V6 3 speed manual

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toolmanmike said:
Has anybody change out the Dakota 5 speed stick to something more sporty looking? Is that tranny a toploader type? Just curious.
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Depending on the transmission... I had an 2002 Dakota with an NV3500 that I adapted a Hurst shifter for a mid 90s Chevy S10 to with a homemade 5/16 steel plate and some metric studs. I don’t know which year model transmission you have but mine wound up with a pretty extreme overcenter ratio for the shifter, it was 2-1/2 inches of travel gear to gear with 1-1/4 inch gear to neural gate. It was great for powershifting! Shifter bolted on top at rear with a single internal rail shifter. I know that shifters aren’t available like they used to be, but with some fabrication skills, a fastenal, and some gasket material it can be done.
 
KRC performance used to market some Keisler stuff to put a Tremec into a Dakota, too.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
Depending on the transmission... I had an NV3500 that I adapted a Hurst shifter for a Chevy S10 to with a homemade 5/16 steel plate and some metric studs. I don’t know which year model transmission you have but mine wound up with a pretty extreme overcenter ratio for the shifter, it was 2-1/2 inches of travel gear to gear with 1-1/4 inch gear to neural gate. It was great for powershifting! Shifter bolted on top at rear with a single internal rail shifter. I know that shifters aren’t available like they used to be, but with some fabrication skills, a fastenal, and some gasket material it can be done.
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I'm not planning the swap but a buddy is. He is the type to just hack the shift lever off. LOL
 
toolmanmike said:
I'm not planning the swap but a buddy is. He is the type to just hack the shift lever off. LOL
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I will give a heads up that if he has an NV3500 and wants to do it right with the the Hurst S10 shifter a piece of 1/2 inch aluminum plate is the way to go for a spacer. I had to trim 3/16 from the steel ball at the bottom of the stick that fits into the rail socket. I would also drill and re-tap the metric shifter holes to take 5/16-18 Allen cap screws and blue loctite. There is a whole pile of leverage that high tower pivot Hurst shifter places on the shifter housing.
 
Well AJ, looks like you have put the skids on the 903. Might keep it around just for giggles if I ever wanted to make it original again. Of course, who would want an original 65 4 door anyway right? Not really worth much as far as resto. I always have the option of a 727, got 2 of them laying around.....
 
Now you've gone from one extreme to the other; the 727 is way more trans than the 3.9 needs. And AFAIK you have to cut the tunnel to make it fit...., so if cutting, then you might as well put a 5 speed close-ratio in there, and at least make it fun.
AND here's why; consider the speed at which you will be doing most of your cruising. Say 32mph plus or minus a couple. At this speed, whatever it is, you will want a low-rpm cruiser gear to just tool around in. But you will also want to be able to downshift one gear and blast off.
With a 903 you might want 32mph to be 2400rpm and this will take 3.55s in the back to get about 32=2340rpm. So now you have a nice cruising gear.
Ok so how are you gonna downshift into low with no synchro and blast off? It can't be done in a timely fashion. Maybe it can't be done at all.
And 65=3000rpm with 25.5" tires
With the A230 close ratio; 2.95-1.49-1.00 ;32 might be 2000rpm with 3.23s, and 65will be ~2770. but now at least, you can downshift into first, and hit 4020 and blast off. Maybe you can even run 2.94s to cruise 32=1850, downshift to 3660, and cruise 65=2520
With the AX15 ,3.83-2.33-1.44-1.00-.79 and say 3.73s
You could be cruising 32 in third gear @2270 and downshift into second @3670 for blasting off with, and 65~2530.
And you can save that first gear for showing off, with a starter gear of 14.28 which might be 3.2 mph@600 rpm, a nice parade gear. Or you can lay rubber with it, powershift into second (8.69 ratio) and keep on spinning.
With the 727, 2.45-1.45-1.00...... you're gonna have to make some compromises. You just can't have it ALL; that is to say; spinning tires, a nice cruiser combo at 32 mph, and a low-rpm cruiser for fuel-economy.
Ok but, I chose 32 mph, cuz that's what I like to do. Maybe you don't care about that, IDK. so pick your poison and work it out for yourself; here is the formula;
mph= (rpm x Tire circumference)/ (1056 x rear gear x trans gear)

tire circumference is tire height x 3.1416; I estimated 80 inches in all calcs above, which is 25.5 tall.
Happy HotRodding
 
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Like Aj said, the A230 is not enough and the 727 is overkill.
 
toolmanmike said:
Like Aj said, the A230 is not enough and the 727 is overkill.
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You typed A230.
Did you mean A903?
Cuz I think, according to the math, the A230 could be a reasonable and cheap compromise, with probably just a little tunnel cutting to fit a floorshifter.
Course if you think about it..... wherever an A230 fits....... so does an A833, and in this case I would recommend a Commando.
To the OP
With an A833,now; 3.09-1.92-1.40-1.00.. and 2.94s, you could be cruising 32= 2380 and down into first will get you 3840., and 65~2522 There is one for sale on FABO right now, put your money down.
 
