Tremec TKX conversion in A-body!

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M0P@R_44

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This will be my first 5 speed swap, and I am so excited to be able to go on the highway without either going on the slow lane, or redlining my engine!

So far this has been a pretty straightforward installation. I went with the ProFit TKX kit from American Powertrain mainly because they were having a sale at the time I had the money, so I pulled the trigger. The kit does a decent job to get the tranny in without too much problems, but with all modifications, there is always going to be some type of extra parts and/or work involved. I must say that their instructions are a joke and they don't have the best customer service in my opinion.. but such is life! The kit cost me $5,500 out the door so I can't complain too much I guess.

I ended up with upper hoop from Holley (BHS578), since a friend of mine has a Gen 3 with the Nag1 in his 70 Duster, and I was able to compare and take measurements to compare what all I needed. It worked out fine, except for trimming the front portion of the hoop a bit. Other than that, the "hand formed tunnel" they send isn't Mopar at all! I wish they would they to account the differences and actually make a true kit for our cars.

I'm in the process of putting the interior back in, but not sure of what shifter boot/bezel to use in order to keep this as stock looking as possible. Any suggestions?

The car is a 1971 Dodge Demon.

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Nice keep us updated! I'm in the process of doing the install on my 68 Barracuda but a bad cold has cost me a full week. I'm converting my auto console to a manual console so I can't help with the shift boot dilemma.

Your kit cost about $700 less than mine did from SST. Did it come with the hydraulic clutch system, pedals and all? I basically got everything other than the shift boot and the driveshaft.

I also went with the BHS578 hoop and am glad I did so. It's not a perfect setup but it's better than nothing and is a direct bolt in part that doesn't require much cutting.

The SST floor template had me cut out a much smaller rectangular hole for the shifter and then had me cut cross slits into the tunnel up toward the firewall. I wound up only cutting about 2/3 of what the template called for and then realized I really could have just done about 1/3 of the cross cuts and been just fine.

Your floor hump sheet metal work looks fantastic! What motor are you going to run with it? Keep us updated on your progress.
 
Here are some pics of the clutch, bellhousing, and the cut made for the top brace.

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ESP47 said:
Nice keep us updated! I'm in the process of doing the install on my 68 Barracuda but a bad cold has cost me a full week. I'm converting my auto console to a manual console so I can't help with the shift boot dilemma.

Your kit cost about $700 less than mine did from SST. Did it come with the hydraulic clutch system, pedals and all? I basically got everything other than the shift boot and the driveshaft.

I also went with the BHS578 hoop and am glad I did so. It's not a perfect setup but it's better than nothing and is a direct bolt in part that doesn't require much cutting.

The SST floor template had me cut out a much smaller rectangular hole for the shifter and then had me cut cross slits into the tunnel up toward the firewall. I wound up only cutting about 2/3 of what the template called for and then realized I really could have just done about 1/3 of the cross cuts and been just fine.

Your floor hump sheet metal work looks fantastic! What motor are you going to run with it? Keep us updated on your progress.
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I love 68 Barracudas!

The cost for mine was cheaper due to the fact that I'm keeping the old school mechanical rods, not hydraulic.. though it would have been nice!

Also, the automatics don't require much cutting because of the contour of the tunnel. Not the case for 4 speed tunnels though, which mine was.

Motor is a "mild" 400ci.
 
M0P@R_44 said:
I love 68 Barracudas!

The cost for mine was cheaper due to the fact that I'm keeping the old school mechanical rods, not hydraulic.. though it would have been nice!

Also, the automatics don't require much cutting because of the contour of the tunnel. Not the case for 4 speed tunnels though, which mine was.

Motor is a "mild" 400ci.
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American Powertrain kit does provide a nice quality driveshaft though, with any u-joint you want!
 
Thats the first TKX I have seen with the shifter offset slightly toward the driver like that?
 
Real clean job! I love the job you did on the tunnel. Very nice!
 
I may not be much help concerning which boot to use since I went with a straight up shift and not an offset, but here's a couple pics of my TKX swap. Note, my car was a console automatic before the swap. I used the boot that came with my kit from Silver Sport.
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jcolman said:
I may not be much help concerning which boot to use since I went with a straight up shift and not an offset, but here's a couple pics of my TKX swap. Note, my car was a console automatic before the swap. I used the boot that came with my kit from Silver Sport.
View attachment 1716024290

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This is awesome. I currently have the auto with a center console. do you think this would be possible to use with a 4 speed center console?
 
GoGrnDvl340 said:
This is awesome. I currently have the auto with a center console. do you think this would be possible to use with a 4 speed center console?
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We just started talking about it in another thread.

www.forabodiesonly.com

Convince me to put a TKX in my Dart

Hey Arthur did you just wind up having to do the 2 cross cuts on the center hump or did you have to do the third that is up closer to the firewall? Just those cuts. One front to back, and one side to side.
www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
 
Finally got the interior done.

I ended up using a B-body shifter boot and placed it sideways to fit the offset shifter.

Not stock looking, but at least kept it mopar parts.

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Good job man you made quick work of that! No one other than Mopar purists would ever even know it wasn't stock.
 
M0P@R_44 said:
Thanks! I'm trying to keep the stock look, kind of hard to do with a non mopar trans and kit haha.
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It looks really good. I finally have everything together to do the Tremec T5 conversion in my 64 Valiant and that's how I want my tunnel to turn out. Since I wan tit to look nice, it'll probably end up lookin like chit. lol
 
RustyRatRod said:
It looks really good. I finally have everything together to do the Tremec T5 conversion in my 64 Valiant and that's how I want my tunnel to turn out. Since I wan tit to look nice, it'll probably end up lookin like chit. lol
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Best advice I have is take your time, and it'll come out great! Patience is key
 
Are you using an OEM reproduction shift boot and bezel? Was going to try that on mine. Was not sure if the boot would cover my shifter bolts.
Awesome progress by the way.

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I've looked and cannot find one of those offset shifter adapters for the T5. Does anybody make one?
 
It's a product of American Power train. I would imagine it's sold separately. Silver sport probably has something similar.
 
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