a single overdrive) and 3.33 gears in the original Dana 60. I don't think I've talked cars with him in over a year, and he never stops with that thing so it might be better now.
 
Single over drive six speed?! Deng! This will be for a so cal driver... Which means traffic a couple times a week, and a mechanical clutch that can support a 500 ci motor might not be friendly. The hydraulic clutch isn't necessary to get the car going, but it would save me a little time if I can't find the appropriate linkage.. Thanks for all the help, oh wise one :D I'm glad I found this board with old friends! Going to get to some a body parts searching to build some more of my shopping list to check prices. My my my
 
A hydraulic clutch setup doesn't necessarily reduce pedal effort, though. Ed's Charger is still mechanical linkage, but he runs a CenterForce clutch. It's held up fine thus car. Another friend of mine had a McLeod dual-disc in his '71 Charger R/T with stone-stock, restoration-correct linkage and never had a problem. Like I said, it's an easy, bolt-in swap with no screwing around, and A-body clutch stuff is not hard to find. Wear items are the same as B/E-bodies and not hard to find. Another option you might want to consider is a Keisler Tremec TKO swap. I know a couple of guys that have done this, including my friend with the '71, and they all seem to love it. Keisler sells them in a nice conversion kit, and though my friend hasn't had Problem One with his TKO 500, they do make a TKO 600. It's not likely you'd break either one.

The Richmond 6-speed is simply a Richmond 5-speed with an overdrive; the 5-speed is direct in 5th gear as is the 6-gear. The Richmond 5-speed was originally the Doug Nash 5-speed, and the reason for its creation was warranty issues with Corvettes in the '80s that used the "4+3" manual trans. That was a 4-speed manual with an overdrive that could be engaged in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear, effectively making it a 7-speed. It was a great idea and even a clever design, and when it works it's actually rather impressive. However, you were always a few clutch dumps from disaster, and it turns out more Corvette owners beat on their cars than one might think. The Doug Nash 5-speed was eventually the warranty-replacement trans for the 4+3. Neither of the Richmond transmissions has the rated torque capacity of the Tremec TKO, itself originally a replacement for blown Borg-Warner T-5s. The best T-5 ever made only has an input-torque capacity of 305lbs/ft.

While we're on the subject of transmission evolution, the A833 was originally designed as Chrysler's in-house improvement on the Borg-Warner T-10. Essentially, they just took the B-W design and increased its size by 25% or more, which allowed them to move the reverse lever to the main case. This was done because the T-10, which Chrysler used for a couple of years, could not hold up to the Max Wedge cars. It's also why all of the close-ratio transmissions used an iron case. If you wanted a manual-trans Max Wedge car, you were getting the balky B-W 3-speed (I think it was the T-85 but I'm not sure at the moment). Borg-Warner eventually upgraded the T-10 to the Super T-10, which replaced the Muncie transmission in GM's performance cars, but by then Chrysler had already been building their own 4-speeds for over a decade and even the overdrive A833 is much stronger than a Super T-10.

That is tonight's history lesson. :D
 
personaly..if i was going to swap in a 5spd..id grab a r154 ...if i wanted a 6 id go with the w60
yes...they are both toyota units and both rather bulletproof...

as for an Abody in general..you couldnt pay me enuf to run stock linkage on anything trying to get "performance as there isnt enuf space in that engine bay to begin with and thus why it would be a MUST for a hyd clutch...just to save space for the exhaust
 
Lol jass, that is quite the informative post. Unfortunately, Keisler got back to me with a quote of 6k for their manual tko-600.. I dont doubt that it's amazing, but it better make me sammiches for those bucks. Hell, even passon has a five speed in the 833 case for 4200. A better deal, in my opinion, and it retains the factory look plus two overdrive... Mmm...

And I still want that hyd clutch :P its a little more fan dangling, but I could mount the master cyl wherever, just have to find the stuff. I've got a stealth I can pull some parts from soon lol mitsu parts in a dodge? That might upset someone.
 
That's why we just stuck an A833 in our Dart. Besides, you ain't lived until you've driven two hours through rush hour and construction traffic in Detroit with an old school 4-speed set-up and heavy clutch, and then cruised a section of Woodward during the Dream Cruise.
 
The clutch master has to be perfectly aligned with the pedal pushrod. You can't just mount it "anywhere". If you used a remote reservoir, as long as it's higher than the cylinder that gives you a little more freedom, but the cylnder has has to be directly forward of the pedal.

Keisler's prices really skyrocketed. My friend's TKO 500 cost a little over half what they told you. That was about six years ago, but then again he was just getting the trans, shifter, clutch disc and driveshaft because his car was already a 4-speed.

The problem with the R154 is availability. They're just hard to find. It's a bulletproof trans, no doubt. That, and you'd need a Dakota 3.9L bellhousing for an AX15 5-speed plus an adapter for the RB bolt pattern. I guess it all depends on how much work you want to do... I've seen that trans installed in a Mitsubishi Starion behind a Yamaha V6 pulled from an early-'90s Taurus SHO that had twin turbos. How's that for a clusterf__k?! :D The work was first-rate, actually, but the guy also owned a fabrication shop with fun things like a 5-axis CNC Bridgeport mill. The engine-to-bellhousing adapter was a thing of beauty.
 
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v8440 said:
Put an nv4500 in it. There's a 0% chance it'll break from too much torque input.
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The gear-ratio spacing is ridiculous for a car, it'll require as many floorpan and crossmember mods as an A518, and it'll probably still drag on the ground over bumps. :D
 
looked up that 4500 and wow, lol, that damn thing is a tall one. I was kind've off on a tangent last night, woooops w/the master cyl. I've even read an article and seen some nice welding work for mounting that precisely for the pushrod. Speaking of Keisler, it doesn't seem like much is affordable over there. I completely understand R&D, so I don't mean to gripe...just putting this out there...they also have a hydraulic setup for...sit down...$700. Do it!
 
actualy if your willing to pay 500-1k for a 154 they are EASILY found....and if you know what your looking for you can pick up a COMPLETE supra with trans for even less giving you the driveline and other tidbits....ive got an mk3 with 154 in the driveway..payed 700 for it

as for the clutch master YOU CAN mount it anywhere if your using a wilwood relocation setup..those can be mounted upsidedown 90 deg's and other odditys

if it was me id go with a hyd throw out from qmaster or afco? i forget who makes the mopar sized one then its just a matter of lines up to a tilton/afco/wilwood master
 
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