I spoke with Chris at US Car Tool yesterday about the 518 cross member. He stated clearly the sheet metal in the tunnel would not have to be removed with the use of their Crossmember. I asked him if they have additional pictures of the tranny installed or how many total cars their shop has installed this in and he said one. The customer’s Dart was the reason they developed the cross member.
He then went into more detail stating the following disclaimers
- all vehicles have variation is the tunnel area
- hammering on the tunnel may be necessary
- grinding on the tranny to releave ribs and protrusions to mitigate interferences
- interferences with the speedometer cable or elections speed sensor will have to be overcome, may require metal work on their bracket depending on the customers parts used to get them to fit
- drive line angles have to be checked and adjusted due to engine cradle and motor mount variations (differences k member vs aftermarket k member QA1)
- warned that there will be several trial fitting several attempts to get the tranny to fit.
- not required but recommended - remove the pinched and spot welded seam above the Bellhousing and motor. They weld the seam 100% solid from the the inside to make the car more ridged and to allow them to remove the seam. At the minimum he recommended bending the seam forward towards the engine bay where the bolts are located to faciataite bolt up.
The moral of the story. They have installed one on a custom build where they has the car 100% stripped down and sold many that have not been returned. This is not a bolt in and go install. Expect tweaking and problem solving to get the tranny in the car. Think ahead or wait to purchase them after you get the tranny installed before purchasing the components you are going to use for the TV lever, gear selector and speedo cable.
I’m going to buy one but I’m going into it with my eye wide open.