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Transmission swap |
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K-La1970Javelin 
AMC Fan 
Joined: Jun/14/2012 Location: Southern Cal Status: Offline Points: 6 |
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 Topic: Transmission swapPosted: Jun/25/2012 at 5:02pm |
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Hi Everyone,
New to this site but I've been an AMC fan for a while - probably because my dealer was a AMC dealer from the day I was born  Ok, I have recently acquired a 1970 Javelin SST with the go package. It has the 360 with an automatic transmission. Of course (just to make the rebuild/restoration more difficult) I want a manual transmission. I would love to put a TKO 500 in it. I will be doing lots of highway traveling and I really want the gears for it. I have read many articles and have only seen 'hints' of how this can be accomplished. I need a flywheel that supports the engine and tranny. I'm finding that the 1970 360 seems to be an issue in that area. Is my only option to change out the crank ?? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ! Kim |
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troutwilly
AMC Fan
Joined: Sep/14/2007 Location: Louisiana Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Posted: Jun/25/2012 at 10:19pm |
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1st, welcome to the Forum (not that I'm a major poster, I tend to read much more than post).
2nd, use the search feature. This topic has been discussed many times. That said, here's my experience. - I think the flywheel might be the least of your troubles. I put a 70 flywheel on a 72 304. There may be differences but a 360 flywheel should be easy. And expect to have to re-balance. - You're biggest problem might be the bracket on the frame for the z-bar (clutch bar). I don't think the autos have the needed hole. - Then you'll need all the other clutch stuff, pedal and linkages, to go with it. There is a hydraulic option. - I recently put a TKO600 in my AMX. Was more worrisome than hard to do. But there were some tough items (pilot bearing needs to be machined, needed to modify the z-bar to get a decent angle, the recommended clutch arm was way too long for headers, and may not have needed to enlarge tunnel but I did cause I was worried about driveline angles). All in all, it came out great. Cruise 75 at 2200 instead of 3700, but really can't go into 5th until around 60 (.64 OD). Others with more knowledge here will surely chime in. Good luck. |
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73hornut
AMC Addicted 
Joined: Jul/03/2007 Location: Southern Oregon Status: Offline Points: 1565 |
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Posted: Jun/25/2012 at 10:39pm |
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So your dealer was an AMC dealer eh? I've heard AMC addiction, is hard to kick. Might take years of garage therapy.
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K-La1970Javelin
AMC Fan
Joined: Jun/14/2012 Location: Southern Cal Status: Offline Points: 6 |
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Posted: Jun/25/2012 at 11:48pm |
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Typo there... My DAD was a AMC dealer (as was my Grandfather). Guess I need to proof read before posting.
And more to the point, is there a flywheel and pressure plate out there that can connect my 1970 360 to a TKO 500 ? I've seen 'hints' of solutions but most of the exchanges took place with a 1972 or newer 360. Thanks Troutwillie...I'm surfing around with the search feature now. |
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum 
Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7106 |
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Posted: Jun/26/2012 at 11:47am |
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The issue is the flywheel. That's because AMC (like many other manufacturers) added a balance weight to the flywheel (or flexplate for autos) to complete the balance of the engine. So you need a 1970-71 360 flywheel -- assuming a stock or stock rebuilt engine. If you rebuild and use custom forged pistons or light weight racing pistons (anything but stock replacement types) the engine needs to be balanced.
For a stock rebuild any 360 flywheel should work, but there are some minor variations. The 70-71 360 has a flat flange on the crank that was made for a flywheel or Brog-Warner trans flexplate. The 72+ crank has a slightly different flange, mainly for the TF (Chrysler) auto trans flexplate. The bolt pattern for the flywheel and flexplate is the same for BW and TF models, and I'm pretty sure the flywheels will interchange (not flexplate due to trans differences), but the flywheel may index differently on the crank. You really need a 70-71 360 flywheel to make sure it fits and balances the engine correctly. If you're rebuilding the engine it doesn't matter as much -- get the engine balanced and have a machine shop make sure the flywheel indexes properly (might have to do some minor machine work on the crank or flywheel). I've not done this swap on a V-8 (sixes are different), but the above is the reasons for the flywheel/flexplate differences. If you find a 70-71 360 flywheel you shouldn't have a problem at all. The clutch disc is a non-issue -- you just need the correct diameter for the AMC pressure plate and the correct splines for the trans. There are a lot of variations out there! Tremac can help you out, you just need to know the max diameter of the AMC clutch disc so they can match one up for you. . Edited by farna - Jun/26/2012 at 11:48am |
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Frank Swygert
American Motors Cars Magazine www.amc-mag.com |
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