Got the transmission hooked up...

Absolute pain!!! took an hour and a half trying every way possible trying to get it in. This was the only other option i could think of before i decided to just pull the whole engine out and hook it up. I've always put the engine and transmission in together but didn't this time because i was unsure of if this engine was even any good. Never again! lol.

Yes, i know. Its "dangerous" the way i did it but im a shade tree mechanic, im not certified to do it any other way lol.

I hooked up the back of the engine to the hoist so that i could keep the engine from falling completely backwards. Then I had to pull the passenger side wheel off, wiggle it through the wheel well opening, where it BARELY cleared under the frame rail and BARELY squeezed between the bottom of the shorty header and the corner of the oil pan.

Also, is it weird that i didn't bolt the flex plate up but after i let the car run for about 20 seconds the tail shaft of the transmission started spinning like it was bolted on? Im assuming the flex plate may have just caught the converter and was turning it? I swear, if something happens with this transmission i literally have no idea what ill do. Im so worn out on this car...lol

 

Sick swap, I see this is turning Into an exercise in perseverance lol. Stick with it man I broke my regal like 10 times, straight up on the side of the road waiting for a ride. Took a bit to get all the kinks and self inflicted pain but it was alllll worth it

 

So i pulled it out of the garage today to clean the huge mess i made yesterday with the transmission. I also, drained the radiator, took the mechanical temp gauge and put it on the rear passenger side head and hooked the factory sensor back in to the driver side head. I've been running it with the mechanical gauge in the factory spot and just left it unplugged then saw in a Facebook group that thats kinda important for the computer and the air/fuel ratio which made a lot of sense so i hooked it back up. Tomorrow or some day this week i need to put the converter bolts in and figure out putting it in park since i don't have the shifter hooked up yet. I manually shifted the trans back when it was hooked up to the junk motor but when i had that motor running i could never get the transmission in to park even though i manually shifted it through all the gears? Idk, ill just have to figure it out. I just want to put the hood back on already, im tired of pulling engine and transmissions lol.

Also, the car is nicknamed Krusty Cuda because well, shes very crusty. Ill have to post pics of the reasons why it gets that name. It might look like mostly surface rust but thanks to being a vinyl top car AND the previous owner doing HORRIBLE work on it, she definitely needs some better love in which ill give it some but i still want it to be ratty.

 

So surprise surprise, something not going as easy as it should for me... Installed the shifter where i want it. The bolts that came with it are too long so i installed them upside down for the time being. The cable was already hooked up from last time i had the transmission in and i guess i damaged it when re installing it because the sleeve that keeps the cable tension straight came out of the tube and every time i put it in park the sleeve comes off and the cable makes a V which binds it up and doesnt fully put it in park. So, i spent an hour messing with that and gave up. I just need to take it apart and wrestle it back in as im trying to refrain from spending $75 just for a cable... But on a side note. I got the torque converter bolts in, got the trans lines hooked up, and actually got the transmission to go in to park so the tail shaft doesnt spin while its running. I mean, i guess we're taking baby steps but we're getting there.

 

Messed with the shifter cable and got it to where it doesn't get in a bined but i think im going to have to get a new cable. With it hooked up and in park, sometimes it grinds the parking gear and i have to shut it off take the shifter out of park and put it back in to park to start it without scratching.

I then started on the exhaust and really wanted to run a 3 inch universal exhaust system i've ran on 3 different cars in which 2 were chevelles and the Challenger i had last year. But because im running shorties thats just not an option as theres no way 3inch will clear the torsion bar on the passenger side. So im using a universal stainless steel LS swap x pipe kit i got last year for a nova we were building for the wife but ended up selling. The 2.5 inch barely fit by the torsion bar. Cant wait until i can get rid of these things but that won't happen until i do coil overs. I had to use the 45 degree bends as down pipes in which they are intended to go into the x pipe. So, i have to order some 2.5inch connectors and a set of 45 degree pipes and i should be able to finish up the exhaust. For now im going to do turndowns right off the muffler right before the axle but at some point ill go through the rear valance.

