Tremec TKX first cuts

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Just thought I’d add to the thread. I just did mine for the tkx. I’m no sheet metal guy but it came out pretty good. Sst sent the piece for the tunnel with the trans. This is an auto car that I am swapping.

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Awesome progress. Are you going mechanical or hydro clutch?
I am wanting to be able to go back to work on mine eventually.
 
@Dan s Wow, good job! Mine doesn't look half as good as that. I must admit I am lazy tho... once I get something working well, I don't bother with aesthetics. I never used SST's sheet metal. Yours looks great.
 
I went with the hydraulic. To me it just made since. I’ll get some better pics later when I get home. Unfortunately I’m waiting on my motor. Won’t be here till late February. So now I’m just patching some rust spots and debating on tackling the head liner.
 
What the hell is that cassette deck doing in there! Sometimes wish that I still had one for the car, but they never had a thumb wheel one. Have backed out of a Tremic for me for the time being.
 
For you guys that ran the hydraulic clutch, did you have any issues installing and aligning the master cylinder to clutch pedal attachment? If I align the master cylinder centered in the hole in the firewall, the rod from the clutch pedal doesn't really have a straight shot into the master and the instructions are pretty clear about ensuring it goes as straight in as possible to avoid failures. Were any modifications necessary?
 
For you guys that ran the hydraulic clutch, did you have any issues installing and aligning the master cylinder to clutch pedal attachment? If I align the master cylinder centered in the hole in the firewall, the rod from the clutch pedal doesn't really have a straight shot into the master and the instructions are pretty clear about ensuring it goes as straight in as possible to avoid failures. Were any modifications necessary?

Don't worry about centering the master cylinder with the hole in the firewall. The rod alignment is what matters, like you said. My master is completely off center of the OEM firewall hole (but perfect rod alignment). It's definitely tricky to do, especially alone with no help, which was my case. I spent at least an hour checking over and over again, climbing in and out of the car, to make sure the position was right before drilling the mounting holes.
 
Don't worry about centering the master cylinder with the hole in the firewall. The rod alignment is what matters, like you said. My master is completely off center of the OEM firewall hole (but perfect rod alignment). It's definitely tricky to do, especially alone with no help, which was my case. I spent at least an hour checking over and over again, climbing in and out of the car, to make sure the position was right before drilling the mounting holes.

Thanks Arthur do you remember if you wound up offsetting the MC closer to the driver side fender in relation to the firewall hole? Mine seems to be happiest there but I also have to twist the MC a little bit because the end of it makes contact with the inner fender if I go in straight. Although I don't think the twist matters too much because the rod should still go into the MC body straight but I've been wrong plenty before.
 
Installing mine by my self was a PIA also. As mentioned above.
I had to dent my inner fender for clearance. Plus the push rod would hit the pedal when in the down position.
I drilled and mounted it. Did not like the push rod angle. Used my holes to plug weld a stiffening plate and started over again.
 
I don't know if this helps you guys or not but this pic shows where the shop mounted my clutch push rod in relation to the steering column. The clutch works fine in this position.

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I'm in the same area as jcolman. I like the aftermarket pedals better. I am sand blasting my old pedals and painting them this week.
I painted the trans tunnel and firewall this week. So finally some progress.

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Here is a couple pics. For someone who lacks time to begin with. I have a crazy amount of time in this. Not on road anytime soon. Still need to finish engine assembly and install interior.

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Clean install! Both of the pics definitely help.

jcolman's attachment is different than DC's. See how the spacer is in between the push rod and pedal on DC's and in between the bolt head and push rod on jcolman's? I believe DC's install is the way it's supposed to be done but I can't seem to get a straight alignment unless I use jcolman's configuration so I'll have to run with that.

I'm wondering if it's the pedal design? Looks like DC has original pedals while we have the aftermarket ones that came in the kit. Could be the reason for that.
 
Clean install! Both of the pics definitely help.

jcolman's attachment is different than DC's. See how the spacer is in between the push rod and pedal on DC's and in between the bolt head and push rod on jcolman's? I believe DC's install is the way it's supposed to be done but I can't seem to get a straight alignment unless I use jcolman's configuration so I'll have to run with that.

I'm wondering if it's the pedal design? Looks like DC has original pedals while we have the aftermarket ones that came in the kit. Could be the reason for that.
My pedals are aftermarket ones that came with the kit. But I guess that’s pretty obvious.
 
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Thanks Arthur do you remember if you wound up offsetting the MC closer to the driver side fender in relation to the firewall hole? Mine seems to be happiest there but I also have to twist the MC a little bit because the end of it makes contact with the inner fender if I go in straight. Although I don't think the twist matters too much because the rod should still go into the MC body straight but I've been wrong plenty before.
No problem, and yes, I believe I had to offset toward the fender, same as you're describing. However I did not twist mine, and it does contact the fender. I only noticed after the fact, so I decided to... umm... let it clearance itself lol. My spacer positioning is like DC's btw (using SST's pedals), but that all depends on where you bolt the master on the firewall. Do whatever you can to get it the straightest, that's my suggestion.

