I've been trying to find the parts to do this swap for about a year. It finally came together. The list of parts you need to find is quite extensive, and finding them all in one place is rare these days. Finding them cheap is even tougher. I'll try to document what I've done and what I'm doing with text and pictures.
Here's how the ratios play out with my 3.23 rear gears: 727 gear / gear*3.23 833 gear / gear*3.23 ---------------------------------------------------- 1st 2.45 / 7.91 2.66 / 8.59 2nd 1.45 / 4.68 1.91 / 6.16 3rd 1.00 / 3.23 1.39 / 4.48 4th ---- / ---- 1.00 / 3.23
First... the list of purchases:
Purchase #1 - $50 - B&B Salvage in Maryland - August 4th - Running total: $50
Purchase #2 - $600 - local Mopar enthusiast in Maryland - August 5th - Running total: $650
Purchase #3 - $102 - Year One - August 6th - Running total: $752
Purchase #4 - $78 - Year One - August 13th - Running total: $830
Purchase #5 - $59 - Brewer's Performance - August 16th - Running total: $889
Purchase #6 - $250 - Year One - October 29th - Running total: $1139
Thanks go to Steve who helped with this project by adding confidence, knowledge, an extra pair of hands and some tools that I don't have :)
The swap diary...
August 6th 2001 - So far, I've mostly been cleaning and painting the parts. They look brand new.
August 9th 2001 - Figured out from the MML (Mopar Mailing List) that the shift rods were installed incorrectly on the trans (levers coming from the bottom instead of the top). I have fixed this and hope to get new pictures soon. The action from 1st to 2nd feels good. And 3rd to 4th feels good. 2nd to 3rd is less than smooth. Reverse is still a bit iffy, but should improve when the trans is more solidly mounted and I can apply pressure with out tipping the whole setup over on the garage floor :) That old Hurst shifter is a bit sloppy, but I'm not sure I'm ready to shell out the bucks to have it rebuilt (Year One wants $87 for a rebuild). On the other hand, a BRAND NEW Hurst shifter is $265. No thanks! Hopefully a bushing kit and some new grease will help.
August 10th 2001 - I got the parts from purchase #3. The new pedal pads and bezals are excellent. Unfortunately, the new black shift ball I got won't thread. I thought for sure it was fine thread. Everything I read in the Year One catalog lead me to think it was. The definition of fine thread is 24 threads per inch. Coarse is 16 threads per inch. I counted my threads, is sure appears to be "fine" so I'm not sure what's up. The "stick" itself is a Hurst. Of course, now, everything I've read about the Hurst stick says it's 3/8-16 thread. Year One description says "...FINE threaded shifters (mid-1968 and all 1969 Hurst)." Oh well. It dawned on me later that the Hurst stick I have isn't factory.
August 16th 2001 - Got the parts from purchase #4, and at the same time, the rest of the backordered parts from purchase #3 came in. The only thing still backordered is the z-bar frame bracket (the expensive one). I re-assembled the clutch pedal assembly today since I had the new bushings and began to assemble the z-bar ball studs with the new bushings and seals. All new grease went into the pedal assembly and the z-bar ends. I've got it all mocked up on the garage floor, because it amuses me.
August 16th 2001 - Found the clutch pedal pushrod thanks to the MML (again). A place called Brewer's Performance in Ohio had it for $59 so I ordered it. $59 seems high, but since I can't find it anywhere else, what can you do? If you are doing a similar project or need 4-speed parts, check out Brewer's, they seem to have everything.
August 21st 2001 - Got the clutch pedal pushrod today. It's whitish-grey in color, almost looks like a gloss primer. I'll probably paint it black to match everything else. Only thing left to show up now is the z-bar frame-side bracket. Now that my other project car is coming together I should be able to get it out of the garage this weekend and begin this trans swap. Even without that frame bracket, I should be able to make a lot of progress, I hope.
August 29th 2001 - Got the last backordered item today, the z-bar to frame bracket. I sure don't see how this thing is worth $44. But what can you do? Note to self, sell car parts for triple what they are worth, retire at age 35.