 

Got a little done over the past 2 days. I put in a GM brake switch so i can run the torque converter lock up as it shows in the directions that came with the wiring harness. Didn't get a pic but ill get one. Im sure ill have to mess with it again soon... lol

I got the exhaust basically done. I ended up taking 2 exhaust systems and making one... Ive never ran shorty headers and i never want to again. I used a 2.5 x pipe exhaust kit we had for another swap a year ago and used 2 pipes from that as mid pipes to then connect to a 3inch x pipe exhaust kit i've used on a couple vehicles. Its tucked up under the floor tight. I will for sure run the exhaust out of the rear but that will have to wait until i can spend the $250 on a set of pre bent and ready to bolt on tail pipes from TTi exhaust. Itd be a pain to try and do my own as theres a couple curves that need to take place to pass the gas tank and shocks. So for now it will just have turn down off the mufflers.

I also got the shifter cable switched out and the shifter is basically installed. I may have to pull it off again when i add sound deadner and some more seam sealer as where i put it the tunnel is basically just seam sealed together as thats how e bodies were built back in the day. The whole floor is basically held in by seam sealer and a couple spot welds lol.

But of course the exhaust is making this loud rattling sound that i need to find and the dipstick hole in the trans leaks fluid horribly while its running. I put RTV around the front of dipstick tube where it goes into the gasket and that stopped it until it just started leaking from the back of it. The list gets shorter and longer all at the same time... lol




cute unusual baby names

 

Fixed the trans leak. Turns out it wasn't coming out of the dipstick hole. It was coming from one of the lines as the rubber line wasn't on tight enough.

I got the hood back on and the truck intake fits along with the engine sitting at least an inch higher than stock height so, thats good news.

Put in a short clip of the exhaust. Now, the oil pan leaks a little oil, the steering box leaks fluid from underneath and today i noticed the passenger side rear is leaking brake fluid... DOES IT EVER STOP! lol

Just gotta keep on keepin on.

 

Since ive knocked out all the major things its time to get to the small things that need done and that money allows. So, i replaced the whole rear tail light harness which i've had the new harness on hand for a couple months now. I replaced the ignition switch and ignition switch wiring so now i can use the acc. position and use the flashers/hazards and have a working fuel gauge.

I have a 8inch slip yoke coming in tomorrow which might be just long enough for me to use the driveshaft i pulled out of this car. Fingers crossed as i really don't want to spend $500 on a custom made driveshaft. Where i live theres no where that makes driveshafts. The only big rig place in town that does driveshaft work charges $350 an hour and last year they said itd take 2 hours to shorten the driveshaft for my challenger an inch in a half which means $350x2... lol. I got lucky and found a guy on FB that had a driveshaft and he sent it to me for $190. But anyways, we'll see how that goes. Technically, just to be able to drive the car under is own power all i need is a driveshaft.

 

So today ended with victory. The cuda is officially LS swapped! Oh the journey its been.

For driveshaft i used the one that came out of the car. I put on a 8inch slip yoke which kept me from needing to have a whole new driveshaft made. Some tried to tell me "thats not how it works, you need a new driveshaft". Well, that may be true but this will do lol. I used a 7260 to 1310 conversion u joint and it worked perfectly.

I then hooked up the throttle cable. I had to put the stock bracket a little funky as you can tell but it works and thats all that matters, if you haven't noticed.

But we got in and out of the garage perfectly so, thats a win for me. I need to get some gas in it then ill take it around the block. Now i can start working on stuff that doesn't consist of the engine or transmission and put the car together.

 

As they say... the 3rd engine's the charm. Congratulations!

