71 A230 into 65 Dart z bar/linkage

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MidnightSwinger

MidnightSwinger

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What do I need to make this work? My 65 Dart Slant 6 is a factory A903 car, I have the pedals, and the frame ballstud bracket but nothing else.

I just picked up an a230 from a 71 Dart and I got the z bar and bellhousing ball stud with it. Will all of this swap in, or do I need the early z bar and/or bellhousing?

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As I've mentioned before, the transmission tunnel has to either be modified, or you have to put the four speed hump in it. I am unsure on the z-bar and bellhousing differences.
 
RustyRatRod said:
As I've mentioned before, the transmission tunnel has to either be modified, or you have to put the four speed hump in it. I am unsure on the z-bar and bellhousing differences.
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Yep, got that covered. Just need to know about the z bar and bellhousing.
 
MidnightSwinger said:
I’m hoping someone with some experience chimes in and saves me some time on this swap. I’d rather not have to pull the bellhousing once installed if at all possible.
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Then set it up without the transmission in it. That way, you can get right to the bellhousing if you need to swap it.
 
No direct experience with the slant 6 bellhousing, but if the linkages remain similar to the V8 linkage set-up, expect to relocate the bellhousing ballstud/bracket to align with the frame ballstud, and probably need to narrow the Z bar to fit. May have to "adjust" the linkage rod lengths a bit also.
 
My suggestion would be to call brewers, they should have the parts you need. They are the experts

The inner fender bracket you have there looks way different than the early a bracket/ball stud.

The length of the torqueshaft (zbar on other brands) would be different on our narrower A-bodies as well.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Then set it up without the transmission in it. That way, you can get right to the bellhousing if you need to swap it.
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Thank you Rob, you gave me a great idea. The trans crossmember and mount locate the transmission.I can bolt the whole thing in the way It is now and set it up with my transmission jack. I should be able to get everything close enough to where it sits to be able to tell if it’s gonna work or not.
 
When I went from slant 6/a833 to 273/a833, I had to get a different z bar and clutch fork.

My slant 6 z bar had clearly been modified before. I’ll send a picture tonight, but my recollection was that it was wider than the 273 fork.

With all this said, the A230 may be different. What’s the length of your clutch fork and width of your z bar? I can compare to my old parts tonight.
 
Will the A230 bolt to a 903 bellhousing? If so, that might be an easier route to go. I'm guessing the early A's with a slant used the itty bitty flywheel like 273 cars. Just spit ballin an idea.
 
JDMopar said:
Will the A230 bolt to a 903 bellhousing? If so, that might be an easier route to go. I'm guessing the early A's with a slant used the itty bitty flywheel like 273 cars. Just spit ballin an idea.
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My understanding is no you need a bell housing for an 883.
 
Man. Apologies for lacking here.

So to give a more complete picture:
-1965 Dart
- slant 6 bellhousing #3743643
-12.5” long clutch fork
-8” wide torque shaft/zbar

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I have started cutting and making my own clutch forks and Z bars out of cheap swap meet stuff.

If you are skilled with the welder, and understand the basic geometry of clutch pedal/linkage/fork actuation you can do anything you think up. I say it's pretty easy, and I am not a smart person.

The factory Pre '67 Z bars tend to fail on me anyway so I have beefed all of them up to prevent a failure on 45+ year-old parts at an inconvenient time since I drive my stuff a lot.

Good luck!
 
slant six said:
I have started cutting and making my own clutch forks and Z bars out of cheap swap meet stuff.

If you are skilled with the welder, and understand the basic geometry of clutch pedal/linkage/fork actuation you can do anything you think up. I say it's pretty easy, and I am not a smart person.

The factory Pre '67 Z bars tend to fail on me anyway so I have beefed all of them up to prevent a failure on 45+ year-old parts at an inconvenient time since I drive my stuff a lot.

Good luck!
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Could you show me how you beef it up?
 
This was off of my '79 Volare F Body
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I have been to this rodeo before...
Reset the tube/lever arm to the pedal shaft arm, reweld, grind, and reinforce with additional tubular metal on the Frame pivot side.

I just happened to have some scrap tube that the ID of the tube is exactly the same as the OD of the Z Bar / Torque shaft. I have had this same exact failure on 3 mopars of various vintages...
- '64 Dart
- '62 Valaint
- '79 Volare
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I also have used thicker tube diameters from say B/E Bodies that I bought cheap from the swap meet and remade my own levers / z bars for various clutch forks for header clearance etc.


Here is another writeup I did on the subject
 
MidnightSwinger said:
What do I need to make this work? My 65 Dart Slant 6 is a factory A903 car, I have the pedals, and the frame ballstud bracket but nothing else.

I just picked up an a230 from a 71 Dart and I got the z bar and bellhousing ball stud with it. Will all of this swap in, or do I need the early z bar and/or bellhousing?

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View attachment 1716172598
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IIRC, the bellhousing will work with your '65 flywheel and starter, but, the Z-bar, bellhousing pivot, and the linkage will have to be modified to fit, as well as the shift linkage if you're making/keeping it a column shift. If floor shift, you will probably want a floor hump and a complete shifter of course.
 
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