Convince me to put a TKX in my Dart

Arthur Sperotto said
I am extremely happy to report that not only did the hoop fit, it fit perfectly! Like it was made for it. NO ADDITIONAL CUTTING HAD TO BE DONE.

Disclaimer: I do not support choosing a transmission based on how much cutting you will have to do. This is a multi-thousand dollar investment that transforms the car in many ways, so I think you should choose which transmission you prefer based on the trans itself and nothing else. You will have to cut the upper part of the crossmember regardless, that is a fact. So whether you have to trim the floor more or less, in my opinion, shouldn't be a big factor. I chose the TKX because it is truly the trans I wanted/preferred, and I have several reasons for that. If you want a T-56 the ToddRonn Restorations piece will perfectly replace the hoop (~$600 iirc), and if you want the TKX the BHS578 ($170) will perfectly replace it as well. Or you can always fabricate something. I fabricate for survival, not for fun, and I know I could have never made something this nice and mechanically sound, so I will gladly pay that price for it!

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That’s awesome!!! Glad that worked out for you, I would definitely have bet against it going that smoothly.

Being able to fabricate something is one thing, I totally could have fabricated a crossmember for the T56. But for a one off like that, to get everything located, with good clearance etc would have meant installing and pulling that transmission half a dozen times to get it all right. Even with the price of the ToddRon crossmember I was money ahead for my time and effort. Having a crossmember that fit, every lined up and the transmission in the right place was more than worth it. Plus being all laser cut and powdercoated it was a heck of a lot nicer looking.

Honestly with the T56, even with the larger amount of tunnel work, the crossmember and the tunnel were the “easy” part. Setting up the hydraulic clutch, modifying the pedal, routing the lines, mounting the master cylinder etc was the more complicated and time consuming part. So I totally agree, pick the transmission you want, the tunnel modification is the least significant part of the whole operation.