1969 Javelin T56 swap video

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   I've been doing a T56 swap in my Javelin for a long time. The car is low on the list of priorities so I don't devote a lot of time to it. To be honest, it's because the car is a nightmare. Every time I take a step forward I get thrown back 10 steps. I now have to tear a complete running motor down just to get it match balanced to the flywheel I have. I'm using a control freaks front end, and it takes hours to get the motor installed and placed into those tight motor mounts. Then I have to get under the car and install the massive T56 all by myself. I finally did that, then realized I need to pull the trans back out to do a midshift conversion, and now I have to tear the whole motor apart. So I basically have to start ALL over again. So this time, I'm going to document everything.The motor has been a nightmare.
The front suspension has been a nightmare.
The T56 swap has been a nightmare.
And I'm not some tired old man, I'm not some young punk. I'm a 42 year old man with 50k in tools, tig, mig and plasma cutters in my garage with 25 years of auto experience, including 10 years as a professional hot rod engineer at a shop, tons of industry connections, and I'm ASE master certified and I have my A&P license. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm saying this because this car has been the most devastating project I've ever taken on. I've put a turbo ecotec into a 35 Chevy and I restored a salt water flooded Viper, hand rebuilding the motor and everything. So for me to be knocked to the ground by this car is saying a lot. 
And it all started with Bulltear screwing me on those pistons, and then the machine shop breaking the lower bellhousing mounting ears on the engine. So I bought a complete motor that now needs torn down to match it to the flywheel. 
Getting everything correct working with American Powertrain was a nightmare because they know nothing about AMCs, they sent me wrong clutches, wrong pilot bearings. The whole thing was a nightmare. 
So I finally get the Control Freaks front end installed, then drop in the motor, then push the trans in from climbing under the car, only to find out I need to pull it out to do the midshift conversion and then having to tear the whole motor apart. Dude, this is just unreal. 
So I'm going to make a video to document all the tears.
Don't get me started on what Tony is going to charge me for an NOS grille and taillight assemblies. 
And then I still need to get the entire interior done. 
Yea, hardest car I've ever done. Even the Y-block community for my 55 Tbird is far easier than this. 
Bottom line, I never EVER EVER should have sold my complete, mint '69 390 SST Javelin when I got out of the Marine Corps. I just didn't know what I had, and I would have saved myself all this mess and tens of thousands of dollars.
PS, Bulltear is the worst and I'll never give them another dime, and I don't think anybody else on here should either. 

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Deans69 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Nov/24/2016 Location: Corpus Christi Status: Offline Points: 140	Post Options Post Reply Quote Deans69 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 1969 Javelin T56 swap video Posted: Jul/21/2021 at 11:40am
	I've been doing a T56 swap in my Javelin for a long time. The car is low on the list of priorities so I don't devote a lot of time to it. To be honest, it's because the car is a nightmare. Every time I take a step forward I get thrown back 10 steps. I now have to tear a complete running motor down just to get it match balanced to the flywheel I have. I'm using a control freaks front end, and it takes hours to get the motor installed and placed into those tight motor mounts. Then I have to get under the car and install the massive T56 all by myself. I finally did that, then realized I need to pull the trans back out to do a midshift conversion, and now I have to tear the whole motor apart. So I basically have to start ALL over again. So this time, I'm going to document everything. The motor has been a nightmare. The front suspension has been a nightmare. The T56 swap has been a nightmare. And I'm not some tired old man, I'm not some young punk. I'm a 42 year old man with 50k in tools, tig, mig and plasma cutters in my garage with 25 years of auto experience, including 10 years as a professional hot rod engineer at a shop, tons of industry connections, and I'm ASE master certified and I have my A&P license. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm saying this because this car has been the most devastating project I've ever taken on. I've put a turbo ecotec into a 35 Chevy and I restored a salt water flooded Viper, hand rebuilding the motor and everything. So for me to be knocked to the ground by this car is saying a lot. And it all started with Bulltear screwing me on those pistons, and then the machine shop breaking the lower bellhousing mounting ears on the engine. So I bought a complete motor that now needs torn down to match it to the flywheel. Getting everything correct working with American Powertrain was a nightmare because they know nothing about AMCs, they sent me wrong clutches, wrong pilot bearings. The whole thing was a nightmare. So I finally get the Control Freaks front end installed, then drop in the motor, then push the trans in from climbing under the car, only to find out I need to pull it out to do the midshift conversion and then having to tear the whole motor apart. Dude, this is just unreal. So I'm going to make a video to document all the tears. Don't get me started on what Tony is going to charge me for an NOS grille and taillight assemblies. And then I still need to get the entire interior done. Yea, hardest car I've ever done. Even the Y-block community for my 55 Tbird is far easier than this. Bottom line, I never EVER EVER should have sold my complete, mint '69 390 SST Javelin when I got out of the Marine Corps. I just didn't know what I had, and I would have saved myself all this mess and tens of thousands of dollars. PS, Bulltear is the worst and I'll never give them another dime, and I don't think anybody else on here should either.