September 5th 2001 - Since the other project car that was in the garage is done and out, and since I have all of the parts that (I think) I need, I parked the Charger in the center of the garage and started the disassembly process. The seats, center console, carpet and various little things are all out. This allows me to figure out the trans hump situation and the pedals. I need to get the steering column dropped and out of the way. The factory automatic shifter is actually welded, not bolted, to the trans hump, so that's going to slow me down a bit. I want to keep everything I take out, and do no damage that I can avoid. This would also be a good time to replace the obviously non-factory (and worn) carpet and possibly tackle welding up some new floor pans, since I have a couple small rust holes on the passenger side that I don't want to get any worse. It would also be wise to find some better (and correct) seats, but I'm not sure if I'm up for that search. Do you see how these projects get out of hand so quickly? Somewhere, you've just got to draw a line.
October 20th 2001 - Ok, it's been a long time since I've done anything on this project. I have two excuses. 1) I'm a slacker. 2) I really have been doing lots of other things. Anyway, today I got the car up on 4 jackstands and pulled the driveshaft out. No problem, I've done this a few times. I also got everything unhooked from the trans... trans cooling lines, speedo cable, shifter linkage, backup harness, kick down linkage, etc... Now it's ready to get unbolted from the engine and from the crossmember. (oh, need to get the starter out) More soon... I would love to watch the pros do this. They have the damn thing up in the air and the trans out in like 15 minutes... argh! My version of this is to lay under the car for a few hours trying to figure out how to get my hand into a space half the size and then how to get it back out. Then I get a transmission fluid shampoo.
October 23rd 2001 - Spent a few painful hours upside-down under the dash working on getting the old pedals out. I have every bolt and support rod out except for ONE (on the firewall, very top). I haven't found a way to get to it yet. I still haven't dropped the steering column, I might have to. Once the pedals are out, I'll switch back to getting the trans out. I must say, if it wasn't for my 3/8" swivel socket, I wouldn't have gotten any of those bolts out. There's not one straight path in to be found. I slid the driveshaft (yoke) into the 4-speed to make sure there were no issues there with spline count/diameter. No problems.
October 27nd 2001 - Major progress today. I love Saturdays. Finally got the last nut holding the pedals and free'd them up. But I couldn't drop them out, so the steering column had to go. I had never done this before, so it took some trial and error, but I got it completely out. I finally wrestled the pedals out after removing the master cylinder and 2 addtional studs. I then basically reversed my procedure and got the new clutch/brake pedals installed. They look great in there. Never had a clutch pedal in this car before :) Drilled the 2 additional holes in the firewall for the extra pedal and got everything bolted up. Now, back under the car... got the starter unbolted and unbolted the trans from the motor. Unbolted the converter from the flexplate and unbolted the crossmemeber. Slowly lowered the jack and began to drop the trans. About half way through I had to unbolt the exhaust pipes from the headers to clear the crossmember. Good excuse for new gaskets. Now would be the right time to change the headers to some nice coated ones if I had the cash. Lowered the trans some more and got major interference from the headers... also had some snags with the dipstick tube. Here's where it got messy... I had no idea that removing the dipstick tube would cause quite that much fluid to depart from the trans... HUGE puddle. Anyway, after lots of cursing and fighting with the headers, the trans dropped out. Of course, I didn't have the car high enough to get the trans out from under it, so I slid the jack out from under the trans and raised the car a bit, then dragged the trans out from under the car. Took a break and noticed that the engine was leaning seriously to the rear of the engine bay without the trans holding at the right angle. So I leveled it out with the jack and left it that way. Those motor mounts are pretty bad. From start to finish today was probably about 5 hours worth of work. Not too bad. All future progress can now go to actually getting the 4-speed in. Very cool. I need more than one floor jack, learned the hard way. I also measured the overall length of the 833 and the 727 and was pleased to find that they are almost identical. I wish I had a scale large enough that I could weigh each of them and see what the difference is. Since the new pedals are in, I connected the clutch pedal pushrod to get an idea of where it would end up in the engine bay. This allowed me to figure out where the z-bar frame side bracket would have to be. It's going to take some serious cleaning to get that part of the frame ready to weld. It was also kind of neat when we pulled the cover plate off the firewall behind the master cylinder, the original color of the car is still there... and it's definitely gold. I took some pictures, once I finish off the roll I'll scan them in. Now would be the right time to get a new lightweight Mopar starter. The only way to get the starter our of this car is to pull the exhaust headers out or pull the trans out. So, since I basically have both out currently, I would be stupid not to change it.
