Tremec TKX first cuts

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Your alignment is probably fine. Washers could change the angle a lot if needed though. I may wait on my reservoir install till I get more of my car put back together.
Looking forward to clearing shelves and having a car again versus scattered parts.
 
@DC Dart and @ESP47 , I wouldn't give too much thought to the reservoir mounting. Literally anywhere above the MC. Mine is currently mounted with 2 self-tappers up high, close to the hood. Took 30 seconds with a drill. It actually touches the hood when I close it, but I'm not worried. Picture below.

DC Dart, the master is not name-brand, but it's good quality. You can buy it from SST if it ever goes bad, I think it's around 60 bucks. It's a specific bore size to give the correct pedal travel and clutch finger stroke.

ESP47, it's okay to not have a **perfectly** straight engagement. I ran into the same thing, so I spoke with SST and they explained that a tiny bit of side load is not a problem. There is a ball-end at the end of the rod that goes into the master, so it tolerates slight side load.

I have put a good amount of miles on it since the swap (500+) and it's been mint.

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Today I ordered a pedal assembly rebuild kit and pedal pads from Brewers. I also set my painted cross member in place.
My transmission tail shaft will set the same height as the 833. The closest area from the car to transmission is the upper cross member which is about 3/8". I can put my finger tips between transmission and floor every where else. The speedo lightly touches the inner torsion bar cross member as it transitions to flat. Has been mocked up.
I like how it turned out so far. The only thing I would have done differently is how I gusseted the inner cross member. I used square tube vertical. It did not fit well and made it harder to weld and look decent.
My transmission mount and upper cross member should meet or exceed OEM. Will be running larger torsion bars and a 451 with aluminum top end.
Going to focus on putting the interior and glass in the car for a while to free up garage space. Still have to put the top end of the engine together also.

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nice thread. I’m waiting for my tkx swap for my dart. What’s the final verdict on putting the upper brace back in? I’m split on putting it back in.. lower mount( if made correctly) could be able to support the torsion bar twist?
Secondly. What master kit did you guys go with? I’ll probably be using sst pedal kit.
Lastly I have a bench seat also.. I’m planning on making the actual stick. From these photos it seems the shifter in the very back position is good?
Thanks!
 
SlantedDart said:
nice thread. I’m waiting for my tkx swap for my dart. What’s the final verdict on putting the upper brace back in? I’m split on putting it back in.. lower mount( if made correctly) could be able to support the torsion bar twist?
Secondly. What master kit did you guys go with? I’ll probably be using sst pedal kit.
Lastly I have a bench seat also.. I’m planning on making the actual stick. From these photos it seems the shifter in the very back position is good?
Thanks!
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I would strongly advise against operating the car without the upper torsion bar brace. It is imperative to handle the torsion bar forces. Hooker part number BHS578 is by far the simplest, cheapest, and best solution I have come across (and currently use).

I got everything from SST (except for the aforementioned part).

I also have a bench, and yes, the shifter in the rearmost position should clear the bench no problem.
 
My preference is to have something for an upper brace. I showed one of many ways to do it. The hooker cross member part uses 1/2 "material over the top also I believe.
My hydraulic clutch kit as well as transmission came from SST. SST swapped out the throw out bearing collar before shipping the transmission.
I mocked up my transmission with bench seat. The shifter clears the seat mounted in the rear position also. I may slightly bend the lever later.
 
DC Dart said:
My preference is to have something for an upper brace. I showed one of many ways to do it. The hooker cross member part uses 1/2 "material over the top also I believe.
My hydraulic clutch kit as well as transmission came from SST. SST swapped out the throw out bearing collar before shipping the transmission.
I mocked up my transmission with bench seat. The shifter clears the seat mounted in the rear position also. I may slightly bend the lever later.
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I appreciate it! Yea I’ll probably get that hooker crossmember or make something. 1/2 inch thick eh? That’s beefy. I’ll look into sst. I have a clutch kit coming from Ram. Liberty Gears is getting me the trans along with other parts. Have to piece together the pedals and m/c. Any preference on those parts? Sst pretty good? Brewers any good? Could I do a universal master from wilwood and do away with the angle of the pushrod?
 
