A833 swapping 1970 slant6 dart

[Jack.ezelle]

I have a 1970 dart with a 225 slant with an automatic and I’m looking to do a manual swap eventually, I know very little about the logistics of this, I found an a833 4 speed out of a 1985 d100 for $400 that comes with bell housing flywheel clutch and shifter, seems like a good deal, will the drive shaft need to be a different length? will the transmission mounts be different? Will the shifter be able to fit and will the transmission tunnel be able to fit the new transmission? basically gonna be needed to make this swap work or is it not worth it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

That's gonna be an 833 over drive transmission. You may or may not like how it performs behind a slant 6. Depending on your rear gear ratio, you may find yourself downshifting to third a good bit on hills and inclines.

 

[Jack.ezelle]

That's gonna be an 833 over drive transmission. You may or may not like how it performs behind a slant 6. Depending on your rear gear ratio, you may find yourself downshifting to third a good bit on hills and inclines.

Thanks for the heads up, that actually sounds good, I’m looking to build it into a semi daily beater type car which would mean the occasional highway so over drive would be nice when needed

 

[RustyRatRod]

Thanks for the heads up, that actually sounds good, I’m looking to build it into a semi daily beater type car which would mean the occasional highway so over drive would be nice when needed

It's gonna need some gear. A 3.55 would be the ABSOLUTE lowest numerical gear I'd run and I'd probably go with a 3.91.

 

[Vaanth]

I have a 1970 dart with a 225 slant with an automatic and I’m looking to do a manual swap eventually, I know very little about the logistics of this, I found an a833 4 speed out of a 1985 d100 for $400 that comes with bell housing flywheel clutch and shifter, seems like a good deal, will the drive shaft need to be a different length? will the transmission mounts be different? Will the shifter be able to fit and will the transmission tunnel be able to fit the new transmission? basically gonna be needed to make this swap work or is it not worth it.

View attachment 1716499615

The A-833 4-speed transmission from a 1985 D100 is the longer B/C/E-body length and will not fit an A-body without a fair amount of floor/tunnel/crossmember modification. The transmission is about four inches longer than the A-body version. The shifter mount location on the transmission and in the floor tunnel is not the same as an A-body transmission. An A-body or F-body A-833 would be better to use.

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For more information about converting an A-body using an A-body manual transmission, refer to the following:

• A Chrysler A-body Column Shift Automatic Transmission to Floor Shift Manual Transmission Conversion

 

[RustyRatRod]

The A-833 4-speed transmission from a 1985 D100 is the longer B/C/E-body length and will not fit an A-body without a fair amount of floor/tunnel/crossmember modification. The transmission is about four inches longer than the A-body version. The shifter mount location on the transmission and in the floor tunnel is not the same as an A-body transmission. An A-body or F-body A-833 would be better to use.

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For more information about converting an A-body using an A-body manual transmission, refer to the following:

• A Chrysler A-body Column Shift Automatic Transmission to Floor Shift Manual Transmission Conversion

That too ^^^^

 

[66fs]

You can also swap out the tail housing and main shaft and get where you need to go.

 

[matthon]

Will that bellhousing work in an a-body, clutch linkage bolt holes?

OD trans has the larger, largest, bearing retainer, keep that in mind if a different bell is needed.

The aluminum case has a weak point where the countershaft rides, it can get 'hogged' out.
Easy fix with a bushing.

Make sure it is in fact aluminum, stuff happens, there was a 1 year cast iron case.

I have an OD behind a bb with 3.23s.

 

[junkyardhero]

Will that bellhousing work in an a-body, clutch linkage bolt holes?

with a welder and hammers, sure.

I have an OD behind a bb with 3.23s.

*giggles*

i can just hear the gnashing of teeth tHaT's t0o L0w!!!11

.... not with a big block it ain't!

 

[66fs]

Will that bellhousing work in an a-body, clutch linkage bolt holes?

I used one in an early Barracuda, can't remember what mods, but I previously ran a 71 340 Bellhousing and modified Z-Bar.

 

[66fs]

... i can just hear the gnashing of teeth tHaT's t0o L0w!!!11

.... not with a big block it ain't!

Not even with a good 273, LOL. My favorite O/D mod is to use an early (64-65) cast iron A833 main case.

 

[Jack.ezelle]

The A-833 4-speed transmission from a 1985 D100 is the longer B/C/E-body length and will not fit an A-body without a fair amount of floor/tunnel/crossmember modification. The transmission is about four inches longer than the A-body version. The shifter mount location on the transmission and in the floor tunnel is not the same as an A-body transmission. An A-body or F-body A-833 would be better to use.

---

For more information about converting an A-body using an A-body manual transmission, refer to the following:

• A Chrysler A-body Column Shift Automatic Transmission to Floor Shift Manual Transmission Conversion

Thank you all of this has been very helpful I think I’m gonna pass on the transmission but a found an a body a833 on Facebook I’ll attach some photos and I also found a bell housing for a 4 speed, that post says that website says that the transmission tunnel needs to be cut out for a bigger tunnel, do you know if it could be hammered out or would cutting be necessary

 

[Vaanth]

Thank you all of this has been very helpful I think I’m gonna pass on the transmission but a found an a body a833 on Facebook I’ll attach some photos and I also found a bell housing for a 4 speed, that post says that website says that the transmission tunnel needs to be cut out for a bigger tunnel, do you know if it could be hammered out or would cutting be necessary

View attachment 1716499782

View attachment 1716499783

The pictured transmission is an A-230 3-speed manual transmission. The pictured bellhousing is a slant six unit. Note that the opening in the bell housing for the input bearing retainer has to match the transmission used. Three sizes exist: 4.354", 4.807", and 5.125". The retainer and opening sizes must match or machined to match. The 5.125" is the factory size for the overdrive A-833. If the bell housing is from a car, it can work, but if it is from a truck, it should be checked to ensure it will work, depending on the truck application, and model.

In the document that I referenced, the cutting of the tunnel that I refer to is to install the hump that Chrysler used to mount the shifter and provide clearance for the shifter rods. Something else could be done although just hammering out the tunnel likely is not enough to clear the shifter itself nor the rods. Then provision for shifter mounting is needed. Some cutting is required just to allow for the shifter and rods. Things can be fabricated, but using the factory style hump allows for a proper installation to use factory or stock style parts. That's the approach I have used.

When I did my conversions over 20 years ago, I cut a hump out of a junk car, but reproductions are available new. The hump looks like the reproduction in the following image: