4spd swap checklist for a 68 Dart GT 318/904
I've done a couple in early A bodies and once in a 68 Coronet R/T. You are way ahead of where I was when I did my first one. The trans tunnel was the worst part of the project for me. You have some great advice above. I would be concerned about the crank pilot being either or like JD mentioned but it looks like a great project. If you are a 4 speed guy you will have no regrets! Good luck and take your time with the ball and z bar alignment. The rod adjustment will just kind of fall into place for you when you get that far so don't fret about it. When you have everything mocked up and your clutch and brake pedal are the same height it all starts to become worth while! Good Luck have fun with it.
Back when I had my first Dart, 68 270 2dr HT, it was a dream of mine to 4spd swap it. It was also 20+ years ago and the internet was a new born baby and the resources we have today were only a dream. Being able to bring all of the years of knowledge together and parts availability at your fingertips really has made this possible. Oddly enough, when I sold the first 68 that I owned, toward end the 2nd gear in that 904 had left the building also. In retrospect, I didn’t know a ton about them at the time and now that I look back on it, the kickdown linkage wasn’t properly adjusted. That’s probably what shortened the life of it. This car had that “modification” upon purchase but I didn’t care since I wasn’t gonna keep an automatic in it anyhow.
This car is completely stock drivetrain wise and it’s a total pooch but, it’ll be a slightly cooler pooch with the 3rd pedal. I do plan to add some go fast parts in time. No real HP level in mind. Just make it fun to drive, make muscle car noises, and it to be reliable (within reason). 4 barrel, intake, headers, and a steep gear would really wake it up. With all of the horror stories with people wiping cams in recent years, I’m a little hesitant to put one..
Thanks to the internet, I also scored an A-body 8 3/4 housing with axles for only 600 bucks. Being those are hard to come by now, I couldn’t imagine having to try to find one without the benefits of the internet. I will need brakes and a center section for it. Yeah, ya could put any rear axle in it with some welding know how but I wanted to keep it mopar and stuff that I don’t have to modify beyond factory available parts makes life easier. I’m not against modifying but, the more “bolt in swap” the better
I don’t expect the crank to be fully drilled for a 4spd but I hope it’s at least deep enough for me to use the roller bearing and not modify the input shaft. fingers crossed. It’s a roll of the dice I guess. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’ll all come together without a hitch.