October 29th 2001 - Ordered some more stuff, see above. I've been going over and over all the details to try and find things that are going to bite me since I'm so close to having this project done. Hopefully I've solved the starter relay/neutral safety switch/backup lights issues buy buying the correct parts. But I have some concerns in the starter/flywheel department. The flywheel I have is of the "big" 11" 143 tooth variety. I don't know if my starter will work with it. I also don't know if it's the right balance for my 383. This could get messy. I did some research and put more data on my Charger ID page.
Here's what Year One says:
There were two different input shafts used during our range of coverage: a 1" x 23-spline and a 1-3/16" x 18-spline. The 23-spline unit was used in everything except 440 and Hemi cars. 440 and Hemi cars used the 18-spline shaft. Obviously, the clutch disc must fit the transmission you're using.
No problems here, I have the 1" x 23-spline unit. I wonder if this means I should keep my 383 when it's time for a new engine instead of going with a 440. I also wonder how much the 23-spline unit can take, my 383 isn't exactly stock.
The diameter of the clutch and the diameter of the pressure plate was determined by the following: 1968-69 383, 1966-69 Hemi models used an 11" (diameter) clutch with a 143-tooth flywheel. All other vehicles (small blocks and low-performance big blocks) used the 10.5" bolt pattern. If you're unsure, you can measure the diameter of the pressure plate from opposite-side bolt holes. The 10.5" plate has a hole-to-hole diameter of 11-5/8", while the 11" plate has a 12-5/8" diameter.
Well, my measurements say I have the 11" / 143 tooth setup. The pressure plate, clutch and flywheel I have definitely work together. I haven't confirmed that my bellhousing is correct, but all this stuff came together so the bellhousing should fit the flywheel just fine. That really only leaves me to question my starter, but if I have to replace it, I don't mind at all. I was told that this flywheel is "zero balanced" so my 1970 383 should get along with it just fine. What they don't seem to tell me is how many teeth the 10.5" flywheel has. They also seem to forget to mention the 440 when talking about what got the 11" setup. Strange.
Beginning in 1970, big-block high-performance cars received a 10.95" clutch and a corresponding 130-tooth flywheel (the same as a small block). Many call the 10.95" plate an 11", which is OK, as long as it is taken in the post-1970 context. The 10.95" assembly has a bolt pattern that fits the 10.5" flywheels, but not the true 11".
November 1st 2001 - Got the parts from purchase #6. Hopefully I'll get to play with them all this weekend.
November 3rd 2001 - Spent a bit of time cleaning up and organizing the garage after last weekend's mess making. Pulled the back seat out to finish getting the old carpet out (went to the dump, it was nasty, and it also appeared to be household interior carpet, not automotive carpet!). Worked a bit more on properly mounting the shifter assembly to the trans trying to figure out why it feels SO sloppy. Mailed the MML to ask about my starter concerns and to figure out what bolt sizes I need to mount the bellhousing to the trans. Also cleaned up the steering column and "rag joint" which were filthy and covered in old broken down grease. It's all ready for new grease now. That new steering column seal is really nice, and should make a huge difference.
November 17th 2001 - Another good Saturday. Steve and I got a good bit done today. Most of what we did was in the sanity checking area. We confirmed that my starter works with the 143 tooth flywheel and bolts up to the 4-speed bellhousing (this was a big surprise). We got the flywheel bolted to the crank and pressed in the pilot bushing. We cut the welds and got the automatic shifter out. We also got the missing bolts for the bellhousing to trans and got those bolted together. We were about to get the 4-speed actually mounted in the car but ran out of time. Cleaned up the starter and painted it, looks much better. I need to find the torque specs for the flywheel and pressure plate bolts.
