One wire lock-up, 4 spd automatic w overdrive into A-body.

[jbc426]

Wow, I see what you mean about the oil filter clearance issue. I bought the same transmission bellhousing and I have the same right angle oil filter adapter, so that's a real bummer for both of us. Looking forward to seeing more pics as your project progresses.

I may just break out the saws-all and remove the offending extra aluminum there , so I can still run the large oil filter. Then make it look pretty. I believe that area is for putting a starter on a jeep motor or something like that..

 

[Treblig]

I may just break out the saws-all and remove the offending extra aluminum there , so I can still run the large oil filter. Then make it look pretty. I believe that area is for putting a starter on a jeep motor or something like that..

Did you get your 2004R governor and speedo gears correct before you install the transmission?? Or did I already ask you about that....don't remember??/
treblig

 

[jbc426]

Did you get your 2004R governor and speedo gears correct before you install the transmission?? Or did I already ask you about that....don't remember??/
treblig

The governor was set-up by the builder. Once I get the car running and break in the transmission, motor and the 8 3/4 chunk. I'm going to run one of those geared speedometer correctors that use the GPS readouts that you send them at several speeds.

I found a really nice 150 mph rallye dash cluster at a swap meet last month and am going to have it gone through. It also came with one on those Performance/Economy vacuum gauge things, but I'm going to take that out and put in the clock I already had rebuilt. That way I know how fast I need to drive to work.

 

[jbc426]

The Reid bell housings have provisions for starter mounting on both sides of them. My 5.9 Magnum uses the one on the driver's side of the housing. The passenger side mount was in the way of my 90 degree oil filter adapter, which allows me to run the longer style filters. I like that, because there's more surface area for the filter media. I looked at it carefully and decided I could easily cut the whole passenger side starter mount off. Out came the Sawsall and in about 10 minutes it was gone. I'll clean up the cut so it looks decent and more importantly in that hard to see area, it will deburr any sharp edges.

I also had to make a decent sized hole to allow my crank position sensor to fit through the outer rim of the bell housing to read the rectangular cutouts on the tome ring ( flex plate for you carburetor running types). I used one of those hole saws that look a lot like the ones you use to cut out holes in doors to install door knobs, but it was a little smaller though. The drill bit inside the hole saw blade helped guide and the make the hole come out straight and the sensor fits very well now.

On a disturbing note, I had to pay $150 to have my K-member hot tanked by the only remaining real hot tank equipped place in our area. it seems all the machine shops have gone to those high pressure heated dish washer style cleaning systems. it's too bad they don't use a combination of both systems.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the aluminum I removed so my oil filter will fit again, the hole for the crank position sensor and a better shot of the passenger side header clearance next to the transmission someone asked for(Dart Vadr)

I need to do some serious vacuuming with the shop vac before I start trying to fit and measure the torque converter to see if it is going to fall within spec. There's a lot of aluminum shavings all around where I was cutting. I made a pretty good mess with the aluminum shavings

 

[Woods74]

Sweet progress.

 

[jbc426]

Third time was a charm. The torque converter fits perfectly! I bolted on the 318 neutral balanced flexplate/tone ring to my old 5.9 Magnum, dropped the torque converter all the way into the transmission and bolted the transmission to the engine. tMy 408 is internally balanced There was between just a touch more than 1/16" less than an 1/8" of room for the converter to pull forward as I tightened the bolts from the flex plate to the converter, which was spot on perfect distance according to the chevy manuals.

I am so relieved and happy that I didn't have to ship it back to be adjusted again. Now Precision has the exact specs to build both lock-up and non-lock-up converters for these Reid bell housings. If you are no into long trips and use your car more around town and at the strip, go with the non-lock-up style converter; as it has less mass to spin and will accelerate quicker.