@DC Dart , man that is nice!! Great job!
 
Mounted the mc today and blasted my pedals and transmission mount. Will epoxy prime and paint soon. Have not ordered my bushings yet.
Note the hammering on the inner fender for clearance. Maybe should have used a bigger hammer with more precise hits? Body filler too?
My stiffener plate inspired my my wrong holes drilled does strengthen the mounting area a bit

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Mounted the mc today and blasted my pedals and transmission mount. Will epoxy prime and paint soon. Have not ordered my bushings yet.
Note the hammering on the inner fender for clearance. Maybe should have used a bigger hammer with more precise hits? Body filler too?
My stiffener plate inspired my my wrong holes drilled does strengthen the mounting area a bit

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Looks great. As far as hammering inner fender for clearance looks good to me.
 
I had to massage the inner fender also. My rod ended up rubbing the firewall when the clutch pedal is depressed fully. Still have to clearance it when I get back home.
 
I got the clutch MC aligned about as good as I could get it without needing any type of twist. Wound up drilling one hole and mounting it. Ran the clutch pedal back and forth and decided that the MC needed to be dropped a bit. Elongated the hole in the firewall downward and it seems to go in a bit straighter. I basically have the MC as low as it can go without having to hammer on the freshly painted engine bay. This should work.

Looks like the fluid reservoir is next. Did you guys find a good spot for it?
 
I got the clutch MC aligned about as good as I could get it without needing any type of twist. Wound up drilling one hole and mounting it. Ran the clutch pedal back and forth and decided that the MC needed to be dropped a bit. Elongated the hole in the firewall downward and it seems to go in a bit straighter. I basically have the MC as low as it can go without having to hammer on the freshly painted engine bay. This should work.

Looks like the fluid reservoir is next. Did you guys find a good spot for it?
I don't have the car anymore so I can't look to confirm but I believe the shop installed it just above and to the outside of the master cylinder.
 
I don't have the car anymore so I can't look to confirm but I believe the shop installed it just above and to the outside of the master cylinder.

Thanks I'm reading the instructions online and am going to see if I can just attach it to the brake master cylinder studs and avoid drilling into the firewall. Probably wont wind up being that simple though.

Whoever wound up with your car got one hell of a deal. I would have snatched it up in a second if I was in the market for a Duster.
 
It seems like it should be simpler to position the MC. But I played around for quite awhile trying to get what I felt was nice alignment. I took a die grinder and ground a little clearance on the back side of the clutch pedal. The rod was almost touching the pedal. Wanted a little room.
I think the SST pedals give more room in that area.
I would recommend having someone help when mounting the MC. Just hold it on the engine side while the rod alignment was being checked.
I have not given the reservoir any thoughts. Kinda forgot about it. I repainted my MC area of fire wall when I did the floor so I understand about the new paint. The only thing in my engine bay is the clutch MC right now.
Would like to see some reservoir mounting ideas.
Hopping to get my pedals and cross member painted this weekend.
Oh. Is my SST MC a wildwood?
Was hoping to hear a longer term review from jcolman. I am sure who bought it will appreciate the work put into it.
 
It seems like it should be simpler to position the MC. But I played around for quite awhile trying to get what I felt was nice alignment. I took a die grinder and ground a little clearance on the back side of the clutch pedal. The rod was almost touching the pedal. Wanted a little room.
I think the SST pedals give more room in that area.
I would recommend having someone help when mounting the MC. Just hold it on the engine side while the rod alignment was being checked.
I have not given the reservoir any thoughts. Kinda forgot about it. I repainted my MC area of fire wall when I did the floor so I understand about the new paint. The only thing in my engine bay is the clutch MC right now.
Would like to see some reservoir mounting ideas.
Hopping to get my pedals and cross member painted this weekend.
Oh. Is my SST MC a wildwood?
Was hoping to hear a longer term review from jcolman. I am sure who bought it will appreciate the work put into it.

I tried having my wife hold it in place but when I depressed the pedal, the MC kept moving on her. So that's why I decided to just drill a hole and then elongate it depending on which way it needed to go. The push rod doesn't go into the rubber boot absolutely perfectly but it's pretty dang close. I almost wonder if putting a couple thin washers on the bottom mounting bolts of the MC would change the geometry enough to make the rod go in perfectly but I can't imagine it being so damn touchy that anything less than perfection leads to failure. Guess I'll find out lol

I believe the MC is a Wilwood chinese knock off. I don't remember what the brand name is but it sort of has the same font as Wilwood. We'll see how it performs.

If I've got time this weekend, I'll see if I can find a nice spot for the reservoir that requires the least amount of drilling but also easily accessible for maintenance.
 
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