When a new acquisition turns out better than you thought.....

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Do you have a pic of the input shaft of the transmission? The lockup versions (998-999) input shafts are very noticeably smaller at the end than a plain ol 904. The first half inch or so is smaller than the rest of the shaft.
 
mopowers said:
I've heard that the A998 came behind 318's and the A999's came behind 360's. Not sure if there's any truth to it though. Is the only difference the number of frictions in the direct drum?
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That makes sense.

JDMopar said:
Do you have a pic of the input shaft of the transmission? The lockup versions (998-999) input shafts are very noticeably smaller at the end than a plain ol 904. The first half inch or so is smaller than the rest of the shaft.
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Yes.

IMG_9094.JPG


The converter even has a sticker on it...

IMG_9106.JPG


I think the core plugs in the 318 were rusted through in the back of the block.


IMG_9093.JPG
 
mopowers said:
It's got two ribs over the rear servo, so I believe that's an indication that it's for sure a 998/999.
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Do you mean these ?

1733102760629.jpeg


The car looked unmolested. It was a roller cammed 318 2 barrel 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue.
 
Kern Dog said:
Isn't it great when you get a new/old car for a project and it turns out better than you expected?

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About 12-18 months ago, I started thinking that it might be nice to look into buying a 4 door classic to play around with.

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I thought about a Fifth Avenue or some other Mopar from the 70s. I wanted something that wasn't thought of as a performance model, just a cruiser. The Fifth Avenues would have to get an emission test every 2 years and kept stock which meant retaining the pathetically slow 130 HP 318 with 3 catalytic converters. While I am not looking to set drag race records, I sure don't want something so slow that it is frustrating to drive.
I thought of a 68-72 C body but really didn't look that hard. Nothing of note came across the radar when I did casually look.
Recently I did some work for a FABO buddy that I've known for almost 20 years locally. He offered to pay me with a project car or parts.
I'm a sucker for parts and cars. MONEY I can always earn but a good project car can be hard to find.
Here we have a 1969 Dart "Custom".

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It came with a decent grille but no front bumper. It did come with a rear bumper though...

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It had no trunk lock but I had a new one in a box at home.

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That car looks really solid in the pictures. I would Magnum swap that car with the factory Magnum OBD2 fuel injection, the lockup trans you found, and make it a daily driver. Oh, almost forgot the air conditioning.
 
junkyardhero said:
wow what a killer score!

nice mild roller 318 with a 2bbl would be a killer road car. plenty of power and decent on gas. with a low gear 904/999 it'd have more than enough pep in town as well.

hunting down a dual plane 2bbl manifold shouldn't be too hard. or grab a performer and snap an adapter on there.
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Some friend you turned out to be! Turncoat! lol
 
In keeping with my nature, I'm going to try to recirculate and repurpose as many things that I already have.
While a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum with EFI would be a great daily driver for such a light car, I'm not looking to get that complicated with EFI and all the electronics that go with a conversion like that.
 
Most definitely a hydraulic lockup trans, but I couldn't find a place to run the number to see if it's a 998 or 999. Good score, whichever one it is! That's a great start to a cool knock around car.

:thumbsup:
 
Kern Dog said:
Do you mean these ?

View attachment 1716334265

The car looked unmolested. It was a roller cammed 318 2 barrel 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue.
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Yep. I remember reading somewhere that those two ribs meant it was a low gear version of the 904. No idea if there's any truth to that though. If it was in a '88 318 car, most likely it's a 998. Great candidate for a freshening!
 
mopowers said:
Yep. I remember reading somewhere that those two ribs meant it was a low gear version of the 904. No idea if there's any truth to that though. If it was in a '88 318 car, most likely it's a 998. Great candidate for a freshening!
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I searched the forum and read what you stated, Evan....The ribs were only on the 998 and 999 versions. The date code (if I could ever determine it) would determine if it is in fact a 1980 and newer case. The information varies from source to source as to the exact date that the 2.74 1st gear set was installed and when the 2.45 gear was discontinued. I thought that by the early 80s, ALL of the "904" style transmissions had the low gear set and lockup converters. I had one in a 73 Duster in the mid 90s. When the trans was going out, the lockup would stay engaged even as I slowed to a stop. The car would shudder and shake until I popped it into neutral. This somehow unlocked the converter and it only seemed to re-engage as I shifted to 3rd/drive. I got that transmission out of an 80s Diplomat or Gran Fury cop car.
 
roadrunnerh said:
Nice score! You can have a lot of fun with that car! The metal looks relatively clean.
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Thank you.
If this were a 2 door, I'd be inclined to make it a corner carver like the Green Brick.
Being a 4 door means that I'll feel just fine building it more tame with less emphasis on performance and more on reliability and road-trip worthiness.
I do plan to leave the stock springs and torsion bars but to add better shocks and sway bars.
This is one of those times where KYBs are not 100% horrible. They tend to shore up a soft suspension a bit. I have a set that I'll try. If they are too stiff as they often are, I'll just change them out, no money spent or lost.
 
I saw a YouTube video where a guy looked on the Cope Racing Transmissions site and somehow accessed a section that described how to interpret the 10,000 day calendar for part numbers.

1733124477786.jpeg


The 9589 is a number that fits between January 1987 and January 1988, making this a genuine 1988 model transmission. There were no 2.45 gear 904 based transmissions built this late so this is indeed a low gear version.

00 SKOR.JPG


I got an email back from this guy:

1733124769839.png


It is the early version, the 3 wire. I emailed back my phone number. Hopefully he calls. I'd use this for the Dart before I'd use the 998. This would allow me an overdrive, putting a 3.21 or 3.23 gear down to around 2.21 !
It might make sense to use it in the black Dart....

Dart blue 1.jpg


That car has a 4.10 diff, 2.89 in overdrive. I don't drive that car for distance though.
 
Kern Dog said:
I saw a YouTube video where a guy looked on the Cope Racing Transmissions site and somehow accessed a section that described how to interpret the 10,000 day calendar for part numbers.

View attachment 1716334381

The 9589 is a number that fits between January 1987 and January 1988, making this a genuine 1988 model transmission. There were no 2.45 gear 904 based transmissions built this late so this is indeed a low gear version.

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I got an email back from this guy:

View attachment 1716334384

It is the early version, the 3 wire. I emailed back my phone number. Hopefully he calls. I'd use this for the Dart before I'd use the 998. This would allow me an overdrive, putting a 3.21 or 3.23 gear down to around 2.21 !
It might make sense to use it in the black Dart....

View attachment 1716334385

That car has a 4.10 diff, 2.89 in overdrive. I don't drive that car for distance though.
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Cool, you can crate up the 998 and send it to me. I'll put it behind a slant.
 
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