Auto to manual conversion. If you could do it over....regrets, pitfalls, long term opinions???
Replaced the A/T 904 in my 1965 Valiant four-door with an A833 from a 1964 Barracuda. I found the holes for the factory Z bar were already there. Just had to remove the tunnel from the donor car and fit it to the Valiant. Initially, I also installed a firewall brace to prevent movement/displacement of the firewall by the clutch pedal because of the extra tension in the performance pressure plate. Later, I replaced the factory bellhousing with a Lakewood scattershield. At one point, I did reinforce the Zbar. I used the 3.09 low gear that came in the factory transmission for awhile. Eventually, changed over to the close ratio box (low gear 2.66) because i installed a 4.56 rear end ratio and the extra low gear did not help my elapsed times. (best 12.72 @ 108 MPH with a 273 CID bored .060 over)
I converted the A833 to a crash box for a short time, until during a power shift drag-strip run I lost all of the teeth from 3rd gear. Took the transmission to Los Angeles and had it rebuilt by "Pepe", who was well-known back in the 1970's. He replaced the synchros (back to normal) and gave me his special gear lube, telling me I could power shift all i wanted. No transmission problems after that, and I could drive on the street again. (with the crash box, could only make full power shifts).
All this time I was running 10 inch slicks with 10 pounds of air, the ball and trunion driveshaft, and an 8 3/4 Challenger sure-grip. I tried the pistol-grip shifter, but felt more confident with a metal Hurst T-handle canted about 45 degrees to the right. Used solid steel motor mounts and never really noticed any vibration.
It was always sppoky/scary launching (popping the clutch off the line) at 6000 RPM and full power shifting at the same engine speed. But a necessary technique for those who need that certain adrenaline rush.
Replaced the A/T 904 in my 1965 Valiant four-door with an A833 from a 1964 Barracuda. I found the holes for the factory Z bar were already there. Just had to remove the tunnel from the donor car and fit it to the Valiant. Initially, I also installed a firewall brace to prevent movement/displacement of the firewall by the clutch pedal because of the extra tension in the performance pressure plate. Later, I replaced the factory bellhousing with a Lakewood scattershield. At one point, I did reinforce the Zbar. I used the 3.09 low gear that came in the factory transmission for awhile. Eventually, changed over to the close ratio box (low gear 2.66) because i installed a 4.56 rear end ratio and the extra low gear did not help my elapsed times. (best 12.72 @ 108 MPH with a 273 CID bored .060 over)
I converted the A833 to a crash box for a short time, until during a power shift drag-strip run I lost all of the teeth from 3rd gear. Took the transmission to Los Angeles and had it rebuilt by "Pepe", who was well-known back in the 1970's. He replaced the synchros (back to normal) and gave me his special gear lube, telling me I could power shift all i wanted. No transmission problems after that, and I could drive on the street again. (with the crash box, could only make full power shifts).
All this time I was running 10 inch slicks with 10 pounds of air, the ball and trunion driveshaft, and an 8 3/4 Challenger sure-grip. I tried the pistol-grip shifter, but felt more confident with a metal Hurst T-handle canted about 45 degrees to the right. Used solid steel motor mounts and never really noticed any vibration.
It was always sppoky/scary launching (popping the clutch off the line) at 6000 RPM and full power shifting at the same engine speed. But a necessary technique for those who need that certain adrenaline rush.
