Auto to manual conversion

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Jonathan Paulsen

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Hello folks, I'm looking into changing my 1967 dart from an auto to manual. I don't want to hear the benefits of keeping the auto. I am purely curious what goes into the swap. Thank you in advance.
 
Jonathan Paulsen said:
Hello folks, I'm looking into changing my 1967 dart from an auto to manual. I don't want to hear the benefits of keeping the auto. I am purely curious what goes into the swap. Thank you in advance.
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It's a secret.. we can't tell you.. sorry...
 
The basics are a transmission tunnel "bulge" to accomodate the shifter, the proper shifter and rods, the proper A body box, the proper bell or scattershield, proper flywheel and clutch, and proper driveshaft, and of course the pedal set and linkage

Not all pedal sets are created equal. There are some threads on this. The "throw" on some of the HP cars are better than the /6 pedals.

Be aware of the overdriven 4 speed, the older one with the flange drive for 64 / earlier, and the proper shaft length for an A

There are differences in bells over the years, and you do NOT want a truck/ van bell. You want an "A" body bell although some guys I guess have managed to use a B body bell

I've always been a "stick" guy, but I'm 73, and my legs ain't what they used to be. Otherwise I'd have a stick.
 
Other comments. You don't HAVE to use factory parts, there's some threads on here where guys have mounted a new style master hydraulic cylinder "angled" off the hole through the firewall, so the pedal activates it similar to the stock pushrod. This eliminated problems with finding / having the stock linkage, as long as you can "fabricate around" the problem

Finding a flywheel for an Magnum V8 might be harder than for an LA, as they are balanced different.

Some engines are not drilled or fully drilled for a pilot shaft. I had a 5.9 Mag in a late model pickup that WAS NOT DRILLED AT ALL

Everybody recommends Brewers as the 'go to" place for expert parts and advice
 
How's the Whitehorse doing out there in Molalla?

You can swap from an 67-75 A and use some F body parts. What engine do you have and its year? That will get us going in the right direction.

The swap is not difficult, you just need all the parts, it can add up. We swapped my dads 66 Coronet to a 4 speed and it was around $2k (8 years ago) for all the parts when you start from having nothing.
 
It isn't a total bolt in.
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dano said:
How's the Whitehorse doing out there in Molalla?

You can swap from an 67-75 A and use some F body parts. What engine do you have and its year? That will get us going in the right direction.

The swap is not difficult, you just need all the parts, it can add up. We swapped my dads 66 Coronet to a 4 speed and it was around $2k (8 years ago) for all the parts when you start from having nothing.
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Whitehorse is doing pretty good. I have a 318 from 1974
 
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Jonathan Paulsen said:
I have a 318 from 1974
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Probably the most encompassing part of doing the swap is installing the floor hump. Do you have access to a welder and know how to modify floor boards? The ball pivot mount brace needs welded to the inner fender of driver side frame rail. With your 318 it might be drilled and might not be, the use of a Magnum engine roller pilot bearing that goes into the torque converter register is a must if it is not. You'll need to trim the input shaft on the trans by 3/8 to 1/2" if using the Magnum roller pilot.
 
dano said:
Probably the most encompassing part of doing the swap is installing the floor hump. Do you have access to a welder and know how to modify floor boards? The ball pivot mount brace needs welded to the inner fender of driver side frame rail. With your 318 it might be drilled and might not be, the use of a Magnum engine roller pilot bearing that goes into the torque converter register is a must if it is not. You'll need to trim the input shaft on the trans by 3/8 to 1/2" if using the Magnum roller pilot.
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thank you, maybe I'll just go with a shift kit for now
 
Jonathan Paulsen said:
thank you, maybe I'll just go with a shift kit for now
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You know I was just busting your seeds with that first comment LOL.
You shouldn't have to weld in the floor hump. I didn't when I did the conversion on mine actually it works better to just put some glue down window sealer and screw it down as it makes a great access door when doing other modifications. When I take my engine in and out or my transmission and out it's nice to just be able to reach in from the driver's seat area and undo the top bolts to the transmission to the bell housing.
Like mentioned that whole for the z bar pivot in the frame needs a backing plate but those are sold as well and it should be located already on your car... I would think the pivotal and nuts would hold it in place at least long enough to get it to a muffler shop for them to toss a couple small welds on it.. of course I have my $89 Harbor Freight welder and really it's just a matter of sticking the gun up there and squeezing the trigger...
There's a lot of people locally selling the parts for all this stuff some of them are a little crazy and some of them are reasonable...
If you go with a shift kit that's a nice option as well and you can even get a stage 3 trans go where you have to manually shift it. In that case I would get a nice shifter though.. my preference is always the Quicksilver b&m shifter, as it's a nice ratchet shifter...
 
Yep, it takes $$$ and work to bang gears. But then there is cool and wanna be boy racer cool.
Go to brewer's performance and add up all the parts and pieces with the new costs and rebuilt A833 to give you an idea. With sharp buying good used pieces will be less for sure. Easiest way to do the swap is have all the pats from a correct donor car.
 