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Just out of curiosity, how would a 904 work? I know they are getting harder to find, but the possibility is always there.
I know I’m saving one of the 727s for my 318 that is going in the truck, but if I can find a 904...?
 
With a TorqueFlite 2.45-1.45-1.00 and 25.5 tires, and 3.55s
I get 32~2170@zero-slip for cruising and on the downshift, the Rs might climb to 3970; looks good. And 65 might be 3050 @zero-slip.Take-off with a starter gear of 3.55 x 2.45 is 8.70 should be ok with a typical 1750/1850 stall in the Early-A. 2500 would be better.
This 8.70 starter will be multiplied by the TC ratio at zero-mph to perhaps 14.0 ish but this will decay quickly to perhaps 9.39. So in reality the ratios might look like these road gears;
14.0 decaying to 9.39-5.56-3.84-decaying to perhaps 3.76 at cruise rpm. This would be considered a close ratio compared to the A999 ratios .

With an A999, ratios are 2.74-1.54-1.00, and now with a 3.23 rear gear,
I get 32~2100@zero slip for cruising, and on the downshift the Rs might go to 3740. And 65~2770 in loc-up@zero slip. This is a reasonable compromise. Correcting for TC multiplication, I get road gears of a
14.2 decaying to 9.55-5.37-3.49-3.23locked up, count 'em 4.5 gears

There is one downside to these A999 ratios, which you may never experience, and that is the wide 2-3 rpm drop. Shifting at say 4800 from second into third, the Rs drop to 65% or 3120, so your cam has to cover that rpm band of 1680. No big deal right? What if you up-cammed to a cam that power peaks at 5200, and wants to be shifted at 5500. Then 65% drops it to 3485 and the band is now 1925.That's a different cam-requirement.
Compare that to the 4-speed with 73% drops, which from 5500 is to 4015, for a powerband of 1485. That's about 25% smaller, and that's a whole different cam requirement.
I said may never experience because 4800 in 1.54 second gear is ~74mph. So if the 3.9 doesn't have to pull in top gear, yur done. By the same token downshifting into second at 55 mph, say to pass, will get you a lotta roar @4040, compared to 2800 in drive...Less roar, possibly similar pull.

That's interesting .... what about passing with the AX15 and 3.73s? Well 55mph will be 2140 in overdrive, 2710 in direct, and 3900 in third. The 5 back to 3, is not an easy natural shift.
 
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Gonna hafts do some thinking on this. I know the rear had to go for sure. Not even going to try the 7.25. I guess I need to find a Jeep, make the mods to get the rear in it, then decide on the tranny. Lots to figure out.
Again, thanks for all the input!
 
Although it's an apples to oranges comparison, I know someone who six weeks ago that did and 8.8 inch Ford out of an early explorer with the centered housing into a 1954 Belvedere, flat head six and two speed TorqueFlite and Everything, including the driveshaft from the Explorer, bolted directly in with no to minimum modifications. Usually, I can't even get stuff from the same car company without finding the oddball rear axle that is just different enough to cause a great parts swapping boondoggle with untold modifications to make everything function properly....
 
I’ve heard about that mod, but usually don’t the 8.8s have to be shortened on one side? Last I saw, the Jeep rears just need the perches moved and the shock mounts cut off and use 8.75 shock plates. Unless I’m reading way wrong.....
 
LAter 8.8 Fords need one side shortened, but the early Ranger/Explorer axles have nearly equal length tubes.
 
Holy Jeebez!!! For a really occasional driver that the OP'd like to remain fairly stockish, get an early 3.9 w/a mech fuel pump. And if the trans concerns One switch it to the A-230 and needed linkages and get it over with! There was a time when Ma Mopar had intakes/cams & headers for those things, headers prob not fitting early-A's, but.................mission creep anyone??....
 
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