Now, I just have to finish swapping the serpentine stuff and oil pan and pick-up on the new block, paint it all up and do some minor torsion crossmember modification along with some additional welding to strengthen the k-member and weld the torsion bar frame solidly to the floor like my US Cartool sub-frame connectors. I will also add some gusseting at the ends of the sub-frame connectors to the torsion bar cross member. I will have too make a rear trans mount too, but I already have a good idea for that from the Hotchkis build.

What a relief the torque converter fits, whew! :blob:

My only concern now is if the (blue) metal behind the tone ring's rectangular holes will affect the pulse and cause problems with the fuel injection due to not enough airgap behind it. Does anyone know about such things?

 

[jbc426]

Well, it's a lot of time consuming work building a motor, installing different intakes and heads and adjusting 1.65 to 1 Chevy rocker arms, which I've never done before, and welding up and gusseting my K-member with the Firm Feel kit.

The pushrod plates that guide the pushrods are a bit of a pain to get just right because they move if you don't tighten them down in small steps. I pre-oiled the motor using my corded drill. It's just to hard on my cordless drills and burns them up unnecessarily.

I tried to take my time and not make any mistakes, but I still had to do the old one step forward two steps back on a few items. I still need to make new brackets to hold my fuel rails steady, as my last set was for the beer keg intake and the Hughes brackets are for the stock fuel lines. I like that kind of fabricating though.

I have the car up in the air in preparation to get a stiff wire wheel on my angle grinder to run along the torsion bar crossmember seams to prepare them for welding. I don't like welding upside down, but I think it will really strengthen the entire crossmember by doing so. I've got to pull the seats, carpet, insulation and center console, and then scrape any seam sealer off before I start welding. It al takes time. I'll try and get more before, during and after shots. I really didn't take too many pictures of the engine being assembled, because this thread is about using a bellhousing on a 200R4 in an A-body not putting together a motor. I will soon see just how much notching of the torsion bar crossmember this is going to take. I am also thinking of using 6" or 8" square plates and welding them to the junction of the subframe connectors, the front longitudinals and the torsion bar crossmember to tie them all together a bit better. I'll weld them with the corners of the plates running down the frame rails and maybe drill a hole in them to help keep dirt from collecting on them. We don't have problems with rust out here thankfully.

The nice part about this bellhousing approach, one I got the torque converter measurements correct, is that is bolted together in a few minutes, it's out of the way of almost all other components and it looks clean. You be the judge as it compares to the adapter plate method.

On a performance note, I have the real low profile air intake on the throttle body to clear the hood. I had to use a 1" spacer to get the throttle arm not to hit my aluminum fuel rails. You can see it on the third and forth pictures. It barely cleared my hood. I'm hoping I can run a taller, full-sized air hat now that I don't need that spacer. I'm pretty sure the short air hat will be a restriction on this motor with the increased displacement, ported aluminum Eddie's and the bigger cam.

 

[jbc426]

I'm at the point now, where I have to get under the car and wire wheel the seem along the torsion bar crossmember; so I can weld it to the floor all the way across the width of the car to strengthen it some. There is a small gap right at the transmission tunnel that I will either close up with a few taps from a mallet or back fill with some thin strap steel.

Near the location where the stock floor shift rod passes through the floorboard, there is the largest gap. This is where Treblig did a lot of his custom work to retain the factory shifter. Mine is going in a box in the basement, although I am keeping the factory console. I am going to make some modifications to it like a gauge pod mount at the very front of it and put a drink holder in where the current ashtray lives.