November 19th 2001 - Found the torque specs I needed here. I've added the ones that apply to this project below:
Flywheel/flexplate bolts 55 ft.-lbs. Flywheel housing to engine block bolts 50 ft.-lbs. Starter mounting bolts 50 ft.-lbs. Clutch cover to flywheel bolts 30 ft.-lbs.
November 23rd 2001 - Since I'm getting close to final assembly, now's the time to make sure I know what I'm doing and that I've got all the details nailed down. I was unsure of recommended procedures for lube points and the use of lock-tite, etc. I stopped by my local transmission shop ( a good one) and chatted with one of the mechanics. I told him about my project and where I was. He indicated that he uses a light grease (general purpose lithium) on the throwout bearing collar, the splines and the pilot bushing. Be careful not to use too much or you'll get in trouble with "fling". Fling is when the whole assembly is spinning at a few thousand RPM and if you have too much grease, it will get thrown out, possibly onto your clutch surfaces. He also indicated that he doesn't use any lock-tite on the flywheel or clutch housing bolts. So, armed with new information, I came home and applied grease to the throwout bearing collar, the clutch fork pivot point and the splines. Then I re-assembled the clutch fork and throwout bearing. I grabbed my torque wrench and a pry-bar and crawled under the car. I used the pry-bar on the starter teeth to keep the engine from turning over and I torqued the flywheel bolts to 55 lb-ft. The only thing keeping me from assembling the clutch and pressure plate is that I need to clean up the flywheel and pressure plate surfaces since they have some light rust.
December 8th 2001 - Well, today was a frustrating day, but we did make progress. The 4-speed is under the car, on a jack, about 1/2 inch away from sliding in to the clutch assembly, and we ran out of time. SO close. Here's what led up to where we are. Cleaned up the flywheel and pressure plate friction surfaces with a Scotch Brite pad to get rid of the surface rust. Lined up the clutch and installed the pressure plate assembly and torqued that down, remember that the flywheel was already installed and torqued. Applied grease to the pilot bushing. Then we went to slide the starter in since you can't get to it after the trans is installed and this is where it all went wrong and we lost about an hour of precious time. The starter would not clear the flywheel/exhaust header and slide into place. We either had to remove the pressure plate, clutch and flywheel, or remove the driver's side header. We chose to remove the header. 6 bolts and 2 plugs later the header is out of the car. We analyze the situation and realize that we're still screwed. Now we have room to put the starter in, but if the starter and trans are in we won't be able to re-install the header. So now we're pissed and covered in anti-freeze (gotta love Mopar cooling passages sharing the header bolt holes). We decide to re-install the header and go down the path we SHOULD have taken. So we get the header back in, and remove the flywheel and clutch assembly. We slide the starter in to place and re-install the flywheel/clutch/pressure plate. Now we work on getting the 4-speed under the car and onto the jack. No problems there. Of course the bellhousing won't fit between the headers, so we unbolt the passenger side header this time (more coolant on our heads) and maneuver the trans/jack until it's just about lined up. At this point we were out of time and we're going to need a second floor jack because we need to be able to change the angle of the engine as well as the angle of the trans. Fun.
December 11th 2001 - Nothing major tonight, but I did manage to use a wire brush, sand paper and a dremel with the flexshaft and a circular sanding bit to completely clean up the area of the frame under the master cylinder to get it ready to have the z-bar frame-side bracket welded to it. I had to bend my arm at some pretty silly angles, but it got done. It's too bad we can't weld the bracket before installing the trans, as it would be easier to get to, but we need to see where it all lines up to know exactly where to weld to the frame. There are no reference points or slots or marks on the frame to indicate the exact location. I thought there would be since the bracket I have is notched, I thought maybe there would be a slot in the frame. Oh well. There is, however, a bolt access hole in the wheel well to get us in the right area. It's the hole via which you tighten the frame side of the z-bar bolt.