Arthur Sperotto said:
I would strongly advise against operating the car without the upper torsion bar brace. It is imperative to handle the torsion bar forces. Hooker part number BHS578 is by far the simplest, cheapest, and best solution I have come across (and currently use).

I got everything from SST (except for the aforementioned part).

I also have a bench, and yes, the shifter in the rearmost position should clear the bench no problem.
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Allow me to add my experience with the TKX swap and torsion bar brace removal. I was probably one of the first on this forum to swap out from a three speed auto to a TKX in my 72' Duster. My kit came from Silver Sport and I was very happy with the components. I had a local speed shop do all the work to my car.

When the shop did the installation they did not add a brace to the upper portion of the cross member that had to be cut away. I remember looking at the beefy lower support that was supplied by SS and thinking that "this looks like it should be able to handle the stresses of the torsion bars".

Since my car was completed, I put maybe two hundred miles or so on the car, driving pretty conservative as the clutch and new rear end I also had installed, needed to be broken in (although I did do one small burn out). The car handled fine and I didn't think anymore about the cross member, or lack thereof.

Shortly after the work was done I decided to sell the car. One of the last days I drove it, I noticed that the hood was sticking when I tried to open it. Now I don't know if that was connected in anyway to not having an upper crossmember anymore or not, but the hood had never had any issues before with sticking. I was hoping that the frame wasn't getting twisted out of shape or something.

If I were to ever do the same thing again (which I won't) I would definitely replace the upper cross member with something, more as a peace of mind than anything. All things considered, it's not an expensive "fix" considering the cost and time involved with everything else in a transmission swap procedure.

Pic of the lower cross member supplied by SS

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It takes 1/2 solid stock to be as rigid as what's cut out. It's inefficient but compact and easy to bend. You just have to watch how it ties into the lighter material. Otherwise you need to use material like the ToddRon cross member that is like an H beam or square tubing where you have lighter material with more vertical height.
I like the hooker cross member idea. But it bothers me that the trans mount goes to the inside of the upper half. I think. If the transmission mount bolted to the outside. You could drill some holes to the upper half and plug weld them to the torsion bar cross member grind flush. And the transmission mount would bolt over the outside. Plus instead of notching the top for clearance you could shift the upper portion away from the area it touches.
If I am wrong on this let me know as I have not had the parts in hand. Just that's how it looked to me.
 
SlantedDart said:
I appreciate it! Yea I’ll probably get that hooker crossmember or make something. 1/2 inch thick eh? That’s beefy. I’ll look into sst. I have a clutch kit coming from Ram. Liberty Gears is getting me the trans along with other parts. Have to piece together the pedals and m/c. Any preference on those parts? Sst pretty good? Brewers any good? Could I do a universal master from wilwood and do away with the angle of the pushrod?
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I bought the Silver Sport pedals they are very well made (I added the bezels). They can sell you the hydraulic clutch setup too. If you call them up tell them what you want they will hook you right up.

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I advocate for the upper support. But many do not use it. People have likely driven thousands of miles without it. The transmission mount does give support back when bolted tight. If the problems were immediate we would certainly of heard issues by now.
With that said. What I see potentially happening is over time the torsion bar cross member 1/2s now being able to flex. This could result in metal fatigue causing cracks where they meet the floor and frame rails.
If this happens it will take more time to repair over just adding the support to begin with.


The SST pedals look like nice pieces. Are they bearing or bushing?
I think I want to order the chrome pedal bezels too.
 
Thanks. Will likely buy the SST pedals for my B body project later. It's nice to have them available.
 
DC Dart said:
Thanks. Will likely buy the SST pedals for my B body project later. It's nice to have them available.
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Yeah quality of the SST pedals is top notch they say they make them in house. Brewers has reproduction pedals too but if you are going hydraulic prob best to go with SST and get matched components. Brewers also sells pedal pivot bearings but the plastic bushings in the SST pedals seem like they will work well. It might be possible to retrofit SST pedals with bearings from Brewers but that not something I am going to do.
 
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I bought the pedal bushings kit from Brewers for my pedals. Asked them about converting my pedals to needle bearings. They recommended that there was no need with a hydro clutch. Phew. If there was a slight reason to do so I may have.
 
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