 

[Treblig]

jbc,
That looks a lot like the underside of my Barracuda before it went under the knife:axe:!!!
Remember to remove extra material from that back lip of the cross member (driver's side)!! Also, if you insert and weld in any metal plates into that gap behind the shifter down rod be aware that there is a spot weld as you approach the lower radius where it transitions from semi-vertical to horizontal.
Don't put the old shifter in a box in the basement. It will be scared in there, sell it to me so I can modify it to shift down into low gear on my 2004R. I would hate to have my car not running while I remove mine and modify it so I'm probably going to buy a shifter, modify it then swap them out. I finally got the 3.73 gears in my Barracuda but unfortunately the mechanic told me not to abuse the gears until they had 100 miles on them. So I'm driving around town burning gas like a fool just so I put enough miles on it so I can burn some rubber :burnout:. The extra trans cooler does an excellent job keeping the trans temp at 180/190 degrees (max). I live in South Texas and it's hot and humid eleven months out of the year. Even when it's 98 degrees outside the trans temp doesn't rise above 185 degrees!!:blob:

Your conversion is looking pretty nice, be sure and post lots of pics of the transition to help other members. If you need any info all you have to do is ask.

treblig

 

[jbc426]

I don't think the torsion bar crossmember has even one spot weld holding it to the floor transmission tunnel. I'm almost tempted to cut it and move it back a few inches to clear the transmission and then make my own crossmember extensions in the same shape as the original part and weld it solidly to the floor.

That would still leave me with the task of making a lower torsion bar mount brace and a rear transmission mount, but I bet overall it would be cleaner looking and a lot stronger than it is now or with a big chunk cut out of it.

Any thoughts you Treblig or anyone with any engineering experience?

 

[Treblig]

I don't think the torsion bar crossmember has even one spot weld holding it to the floor transmission tunnel. I'm almost tempted to cut it and move it back a few inches to clear the transmission and then make my own crossmember extensions in the same shape as the original part and weld it solidly to the floor.

That would still leave me with the task of making a lower torsion bar mount brace and a rear transmission mount, but I bet overall it would be cleaner looking and a lot stronger than it is now or with a big chunk cut out of it.

Any thoughts you Treblig or anyone with any engineering experience?

Yes you could cut it out completely BUT....I don't know if the tunnel stays the same shape all the way back. In other words, the radius of the tunnel might change further back so the upper cross member that you remove may not fit. Besides if you want to use the upper cross member portion to support the tranny then you're going to have to cut well past the 4 bolt holes (2 per side) to make it wide enough and strong enough. That's going to leave you with a large piece to replace into the original spot. You would also have to put end caps on upper cross member portion so it would look nice, I would use a "L" shaped cap so that you'd have even more material to attach to the floor helping to stabilize it.
Weren't you planning on using stiffening bars from the cross member to the rear? If you do that then you can attach your tranny mount to those anyway. I guess it all depends on how many resources you have available to manufacture things and how much time you have. I mean look at all the manufacturing I did before I even lifted my car off the ground!!! LOL

Treblig

 

[jbc426]

Well, today is the day that I am going under the car with the Mig welder and weld the original crossmember seams solidly to the floor. I'm going to stop just short of the last outside holes and ponder my options.

I have the motor and trans ready to roll under the car to see how things fit. I took someone on here's advice and bought two 6 inch long bolts with the same thread as the K-member bolts to help start the lining up process between the K-member and the frame. It's at this point I will really know just how much more room I am going to need to fit this hybrid engine/trans combo. It will be my first Hybrid car! lol

When I bought my bike a few months ago, I tell people I was going to buy a Prius and then said, "Nah, an injected Hayabusa seemed like a better idea and gets almost the same mileage...If you stay off the throttle anyway".

Funny, I took the decals off, leaving only the blue and gray. I was getting followed by cops everywhere, but now It's like I've just disappeared into the background. I also swapped out the exhaust, removed the exhaust air injection and put in a Power Commander with a wideband auto tuner and a one tooth smaller front sprocket.

 

[Treblig]

How do you plan to close the big gap on the driver's side of the cross member?? You can't weld it with that big gap there.

treblig

 

[jbc426]

Had family drop by unexpectedly, but back at it now. I am going to weld the torsion bar crossmember from the door sills to just short of the transmission tunnel by about a 6".

Then fit the engine/trans under the car and see where it hits the crossmember. At some point, I need to go to the metal scrappers and pick up some material for gusseting the subframe connectors to the torsion bar crossmember too.