January 13 2002 - Ok, another big gap in time here. The last month has been a complete mess, but that's another story. Back to the trans swap finally. Today was a great day for progress. Where we left off, the trans was on a jack under the car waiting to go in. We pick up there... this time we had a second floor jack. The first jack is still holding up the trans, the second jack we used to jack the engine up and down (lowering the rear of the block) to get it at the correct angle to slip the trans input shaft into the clutch assembly. This method worked well, and after a lot of wrestling the trans around and wondering why it wouldn't just slip into place we finally got it, using the driveshaft to spin the input shaft to get the splines lined up. We bolted the bellhousing to the engine and had big smiles on our faces. The 383 is now speaking directly to the 833 4-speed. We jacked up the trans/engine a bit and removed the second floor jack. We brought the trans/engine up as high as we could before we hit the trans tunnel. Now we can see where we need to cut out the trans hump to clear the shifter and linkages. We were both surprised by how much of the floor/hump we had to cut out and we were also surprised at how far to the left the whole shifter assembly sits. Much cutting later we were able to raise the engine/trans all the way up and install the crossmember and the driveshaft. The driveline is complete! Very cool. We can now see *exactly* where the whole thing will be sitting. Now, on to the rest of the project. We installed the shifter and the rods and got to shift gears in the Charger for the first time. We also had to firm up the shifter stick as the rubber had broken down over the years. It's all metal now, I'm not worried about a little vibration :) We mocked up the z-bar and bracket and clutch pedal pushrod to see for the first time how all that stuff will line up. It looks pretty good. There will be a working clutch as soon as that bracket is welded. We dropped the car down off the jack stands just to get it back on solid ground and to make it possible to move around for the first time in months. I've been wanting to bring my other car out of the weather and back into the garage. At this point, Steve had to split, he had done a full day's work :) I couldn't stop, so I began to get as much done as my arms would allow. I re-installed the passenger side header and bolts. I re-installed the exhaust system after the headers and hooked up the plug wires we had removed. I swapped out the automatic trans starter relay for the manual trans relay and began to run the backup harness. I also started making a list of things to do before the project is done so I wouldn't forget things like check the fluid level in the trans and refill the radiator. I then spent a bunch of time putting away tools and organizing the garage since the end is in sight. Next episode, we start welding. :)
January 26 2002 - Today was a BIG day for the swap. Why? Because it's DONE! That's right... many months after beginning, we end. And I'm pretty damned excited. I'll leave out the smaller details but this is roughly what happened. Steve was planning to come over in the evening with the welder, so I began to finish everything that was left on my checklist that didn't involve welding before he got here. This included: installing the starter, starter wiring, speedometer cable, anti-freeze, inspection cover, brake light switch, light bulbs for the backup lights, lithium spray for the shifter and linkages, the backup light harness, etc, etc... skip ahead, all that stuff is done. Meanwhile, I've had the battery re-charging for a few hours. Steve rolls up and we get to welding up the z-bar frame bracket after mocking the entire assembly up to see where it needed to be. Skip ahead some more and the bracket is welded in place. Steve welds well. :) We assembled the z-bar and the clutch pedal pushrod (with boot) and suddenly we had a working clutch for the first time, and it feels pretty good. We then worked for a while on re-installing the steering column and all the hardware that goes along with it. We threw the seats back in (leaving the carpet for after we finish welding up the trans hump hole). We considered firing her up, until we realized there was no fluid in the trans and it was too late to go to the store. That was a pretty sad moment, because we both really wanted to see if it all worked even though it was almost 2am. We also had a hell of a time making the backup lights work. Turns out the factory wiring made very little sense, but after finding the correct wires *inside* the car (not outside, on the firewall where they are supposed to be) we had working backup lights. Every wiring harness in the car is new, so we're not sure why the diagram was wrong, but it was. Those wires on the bulkhead (C and D) do NOT pass thru to the interior of the car! That was an unpleasant surprise. At any rate, in the morning I'll get some trans fluid and see how she runs. It'll be a little bit nerve-racking to start her up for the first time in months. The sanity checking process is intense... did I really remember every last detail... is she actually ready to go, did I tighten all the bolts... what are these extra parts!?! To be continued... the next report should be a road test.
