Well the Alterkation setup came and I must say I am very impressed with the workmanship and engineering that Bill has put in to this system it is really first rate! I installed the cross member with the rack and dropped in my spare 440 with the external oiling system installed and an empty 727 trans case to check clearances. I was very pleased with the way I could install the engine and trans together in the car this was something I was unable to do with the LA and transmission together with the old K-member. I only wish I had some headers here to do some testing with, I have decided to build a stroked 383 with Indy SR heads for this car and keep my 440 a spare to use in my car. So I'm going to be getting some TTI's ordered here first of the week, I am still considering cutting out the inner fenderwells although I probably wouldn't be required with the 383 this is a race car and weight and ease of access are things I need to look at. I'm going to pull the engine out next week and get every thing painted the start putting it in for good, I though about powder coating it being a race car I just don't see the need. The only transmission tunnel mods I will probably make will be to cut out the pinch weld and revamp my firewall opening for bolt access as easy as it was to install the engine I would probably just pull it to remove the trans. Guy's thanks for all the help I'll let you know how it all comes together.
I see it takes 2 barcode stickers to make over there I hate it when UPS puts stickers on the metal... Maybe I'll use a longer piece of cardboard...
I do to but a little thinner or goo gone will take care of them, at least they didn't wrap them with 10 feet of tape like some of the stuff I've gotten! Once again Bill nice job I'm looking forward to seeing how it works this up coming race season.
Here's the latest update on my search for headers, my 2" TTI's arrived today and I set about seeing if they would fit the 440 with SR heads in the 74 Dart. Well much to my surprise I believe that will a little work they will! The drivers side will go in with the starter in place thanks to the torsion bars being out of there and the extra clearance provided by the Alterkation although I couldn't get the passengerside in all the way because they were hitting the shock tower. The steering will clear with some modifcations to the mounting holes on the fire wall attachment on the column, grinding out the holes to off set them about 1/4" - 3/8" will alllow the steering shaft to clear the tubes just like Bill said it would. The pinch weld that goes across the bottom of the car were the tunnel/floor pans are mated to the fire wall will have to be trimmed slightly it barely clears now and I would feel better with a little more room to allow the engine to move. The only other thing on the drivers side is the starter, the wire that runs between the solinoid and the motor makes contact with the header pipe were it connects to the motor, this was with a Mopar mini starter although not one of the ones TTI recommends. I had a Powermaster starter out in the trailer so I tried that one, it's a little smaller starter and it was better but was still just touching the pipe in the same place I have a picture showing this. I'm going to check into some other starters but if needed I'll have to slightly ding the tube in order to get the clearance I need and it won't take much it appears to be just the "boot" making contact but thats still to close. Another thing is that with the SR heads the header is raised and moved the header about 3/4" so the top of the collector flange is now behind the torsion bar/trans mount cross member so it would probably be pretty hard to hook up an exhaust system to it but since this is a race only car its not going to be a problem for me. Back to the passenger side the top portion of the shock tower is to close to the head to allow the header to be installed there is also that rasied part down low that is behind the rear upper A arm mount that also is hitting although once the header is in place it probably would clear. I plan to remove the shock tower or at least a major portion on this side to gain the added clearance for the header and better access to the plugs, also if necessary the area behind the A arm mount may need to be trimed. After checking out the steering I removed the engine and reattached the headers to check for any more clearance issues other than the above mentioned starter issue every thing else looked good. There is good clearance between the transmission and the collectors so I shouldn't have any issues with the trans blanket fitting or the dip stick. If the car was still stock with t-bars and stock K member then no these would not fit but in a race only application with a little work they appear to fit pretty well so my daugher is going to get a 650HP 440 instead of the 383 and that will save my mucho$$$ not having to build it. If I run into any other problems I'll will update this thread, it seems to be going to easy I'm sure something will bite me before I'm done! I must again complement Bill on his super Alterkation setup and TTI for their super headers I am really impressed with the construction and materials they both use but again I guess you get what you pay for.
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. I grew up there so I know. Beautiful Dart you have there buddy.
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I hate it when UPS puts stickers on the metal... Maybe I'll use a longer piece of cardboard...
The drivers side will go in with the starter in place thanks to the torsion bars being out of there and the extra clearance provided by the Alterkation although I couldn't get the passengerside in all the way because they were hitting the shock tower. The steering will clear with some modifcations to the mounting holes on the fire wall attachment on the column, grinding out the holes to off set them about 1/4" - 3/8" will alllow the steering shaft to clear the tubes just like Bill said it would. The pinch weld that goes across the bottom of the car were the tunnel/floor pans are mated to the fire wall will have to be trimmed slightly it barely clears now and I would feel better with a little more room to allow the engine to move. The only other thing on the drivers side is the starter, the wire that runs between the solinoid and the motor makes contact with the header pipe were it connects to the motor, this was with a Mopar mini starter although not one of the ones TTI recommends. I had a Powermaster starter out in the trailer so I tried that one, it's a little smaller starter and it was better but was still just touching the pipe in the same place I have a picture showing this. I'm going to check into some other starters but if needed I'll have to slightly ding the tube in order to get the clearance I need and it won't take much it appears to be just the "boot" making contact but thats still to close. Another thing is that with the SR heads the header is raised and moved the header about 3/4" so the top of the collector flange is now behind the torsion bar/trans mount cross member so it would probably be pretty hard to hook up an exhaust system to it but since this is a race only car its not going to be a problem for me. Back to the passenger side the top portion of the shock tower is to close to the head to allow the header to be installed there is also that rasied part down low that is behind the rear upper A arm mount that also is hitting although once the header is in place it probably would clear. I plan to remove the shock tower or at least a major portion on this side to gain the added clearance for the header and better access to the plugs, also if necessary the area behind the A arm mount may need to be trimed. After checking out the steering I removed the engine and reattached the headers to check for any more clearance issues other than the above mentioned starter issue every thing else looked good. There is good clearance between the transmission and the collectors so I shouldn't have any issues with the trans blanket fitting or the dip stick. If the car was still stock with t-bars and stock K member then no these would not fit but in a race only application with a little work they appear to fit pretty well so my daugher is going to get a 650HP 440 instead of the 383 and that will save my mucho$$$ not having to build it. If I run into any other problems I'll will update this thread, it seems to be going to easy I'm sure something will bite me before I'm done! I must again complement Bill on his super Alterkation setup and TTI for their super headers I am really impressed with the construction and materials they both use but again I guess you get what you pay for.