 

So this will probably be the last update for a while which im sure some will be happy about as i've been blowing this thread up for the past couple weeks lol. I've done just about everything on my list as far as getting the car running and almost on the road. It needs the entire front end re built or at least some of it. It needs a new grill as the one that came with it is broken just about everywhere and its more brittle than Betty whites back. It needs a deck lid, and trunk lock then i need to decide if im going to do the rear driver quarter or not as thats the worst part of the rust which effects the rear window lip that the window sits on. And it needs a list of misc stuff. We'll just have to see what money and my standards allow lol. I do want to switch to an in tank pump i found so like i said, now its just down to money. So, ill leave yall with a pic of the car basically put back together as i couldn't stand to keep looking at it with the front end not complete and since it doenst need to be off anymore i put the grill, bumper, and headlight trim on. Theyre just mocked up on there though. But, hopefully ill be able to do more stuff to it in the near future.

 

Congrats on getting the car running and driving under it's own power. Please don't run this at speeds! not a matter of if, but when this fails and when the front driveshaft fails, it usually doesn't end well. Either the shaft comes up through the floor or catapults your car into the sky. There's a company I used called PEM, and I bought a brand new balanced driveshaft from them for $365 shipped to my door. It was 3.5" aluminum, 1350 Spicer u joints that were included, balanced and ready to go. They sell cheaper steel shafts too, just take a look and please don't drive too long with this. I'm all about saving money. In fact I drove around for a year with a shaft that I shortened and welded myself, but it had the proper stick out. Lot of rotational torque and force that far out unsupported isn't a great idea.

 

Are you saying that the yoke isn't slipped over the tail shaft enough? because the yoke is only 3/4 of an inch at most an inch from bottoming out in the transmission.

 

The u joint is too far back from the tail shaft of the trans. With the joint that far back, the driveshaft may wobble and go out of balance at speed, among many other problems. Certainly not the way any manufacturers would do this and not for me either. At a minimum it would be best to make a driveshaft loop to alleviate the risk of pole vaulting or arm and hip damage.

 

That's right. It's not a matter of the yoke engagement, but rather where the u joint is. How hard is it to apply 30 lb ft of torque with a 1" handle vs a 12" handle. The leverage point is out way farther on the yoke which means that there is a much greater force on the u joint. It will wobble and do bad things like that.

Again, would be fine for low speeds like 20 mph and no hard accelerations and moving the car around the shop. Do you have the old yoke? If you can get the proper size yoke with roughly 3/4" of stickout, measure from ujoint center to you joint center and then shop for a driveshaft. Make sure that the full weight of the car is on all 4 tires before you measure. You can shop on Summit racing and search Dorman driveshafts by length and likely find one that's what you need. Or like I said, go online and find PEM and have them make you an aluminum or steel shaft. I think those steel are around $200.

 

kick *** m glad toi see it drive out and back into the garage , i cant wait till you tell stories of car shows where mopar guys cry . keep up the great work

 

Gotcha. I looked up that company, thatll probably be the best best, basically i just need a driveshaft around 2 inches longer. We'll see what happens. I may drive it the way it is now for the way it is and see how it does, highest speed where i daily drive is 50-55 so i should be good. I don't plan on racing everyone stop light to stop light like everyone tried to do when i was daily driving my challenger lol

 

Awesome to see the swap in place! I’ll mirror what the other posters said as well, get that driveshaft done correctly before you drive it at any road speed. It’s a big safety issue and at minimum can cause damage to the transmission, including breaking the bellhousing just from the harmonics, or the driveshaft can come apart and damage the car and/or cause a wreck. Absolutely get a proper driveshaft in there before you drive it.

 

I agree. New drive shaft. Properly rated o the HP/TQ it will see.

 

Finally got the exhaust finished. I wanted to run tail pipes now but they'll have to wait and happen down the road. I ordered a set of B-Body tail pipes from Holley since they were on clearance for about $150 less but they ended up not working like i thought i could get them too, so i shoved them in the attic to mess with and try again another day. For now i just put turn downs right at the rear end. I HATE that the pipes are un even and i spent an hour trying to get them even but thats just how theyre going to be until i get a legit system. Sounds just like a bone stock 4.8 lol. It will get a cam down the road though but no time soon.