January 27 2002 - Three words. Fun! Fast! Loud! It's fun as hell to drive a stick. It's fast as hell; much less torque loss and better ratios. And loud... big block... long tube headers... and a big hole in the floor where the trans hump will get welded in... I can SEE the headers from the driver's seat. I'll leave all out the details about today's prep work before the drive, although I will mention that I ended up using 4 quarts of 80w90 gear lube. Did I mention loud? Now, I'm the type of guy who likes a loud car. But there is a limit... it hurt to hit the gas. I considered wearing ear protection, but that's probably against the law. I rolled her out of the garage, gave her a bath and started her up for the first time since September. The good news here is that I now know for *certain* that the starter from the 727 works with the 143 tooth flywheel. I also now can feel that there don't appear to be any balance issues with the flywheel and the 383. I put the stick in reverse and slowly let the clutch out... and to my relief it all worked perfectly. Once I messed around in the driveway a bit, I was confident enough in my work to go for a real drive. I drove around for about 30 minutes with no problems (aside from the LOUD). I'm a happy camper. I hope this page helps someone else out with their own swap. This swap really didn't need to take 4 months and 22 days... but that's about how much free time I had :)
January 28 2002 - It just struck me while I was trying to fall asleep... I can't believe I missed this... we finished this trans swap on January 26th. So what? Well, this car was born (built) on January 26th, 1968. What a great birthday present! 34 years old. :) Everything makes sense now.
January 29 2002 - Ordered new motor mounts from my local AutoZone today... should be here the day after tomorrow. I think that will fix some of my shuddering problems on taking off from a dead stop in first gear. It doesn't happen in reverse. I'm not sure if the motor mounts (mostly the driver's side) have always been bad or if they got tweaked when the trans was out and the engine was tilted all the way back to the firewall. No problem though, new mounts are a good thing. I just wish I had known I was going to change them before the trans was in and the engine was swinging free. Oh well. So just a few things left to finalize this project:
February 22 2002 - No updates in a while, been driving the Charger too much :) Since the last entry I've installed a new heater core, a new radiator, all new hoses and a driver's side motor mount. I still feel the mount is too soft and allowing the engine to twist more than it should under load. Will have to figure that out. Still haven't done the trans-hump.
March 6 2002 - A couple of weekends ago we began working on the trans hump. We used 6" x 18" sheet-metal bought at the local Home Depot for about $6 per sheet. We'll probably use about 2.5 sheets or less. So far we have the top plate done and installed, along with the shifter boot. Next time we'll work on the side walls and that should seal it up and allow us to put the interior back together. I really need to get rid of that t-handle shifter and get a ball instead, which means I need to get off my butt and ship the Year One ball back. The stick is fine (24 threads per inch) but the ball Y.O. sent is course (18 threads per inch) even though it's labled as fine. At the same time, I'll return the alternator bracket kit I got from them also, I ordered the wrong year. I ordered the kit based on the fact that the engine is a 70, even though the car is a 68. It turns out that what makes the difference is the water pump, and someone must have stuck the "correct" 1968 water pump on the 70 engine. :)
March 8 2002 - Finally shipped the incorrect shift ball and alternator bracket kit back to Year One, and at the same time ordered the correct parts to replace them. The alternator bracket kit was pretty straight forward, I ordered the one for a 1968 big block instead of a 1970 big block this time. That should fix that. For the shift ball, instead of just getting another one in black with white lettering, I decided to go for the "correct for 1968" woodgrain ball. This ball comes in "fine" only so it's got to be correct. Not only will this ball be more correct, it will better match the woodgrain wheel I plan to put in one day. The 2-3 shift will be so much nicer without a t-handle that comes loose!
March 13 2002 - I was talking to a friend of mine over the weekend who works in the auto parts business. I told him about my motor mount problems and he indicated that the brand of motor mount I got from the store is garbage and is known for being too soft. Eventually I'll get some good motor mounts and try those before going to something more involved like a torque-strap.
March 14 2002 - Got the shift ball and alternator bracket kit today. The shift ball threads! And it's so much more comfortable than the t-handle. And it looks better too. I'm happy. The alternator bracket kit might have to wait for the weekend.