 

[Woods74]

I am going to weld the torsion bar crossmember from the door sills to just short of the transmission tunnel by about a 6".

Why do all that extra work? No need. That's brutal. I chopped out my cross-member hump and welded in 1/8. No problems pulling serious G's.

 

[jbc426]

Why do all that extra work? No need. That's brutal. I chopped out my cross-member hump and welded in 1/8. No problems pulling serious G's.

Wow, I just spent 15 minutes reading your build. Dang, you did a lot of work. I like the torsion bar reinforcements too. The 1/8" plate makes it come out nice and clean. Templates are cool! Great work on the car!!!!:blob:

 

[jbc426]

Welding upside down is never fun, and I am not that great of a welder. At least I didn't blow holes through my floorboards. A little work with the angle grinder will knock down the high spots. The first few spatters that fell landed on my drop light and it went out. Light bulbs are getting rarer these days, and I had been using those florescent bulbs because they are so tuff when dropped etc , but now I'm down to 95 watt bulbs and they are delicate in a drop light.

The wind was picking up and that always makes for problems when Mig welding. I got one side of the car done, and plan on getting the other side early in the morning before it gets too hot out to be draped in leather.

After seeing what Poison Dart did with his car, my mind is spinning with ways to get this center section done in the cleanest, strongest and simplest way. A way that is easily repeatable for those that want overdrive in their Mopars. Any kind of overdrive is fine, but my initial hope was to keep the adaptation footprint small using the 200R4 and removing a small wedge of the crossmember, but after seeing what Treblig had to cut away has me wondering exactly where my interference is going to demand room and just how much room that will end up being. Time will tell.

 

[BigBlockMopar]

Good job on welding the entire crossmember to the floor. Add a lot of strength which you really need.

My Dart has 1" torsionbars and a 518 for which I removed the top half of the crossmember in the tunnel.

I hadn't found the time yet to install a reinforcing bar on the outside of the tunnel in the driverscompartment.

I posted this image on Moparts yesterday aswell;
Below is what happens when the crossmember is 'weakened' on top and the floorboards aren't welded to the crossmember...




After I noticed this happening on both sides of the crossmember I also decided to weld the crossmember to floor as good as possible.

 

[jbc426]

Good job on welding the entire crossmember to the floor. Add a lot of strength which you really need.

My Dart has 1" torsionbars and a 518 for which I removed the top half of the crossmember in the tunnel.

I hadn't found the time yet to install a reinforcing bar on the outside of the tunnel in the driverscompartment.

I posted this image on Moparts yesterday aswell;
Below is what happens when the crossmember is 'weakened' on top and the floorboards aren't welded to the crossmember...




After I noticed this happening on both sides of the crossmember I also decided to weld the crossmember to floor as good as possible.

Thanks for the picture and information. Reinforcing this area, and/or weakening it as little as possible in the first place has universally been accepted as mandatory by most folks on this board. It's a stressed part because of the torsion bars etc. Do you have subframe connectors installed already? Your picture pretty much validates all our fears about messing with this area without doing something to add back strength.

The location of the small tear is informative. It's in the spot where I am finding the last of the spot welds on my crossmember. There are none on my tunnel loop, in fact the gap between the crossmember and the floor is pretty large on one side. It is due to the location of the shift mechanisms mounting pad, which has since been removed. (see pic) This is the exact area where material will either have to be removed, or some other modification to increase the clearance made. It's one of the main reasons that hold back most Mopar folk from going with an automatic overdrive of any description, even the diminutive 200R4 needs more room here. Just how much remains to be seen.

PoisonDart used an 1/8" plate bent in the shape of the transmission tunnel, and extended it down far enough to cap off the open ends of where he cut the torsion bar crossmember. He used an super strength body panel adhesive. I believe he also welded the sides to the transmission tunnel, but I'm not 100% sure about that. have seen other guys do just the welding with even thicker steel flat plates that they had to use hydraulic presses to bend into shape.

