64 dart 4 door questions

[pettyofficerwelch]

ok, so i'm a chevy guy,


sorry guys but that's how it goes right? Anyway, not saying i'm against mopars (or fords for that matter). But i bought a 64 dart 170 4-door sedan last september. its got a little over 100,000 miles on it's 225/pushbutton 904 combo. my question is, how much can that tranny take?? its got that weird rubber boot thing, and not a conventional u-joint, or so i think. i don't wanna mess with it too much because if it can't be replaced i don't wanna screw it up.


can a 340 or 360 be hooked up to this trans??? or is it a different bolt pattern, or will this 904 not handle it. i'm 23 but i got a lot of mechanical experience. my dad (who is more knowledgeable) says that the early 904 is kinda weak, as far as he knows, but in all fairness he says he doesn't have much experience with it.

i'd like to keep it as i like having pushbuttons, if i have to have a floor shifter, i'd rather just have a 4 speed.

also, can i hook up the same pushbutton system to a 727???

well any help is appreciated, as i'm an e4 in the navy i don't have lots of money so doing it myself is prefererable.

dave welch, STG3 USN

 

[hellion_locdogg]

If it is a /6 motor than no a v8 can not be mounted to it. Different bolt pattern, you'd need to find a V8 A904 or 727. Just build the /6, or you can be like everyone else and their uncle and drop a V8 in it. jmho If you keep the /6 the 904 will handle plenty of abuse. And the weird boot thing is called a ball and trunion, they can be swaped out.

,Cliff

 

[cudamark]

Welcome to FABO! If you're not content with the slant 6, you're in for quite a project to convert it to a V8. Not particularly difficult but lots of parts need to be changed or upgraded to handle the horsepower. Best way is to find a donor car with a V8 in it. As mentioned above, the trans is a '64 V8 only item as a direct interchange. A '65 will work too if you swap some of the valve body parts over from your old transmission. I'd stick with a 904 and not go to the 727. If you build it right, the 904 is a better transmission for your application. Any small block will fit with minor modifications but you'll make life easier if you get one already setup for a '64-6 A-body. Then you get to install a new exhaust, better rear axle, better brakes, suspension, cooling, etc! That 6 is looking better all the time eh?

 

[pettyofficerwelch]

yeah i kinda wanna keep the 6, hyper pak would look pretty cool and it would be kinda a fun sleeper, also i forgot to mention, the am radio in it worked but there aren't many stations so i had a late model under dash cd player installed. now when i hit the brakes or turn signals it kills the radio momentarily. so i started troubleshooting, new voltage regulator, ballast resistor, upgraded to 60 amp alternator, and it still happens. tried tracing it down with a dvom and while i was under the dash i hit something that killed all power to the cab. still had power under the hood and everything tested good up to the firewall, damndest thing, couldn't get power back, then while under the dash again with the meter i musta bumped the right wire because everything came back, anybody have a clue what could cause that, i know old dodges are notorious for bad wiring. like chevies for leaky valve covers and fords for just about everything else ha ha. any help greatly appreciated.

 

[cudamark]

Check the main power wires....the one from the alternator; the ones going through the bulkhead connector and up to the ammeter; battery leads to and from the starter relay. Clean and lube all those connections so they don't corrode. The spray lithium grease works good for that. The radio sounds like a bad ground or someone has splced the wires into the turn signal switch harness!