I agree on the $$$ that's why I always bought the platform I wanted V-8 Four speed with the correct rear etc. It always was curious to me why someone would take a 6 cylinder car and swap all that stuff over..its extra money and work IMO...
 
j par said:
You know I was just busting your seeds with that first comment LOL.
You shouldn't have to weld in the floor hump. I didn't when I did the conversion on mine actually it works better to just put some glue down window sealer and screw it down as it makes a great access door when doing other modifications. When I take my engine in and out or my transmission and out it's nice to just be able to reach in from the driver's seat area and undo the top bolts to the transmission to the bell housing.
Like mentioned that whole for the z bar pivot in the frame needs a backing plate but those are sold as well and it should be located already on your car... I would think the pivotal and nuts would hold it in place at least long enough to get it to a muffler shop for them to toss a couple small welds on it.. of course I have my $89 Harbor Freight welder and really it's just a matter of sticking the gun up there and squeezing the trigger...
There's a lot of people locally selling the parts for all this stuff some of them are a little crazy and some of them are reasonable...
If you go with a shift kit that's a nice option as well and you can even get a stage 3 trans go where you have to manually shift it. In that case I would get a nice shifter though.. my preference is always the Quicksilver b&m shifter, as it's a nice ratchet shifter...
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That's actually a really good idea to screw it down, so does that effect how the center console goes in as well?
 
J par is correct, you can screw the hump down too, you just need to cut the old floor away inside it. There are even sheet metal epoxy you can glue it in with too. When I put my TKO in we used sheet metal screws to set everything then plug and tack welded everything then seam sealed it.

An air nibbler works great cutting the sheet metal out, what it can't do Mr Sawzall will cover.

4 speed carpet is different too. I have a newer black one cut for my 69 Dart if you looking for one. I'll make you a good deal on it. It wouldn't work with my TKO raised floor.
 
Jonathan Paulsen said:
That's actually a really good idea to screw it down, so does that effect how the center console goes in as well?
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The center console has brackets that are welded to the floor pan. I suppose you could screw them on as well. Not too sturdy though. How about the z bar bracket on the drivers frame rail. It needs to be welded. It takes a lot of strain every time the clutch pedal is depressed. All the linkage needs to be very close to perfect or it won't work properly.
 
toolmanmike said:
The center console has brackets that are welded to the floor pan. I suppose you could screw them on as well. Not too sturdy though. How about the z bar bracket on the drivers frame rail. It needs to be welded. It takes a lot of strain every time the clutch pedal is depressed. All the linkage needs to be very close to perfect or it won't work properly.
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Ok but does the center console go where it goes on an automatic, because from the pictures that I've seen, the hole for the shifter is further back. So does it just use linkage to go from where the shifter is on the console to where the hole is in the floor?
 
You need a special shifter handle to sneak thru the console in the right place. But the 4-speed console is just a lil different, to accommodate the hump.Yes your auto console can be converted.
Somewhere in my back shed, I think I might have everything for one more swap, except the hump, and Back-up harness. I might, I say;might, even have a M/T console.
If you have buckets, you might consider moving the shifter back, closer to your body, and raise it up some. This is best done with a B/E long tail. But the stick will no longer fit in the factory console. No worries the factory stick is way too long anyway. Back in the day, that was usually the first thing that got ditched. I did this to mine and I love no longer having to stretch to make the 2-3 shift. Plus I can really smash the 2-3 now, without thinking about leaving knuckle-imprints on the dash.
Your A904 driveshaft will not work with a Regular A833. But it will work with a slanty A833-od, which has the smaller output shaft.
As far as swaps go, this is one of the easiest things to do. I've done several.

If yur looking to bang gears, be advised that this will likely not happen with your 318 unless you short shift it big-time.
For instance, with a 5000 rpm shift-speed, 27" tires, your 1-2 shift occurs at:
55 mph with 2.76s
47 with 3.23s
43 with 3.55s
39 with 3.91s
But short shifting at say 4000, then your shifts will be at ;
with 2.76s; 44/63/86
with 3.23s; 37/52/73
with 3.55s; 34/48/67
with 3.91s; 31/43/61
No matter how you slice it, until you get into 4-Series gears, around town, you will, for the most part, be using First and Second, occasionally Third.
Lo-compression 318s like 4.10/4.30s (nope I got none left,lol.)
Don't get me wrong, I've been running Mopar Manuals almost continuously since 1970, and I have big fun with them. But I used to run exactly that, namely 4.10s or bigger.
 
Jonathan Paulsen said:
Hello folks, I'm looking into changing my 1967 dart from an auto to manual. I don't want to hear the benefits of keeping the auto. I am purely curious what goes into the swap. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Before you pull the trigger on 1-$2000 worth of parts to make it happen you need to be honest with yourself if you have the ability, tools, and equipment to do the job. It's not necessarily a easy project.
 
If you decide to keep your car as an auto; and still want to have fun;
Get yourself a lock up trans, a semi-auto shift kit, at least a 2800TC...... with at least 3.55s with a SureGrip. This combo acts like a 5-speed manual. Well more like a 4.5 anyway.
If you find a wide-ratio A999 then you can use the next smaller rear gear.
if you don't care about hiway rpm, then use your A904 with 3.73s or better.
Imo, for this combo, the standard A904 has tighter shift splits and especially the 1-2. But with a 2800TC, the A999 ratios are not that bad. The lock-up is only a half-gear.
If yur having trouble imaging this, just ask.
 
I would argue that it's better to not permanently put the floor hump on. And I'd also argue that's integrity isn't affected if it's done right.. again I just put my floor hump down there when I got it and drew a line around the edge of it then I knew I could come in from that edge about 1 in and cut out the sheet metal... Then I took that thick sponge one side sticky window seal from home Depot and stuck it around the edge so when I put the hump on it's sealed.. then I put about a dozen self-tapping screws through that all the way around.. then on top of that goes the carpet... I have never had a problem with it... Every time I have taken my engine out I've peeled the carpet back undid those screws with my screw gun was able to reach the top transmission bolts with very little problem..
 
$0.02 When Im looking at doing a big $$ swap for stuff like this, I look at ALL the stuff I need. Then I shop around and see if I can find a parts car with all of it in it. Say for instance you have a desire for an 8 3/4 next.....Might find a rusty wreck with a stick and a diff that check all the boxes.
 
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