March 23 2002 - Worked more on the trans hump/tunnel today. I'd say we are about 95% done with the physical contruction/welding/cutting of the metal box.
March 24 2002 - The trans hump got finished today. It looks just like a factory trans hump would (or so we guess without one to compare it to). It's quite a beefy unit, even thicker than the factory sheet-metal. It's put together from a total of 7 custom cut and bent pieces. The "box" we built is a one piece unit which is removable. That's a very nice plus over a factory hump. I can take mine out and work on the shifter/rods, etc. The box gets screwed down to the factory floor/tunnel and sits on a layer or two of foam tape. The end result is a very quiet interior and no heat, fumes, etc... very nice.
March 25 2002 - I took the trans hump back out of the car today and cleaned it up a bit and painted it to keep it from rusting. Just good old flat black. Of course, this whole thing will be under the factory carpet, but the paint should really protect it. I did 2 good coats and if I find over time that it's not enough, I'll lay more on in the future. Once the paint dries (it's cold here) I'll put the box back in the car and do a test fit of the carpet. Pictures should be coming soon. I also finished installing my aftermarket seat-belts. I can't believe I've been driving around with none all these years in a car with crummy brakes. The size of the car makes you feel safer than you really are.
May 2 2002 - I got the film developed that shows the completion of the custom trans hump and interior, but my scanner decided to die on me, so I'm not sure when I'll get those pictures up.
Nov 24 2002 - Finally got a new scanner. So there are a few new images below. I still new to provide a completed picture with carpet and everything back in place, it really looks factory.
Dec 01 2002 - Had an issue with the shifter this weekend. I was running through the gears pretty hard and going from 2nd to 3rd the shifter got stuck. It woudn't move in any direction, stuck in 2nd gear. I drove the 10 miles back home in 2nd gear at 35mph (not fun) and jacked her up to investigate. It seems that my original and *very* sloppy shifter was in 3rd gear and the trans was in 2nd! Obviously this should never happen, but I told you it was sloppy. The fix was to disconnect all the rods from the trans to the shifter, wiggle everything around until free and hook it all back up. Time for a new shifter? I think so. It could have been worse, if she stuck in neutral or 1st I don't know how I would have gotten home without a tow (I didn't have my tools with me).
Dec 21 2002 - I pulled the shifter out of the car and sent it off to Year One (who sends it out to someone else) to be rebuilt. For less than $90, it should come back to me as a like new shifter.
Feb 23 2003 - Still waiting for the shifter to return. Year One got it on Dec 26. They had some trouble getting a hold of me for some reason and didn't get my credit card info until Jan 8. On Jan 10 they sent it out to their rebuilder. They originally said 3-4 weeks return from then. Now they are saying 6-8 weeks. So it could show up any time between now and March 7th. Blah.
Mar 07 2003 - The shifter came back today. It's BEAUTIFUL. Looks completely new. They replaced some parts and the whole thing is plated in silver. I put it back in the car and it feels pretty good. The shifter handle still is too loose for my taste, but that's the handle, not the shifter. Haven't had a chance to test drive the car yet. I'm thinking about using a welder to add some metal to the base of the shifter stick to build it back up to where it should be. It's not as wide as it should be so it can move from side to side in the shifter mount.
Mar 18 2003 - Today was the first day that my muddy driveway was dry enough to take the Charger out for a drive. It feels great, I'm happy with the shifter. Definitely tighter.
Mar 25 2003 - I'm looking into a new clutch for the Charger. What's in there now is an OEM replacement clutch and it's just not holding up (it's been just over a year now). I was looking at a RAM 88768 kit, but the tech at RAM (very helpful) recommends a custom set, this is made of: #404 pressure plate, #304M disc and #483 bearing. I'm worried about too much pedal pressure for street driving, but a little extra pressure would be worth being able to apply full power! I'm not convinced I'm going to use this setup, it's just an option.
May 19 2004 - Finally ordered the RAM parts (from Summit)... they came today. Cost about $360 for the pressure plate, clutch disc and bearing. Looks like good stuff, much better than whatever is in there now. Will be installed soon.
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