And so it begins,,,,,, 5-speed Duster swap!

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darndart

darndart

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5-speed swap! I’ve been gathering parts, and doing research for quite a few years and I decided it’s time to pull a trigger and get it done. Car is a 72 Duster 340 clone. It’s got a pretty healthy 340 backed with a 4-speed & 3.91 gears. I love the 3.91’s but not at highway speed! I picked up a new in the box Tremec 3550 5-speed many years ago. A few years ago I picked up a Lakewood conversion bellhousing. A 18 spline Hemi throw out bearing fits the Tremec perfectly. A Magnum pilot bearing machined out to press in a Mustang T5 pilot bearing. Along with a Mustang 10.5” clutch disc. And a Hurst patch panel to cover up the floor surgery. I just got started today and will update as I go.

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Nice, I’ll follow along. I have a T56 to “cut in” to my dart in the near future.
 
Looks familiar. I have the Hurst (now Holley) kit, that sheet metal cover isn't all that great. It work but needs tweaking. I too went from a 4 speed car to a Tremec. My stock drive shaft fit without modification.
 
dano said:
Be sure to index the bell housing to the crank. Tremec's do not like a lot of error.
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Make sure the mounting face is square to the block too. All the bellhousing swaps I've done required shims to square the face AND dowels to center the centerline's of the parts.

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GoogleMaps says you're about 3.5 hours from me;
jus saying that's a short tow.

Nicely outfitted shop, with a 4-poster, and a tire-machine even!
I'm a lil jealous.
Not really, lol; I'm 71 and not much interested in working any more.
All the best to you.
 
AJ/FormS said:
GoogleMaps says you're about 3.5 hours from me;
jus saying that's a short tow.

Nicely outfitted shop, with a 4-poster, and a tire-machine even!
I'm a lil jealous.
Not really, lol; I'm 71 and not much interested in working any more.
All the best to you.
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Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got a 30x40 shop, heated & AC, tire machine & balancer. I’m 60 and realized I need to get some of these projects done, before I’m gone!
 
One thing I learned on my Aluminum Bell housing was my 69 Zbar pivot did not work. I had to use the newer one that I think came out is 71 or 72? That lined it up.
 
jbc426 said:
It's a Lakewood Scatter Shield with block saver. Agreed. Hughes measured this motor's run-out etc.,
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I’ll be using the QuickTime bell and the perpendicular axis was not one I would think to check so thanks for your input. Hopefully it’s dialed.
 
TT5.9mag said:
I’ll be using the QuickTime bell and the perpendicular axis was not one I would think to check so thanks for your input. Hopefully it’s dialed.
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Lakewood 's bells seem to allow much greater variation to specs in their stuff.
The Quick Time Bell is a much nicer product. I'm using one on my new Stroker 5.9 Magnum to attach a 4L60 to it.

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Icetech said:
Soo... has it started? :)
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I’ve got the bellhousing bolted to the engine. I plan on cutting the center of the torsion bar crossmember on Saturday, then mounting the transmission to the bellhousing and raising it up in the tunnel to see what kind of cuts I need to make in the floor pan. I am planning on welding a flat piece of 2 inch wide steel plate to the floor pan and to the torsion bar crossmember that I cut. Hopefully it will turn out similar to the photos I have attached. I also need to check the bell housing run out in case I need to order some offset dowel pins.

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It
TT5.9mag said:
What supercharger is that?
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It's a Vortech / Paxton Novi 1500SL. I'm using Holley's Terminator Max to control everything including straight methanol injection sprayed into the volute of the blower.

vortechsuperchargers.com

Paxton NOVI 1500 Supercharger

Paxton NOVI 1500 Supercharger, with its highly advanced computer designed gears feature an optimized helical profile which allows for quieter operation while providing superior performance. The units feature...
vortechsuperchargers.com vortechsuperchargers.com
 
darndart said:
I’ve got the bellhousing bolted to the engine. I plan on cutting the center of the torsion bar crossmember on Saturday, then mounting the transmission to the bellhousing and raising it up in the tunnel to see what kind of cuts I need to make in the floor pan. I am planning on welding a flat piece of 2 inch wide steel plate to the floor pan and to the torsion bar crossmember that I cut. Hopefully it will turn out similar to the photos I have attached. I also need to check the bell housing run out in case I need to order some offset dowel pins.

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That has almost no strength at all. The bending direction from the left to right of the car is basically nothing. I can bend 1/4" bar by hand without heating it. You need a 3D shape.
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This is very stuff. It's made of similar materials but it controls flex and bending in both directions. Shouldn't be terribly hard to do it right. It's especially important since that's the crossmember the torsion bars are connected to.

The lower crossmember should be strong also, but I wouldn't rely on just that.

Been 6 years with the setup on my car but the car was stiff other than the edges of the floors as soon as that upper crossmember was in.
 
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