Hello all,
I am revisiting the thought of swapping out the 727 in my 69 Charger Daytona with a 4gear/overdrive. One sticky point, the installation/welding of the z-bar pivot bracket on the frame rail. Can it be done without removing the complete drivetrain?

A hydraulic throw out bearing could eliminate all of the need to weld etc.

What engine is in the car now? A 440 would have room with the steering column removed and the exhaust out of the way.

Revisiting the thought? The Troy we know already has his mind made up and will make it happen.

Can't see that bracket getting welded on with that large engine in there.

See...I told you to put the 5 spd/hyd TOB in there while doing the HEMI swap, now you got double the work!

Troy here's some location pics if you need them

Mike

I'd say the main thing that will be in the way will be the steering column shaft.

If you pull the steering column I think that you'll have decent enough access to weld the pivot bracket in place.

After that some minor paint work on the weld area and you'll be ready to do the bolt in stuff on the 4 gear swap.

Couldn't agree with you more Mike. But, at the time, I was pretty tabbed out on just getting the Hemi installed in an OEM manner. To install a 4speed at the time would have cost me a heck of a lot more, money that I didn't have at the time. If I don't keep the Superbird and trade it for a running/driving 6pack '70 Charger R/T or kickbutt '69 Charger 500, I may do it. The Superbird, if I do jump into it ( depends a lot on the bonus I may or may not get this year because of my industries woes ), I'll have the Bird for my 4speed fix. For me, it is financial timing.... If push comes to shove, it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to drop the complete drivetrain, weld/install the bracket, paint, reinstall the drivetrain ( with a 4speed attached this time ). Probably the best and easiest way about doing it as I reflect writing this..

Mike, is the yellow arrow pointing at alignment marks on the framerail used as a positioning template when welded into place on the framerail?



Sounds like a viable alternative...

If I did do it, I'll be a console 4speed with white ball instead of a woodgrain. Think the white shifter ball would compliment the NASCAR wheels better with the black interior.

Yes, that cut out on the framerail itself will be present, it was a template/marker for the line worker if the car was going to be clutch equipped, just line up the corner of the Z bar bracket as shown

PS...if you going to go to the trouble of a manual, do a 5spd, Super Sport Transmission has a payment plan...call Jeff Kauffman at SST if your interested...Hmmmm 5spd, hyd TOB, think about it, the Passon 5spd you'll be in the retirement home by time it's avaliable

Mike

Mike,
I checked out SST's website and put in for a quote. I know this subject has been discussed before, but what are the floorpan modifications that are needed to facilitate installation? If any..

Troy the TKO600 in my 70 B body was basically Keisler's (Now SST)Beta test unit for the 2nd gen B body about 12 years ago when I installed it, the production kits offered since then based on my feedback have had the cases trimmed for better clearance, so floor mods may not be necessary, I do recommend the factory 4 spd hump, don't use the hump supplied in the kit, seeing that your car already has it's some what factory driveline in place, make note using an inclination meter and measurements where the tail shaft is located in reference to the floor pan/tunnel and torsion bar floor support reference points, I generally recommend cutting the floor for the 4 spd hump, leave it open for now, and mock up just the bell and 5 spd tranny using the new supplied crossmember, you'll need to fabricate a spacer between the tranny rubber mount and the tranny crossmember to raise the tailshaft to the desired driveline angle, don't rely on the supplied crossmember height set up, as it will mount the driveline angle to low, at this point you can determine where, if any floor clearance is need, the TKO is a tall case, the floor torsion bar crossmember where it passes around in the tunnel has a lot of excess flanging and is rather crude in shape, trimming off any excess flanging helps for clearance,don't be afraid of trimming off any excess ribbing on thr tranny itself if need be, the TKO shifter will be slightly relocated towards the passenger side some, requiring a new shifter hole, a relocation bracket will correct the shifter position so that it locates in the console in the factory position, all the latest TKO's are fitted with the 3rd gen shifter mechanism which improves shifting quality and eliminated that early "buzzsaw" vibration that some early kits experienced, I do recommend the hyd. TOB set up, as long as your getting the modified Wilwood master, the FTE master if offered is an inferior unit, although the hyd TOB is an FTE unit, it's rugged enough to handle up to a 3400 lb pressure plate (that's what I run)....I have over 12 years and 40K miles of Power Tours/cross country runs/track time/cruising etc, etc,on my TKO without any issues, I've only had one TOB replacement within this time, but again I run a non recommended pressure plate rating

Mike

Thanks Mike for the detailed explanation. I appreciate. We'll see what happens with me and this Superbird project. With the industry I'm in and it's rough spot it's been in, I may or may not be able to afford the paint and body work on it. I don't want to stare at a Superbird project for years. I would rather turn it into something rare, fun and ready to rock-n-roll. Even with that, I still can't help but stare into the window of the Daytona and envision a 4speed handle in there with a good ole' white ball sticking out of the console..