Installing a trans in the old days by yourself; the way we old timers had to do it!

[440WB]

I bench pressed the four speed back into my Cuda one afternoon after high school. Feeling all proud of myself, I told my dad about my progress when he got home from work. He looked at the work bench in the garage and pointed out the new throwout bearing still sitting there in the box.

several times in and out - forgetting and learning the term Frustration Lesson while getting thru the project with bloody finders covered in grease/dirt

 

[440WB]

several times in and out - forgetting and learning the term Frustration Lesson while getting thru the project with bloody finders covered in grease/dirt

and about the time installing my New Clutch without scuffing the Glazed Pressure Plate. Could not figure out why my car would not go faster then 10 mph!

 

[Xcudame]

Deathproofcuda, we've all done things like that! More than we care to admit!

 

[rklein71]

I bench pressed the four speed back into my Cuda one afternoon after high school. Feeling all proud of myself, I told my dad about my progress when he got home from work. He looked at the work bench in the garage and pointed out the new throwout bearing still sitting there in the box.

As a youngster, I put in a clutch disc backwards, oops.

 

[pschlosser]

I've replaced a few 727s, and the building block process works well to elevate the tranny. It is now my "goto" when a jack isn't an option.

But there was one time I wrestled one in laying on my back, after a friend helped me move the tranny onto my chest. It took every bit of my strength to get it in there. I recall this event, because I think it got me laid. A pretty young female bystander was so impressed by my tranny heroics, she asked me out, and we dated for a time.

 

[rklein71]

she does look like trouble

 

[dodgedream]

I guess I was always looking for the hard way to do that. I would have the car on ramps in the gravel driveway and lift the tail shaft, 904 or 727 and slide a 2 x4 block under it. Then lift the front with the tail shaft as a lever and put one under the bellhousing. I would repeat until it was tall enough and then slide everything foreward til pins engaged and could get a bolt into it to hold it. Then take a deep breath and hope the converter hadn’t slid foreward. I usually used a wedge to prevent that so time to lift the tail shaft and install the crossmember using a scissor jack

 

[PlmCzy70]

View attachment 122214

Did that quite a few times with my A833

 

[340challconvert]

At my age, the smartest thing I did as buy this Low Lift Trans jack from HF to my recent install of a 727A in the A66 Challenger. Car was on jack stands with floor jackets at the front and rear for safety. Was not going to try reliving my youthful strength and exuberance
Paid $229 for the unit. Worth every dollar and "Worked like a charm!"

PITTSBURGH AUTOMOTIVE
800 lb. Low Lift Transmission Jack

 

[Xcudame]

I think we all agree transmission jacks are worth their weight in gold when you need one! Especially to all of us who have done it in a hard, muscle intense method!

 

[TripleBlk70]

OMG that brings back memories!!! I was 17 or 18 years old and blew the clutch out of my 70 challenger one friday night while attempting to race another challenger of all things. Somehow limped it back home and (since I live on a horse farm) pulled it into the machine shed to work on it. Put it up on jack stands and proceeded to remove the 4 speed by myself with no jack of any kind.

Getting it all back together was fun, but I figured it out and pretty sure I had to have some help lifting it back into place!