Great info here! Thanks!

 

[Woods74]

Welded 1" every 3" in the field and filled it in with seam sealer. More build pics:

http://s1244.photobucket.com/user/woodpic85/library/Dart Bodywork?sort=3&page=1

 

[Treblig]

Welded 1" every 3" in the field and filled it in with seam sealer. More build pics:

http://s1244.photobucket.com/user/woodpic85/library/Dart Bodywork?sort=3&page=1

You didn't repair your car and you didn't restore your car.....YOU BUILT THE DARN THING!!!

treblig

 

[jbc426]

You didn't repair your car and you didn't restore your car.....YOU BUILT THE DARN THING!!!

treblig

This is an accurate assessment!

 

[jbc426]

I finished up stich welding as best as I could, leaving only the area Treblig indicates will need to be modified to fit the rear of the 200R4. I used a small ball peen hammer to close up the gap along the transmission tunnel portion of the crossmember. I left the part where the stock shifter rod passes through the floor alone for now.

This afternoon, I'll slide the engine/trans/K-member combo under the car and see where and how much it's hitting.

In the meanwhile, I have to put some more shakedown/break-in miles on my '70 'Cuda. It only has a few hundred miles on the new clutch, rear gears and Passon five speed. It's a tough job, but I have to do it. Me an a buddy are going up to Alice's restaurant above Woodside, CA. It's a big draw for both hotrods, but mostly bikes of all brands.

 

[Treblig]

I finished up stich welding as best as I could, leaving only the area Treblig indicates will need to be modified to fit the rear of the 200R4. I used a small ball peen hammer to close up the gap along the transmission tunnel portion of the crossmember. I left the part where the stock shifter rod passes through the floor alone for now.

This afternoon, I'll slide the engine/trans/K-member combo under the car and see where and how much it's hitting.

In the meanwhile, I have to put some more shakedown/break-in miles on my '70 'Cuda. It only has a few hundred miles on the new clutch, rear gears and Passon five speed. It's a tough job, but I have to do it. Me an a buddy are going up to Alice's restaurant above Woodside, CA. It's a big draw for both hotrods, but mostly bikes of all brands.

Coming along nicely!! Still waiting for the cutting. From the dimensions you gave for your transmission/adapter length you should have to cut about the same amount as I did. Within an 1/8" or so. If it was me I would cut out a good chunk based on my pics that way you decrease the number of times you'll have to put your eng/tranny in place. At least that's what I did (based on" Mopartoya's" pics). And I still had to cut more!!! But that's just me though....everyone likes to do things there own way and I'm no exception!!!
I absolutely love driving my Barracuda with the 2004R especially with the modified governor and the 3.73 gears. No droning sounds on the highway and pretty nice off the line. Today I order my Mickey Thompson 90000000225 Sportsman S/R Radial Tires 29x15.00R15 for the Cuda.
[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mickey-Thompson-90000000225-6642-Sportsman-S-R-Radial-Tire-29x15-00R15-/161135662386?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Tires&vxp=mtr&hash=item25846f1532"]Mickey Thompson 90000000225 6642 Sportsman s R Radial Tire 29x15 00R15 | eBay[/ame]
I purchased some pretty nice 15 X 12 polished aluminum wheels now all I need is the tires. These new tires are about 1.25" taller per side so I may end up with 3.90 gears after all. But I'll have to drive it with the new tires and wheels to get a feel and see how much low end I lose.
PS - Enjoy the surgery Dr. jbc!!!!
treblig

 

[BigBlockMopar]

I've installed subframe connectors a few months after my 518-installation.
Was a noticable improvement to the car. Still plan to weld the frame connectors to the floorboards aswell for more strength.

Here's a pic during the 518-swap mockups, where you can see where the top of the crossmember was removed;