Engine and tranny help

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Hooligan111

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I just bought a 1964 Dodge Dart with a Slant 6 engine and 3 speed TorqueFlight transmission. I'm having some problems figuring things out. First, does this car have a 904 or 727 tranny? How can I tell? Will a 340 bolt to my transmission? Or do I need to get a different transmission for the engine? As you can tell I'm new to the car game but my 13 year old son is MOPAR crazy. Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
Your car would have a 904, end of story. If your car is original, it would have a push button, cable operated shifter, and no modern slip yoke INTO the transmission. Instead it would have what is called a "ball and trunnion" front U joint.

You could put a more modern 904 or 727 either one behind the 340 but the trans MUST be made for a small block V8, and MUST be a "long shaft" version.

Mopar bells in the years we normally find here come in three series............... only for slant six, ........... only for the small block v8 series (273-318-340-360, and can be adapted to operate with 5.2/5.9 Magnums) ................ and the larger B/ RB "big block" transmission

Early ball and trunnion:

http://www.earlycuda.org/images/Tech/Ujoint/trunion1.jpg


You can easily ID a 904 from a 727 by looking at the pan. A 904 is rectangular with one corner nipped off. A 727 has an additional bulge on the passenger side pan rail. There is more to it than that. Lots of details over the years. EG the 65 transmissions (rare) were cable shift but used a slip yoke. 66 and later were mechanical shift linkage and all slip yoke. Up through 68 or 69 or so, only the neutral safety switch (single contact) was on the transmission. Later models used a 3 terminal NSS, with the backup lamp switch in the switch as well

some transmissions were so called "lockup" You can ID them if you look at the input shaft. The "regular" trans has splines all the way to the end of the shaft. The "lockup" has a smooth nose on the shaft, like a stick shift pilot shaft

There is long and short tailshafts, the short being used in some motorhome trucks, and the special adapter housing used in married 4x4 transfer cases

And some later ones if you have (like mine originally) a console floor shift, need the mounting on the bottom of the tail housing for the shifter linkage bracket
 
Look at the transmission oil pan. You can tell by the shape. Just jack it up and look at the shape of the transmission oil pan and compare it to this chart: The 904 is more square with a corner cut off, the 727 has a funny squiggle/jog opposite the cut off corner...

View attachment gasket.jpg
 
Congrats on having a car crazy son! Now tell him to get a paper route to help pay for it so he'll appreciate the car a whole lot more! ;)
And then get him multiple subscriptions to the various MoPar mags!

The V8 conversion is a little pricey when all is said and done. I did it once. Ya gotta want to do it. Your early year A body can use cheap motor mounts from Trans Dapt IIRC.

I suggest a 904 trans. A little cheaper and lighter in weight. It also uses less power to run.
Headers? I'm not very good with the older cars. You'll need others to chime in.
The rear end is probably a 7-1/4. They are weak. The 8-1/4 is the min. Size to use and the pricey but very strong 8-3/4 is the best to have.
 
IMHO you should keep the engine and drivetrain as is. A lot of posts here tell folks to get some V8 mounts and your good. If you are going to do it right you should address everything. Engine, trans, rear, brakes. It all adds up quick. Plenty of stuff out there on beefing up the leaning tower of power!
 
I'm compelled to throw my 2 cents in on this thread. if I had to do everything over again I would start at the back and work my way forward.I would use an eight and a quarter rear end with 355 or 391 gears. you can probably pick one up out of a Dodge Dakota for about $100 at the wrecking yard plenty enough strength for any small block.as far as transmissions go I would think the only thing I would ever use would be a 4 speed period end of discussion on that. you will buy one and probably never buy another again and the fun factor is through the roof and that's what this is all about correct? as far as a motor goes I would start with the 318. you can get one good running on Craigslist for about $200. and if you decide to get that 340 one day and pay big money for it so you already have all the headers intake manifold water pumps and all the other stuff will fit right onto it pullys everything.and that's all I have to say about that.good luck and have fun that's what it's all about.
 
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