Red Devil Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/10/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1743	Post Options Post Reply Quote Red Devil Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Jul/21/2021 at 8:46pm
	Sorry to hear about issues ... but hopefully the results will be worth it. I put a T56 Magnum in my '74 Javelin AMX. I converted from a 727 and the stock T56 Magnum shifter in the rear position pokes through within an inch of the hole for the automatic floor shifter. A Holley 5387201 stick gave a nice short shift and good feel for me. I modified the stock automatic console to work. Did cut a hole in the top of the tunnel, but only around 5" x 9" or so to give room for the shifter and made a bolt-on cover over top. A bit of hammer work on the tunnel in a couple spots and trimmed an upper right boss on the transmission that was hitting. Only if you want the shifter to come through in the 4-speed location, which personally I don't think is as nice for shifting, would you want a mid-shifter ... and need one offset to fit the Javelin as the Tremec one is dead centre. I got my flywheel match balanced to the stock flexplate at a local automotive machine shop. Used a Quicktime bell designed for the T56 Magnum. Fabricated a crossmember. Modified the pedal to work with a hydraulic clutch using a modified Wilwood master and a CSC for a Camaro. It was a bit of work, but nothing too bad. Just some time and patience and lots of measuring since I didn't buy a ready-made kit - just standard parts. 4.11 gears were a good match with the 2.66 1st / 0.63 OD. Search for "6 speed manual transmissions" for some info. Sorry, lost the photos when I closed my photobucket account. Hope this helps, RD PS. Strongly suggest you get a transmission jack. Makes the job of installing and removing the transmission much easier - especially if you make an adapter bracket to bolt to the transmission instead of trying to use the chains or straps they usually come with. Good chance you'll have the transmission in and out a few times over its life. Your back will thank you. And be sure you check the bell housing alignment for concentricity and parallelism. Mine needed some carefull shimming and modified dowel sleeves to align within Tremec spec. You'll have shifting issues, vibrations and premature wear if it's out of spec. Edited by Red Devil - Jul/21/2021 at 9:11pm

Deans69 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Nov/24/2016 Location: Corpus Christi Status: Offline Points: 140	Post Options Post Reply Quote Deans69 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Jul/22/2021 at 1:50am
	I already saw all your posts and none of it really applies to my job. I already said I don't have a lift. I'm crawling under the car so a trans jack is useless for this job. A standard LS t56 is not the same as a magnum. You have to do a midshift conversion or the shifter is way back and will go right through the tunnel support. And it's not dead center because the adapter plate clocks it towards the driver. And I didn't get ANY FLYWHEEL OR FLEXPLATE WITH THIS MOTOR when I bought it so there is nothing to match balance to. Pedal assembly is already done.

Red Devil Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/10/2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1743	Post Options Post Reply Quote Red Devil Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Jul/22/2021 at 8:26am
	Sorry, I missed that you were using a regular LS T56 instead of the LS Magnum. Yes, both are clocked 5deg to the driver, so does offset the shifter a bit where it comes through the floor vs the centre position on the transmission. I did trim a bit of the crossmember at the rear of the transmission to clear part of the shift rail housing on the Magnum as it is longer than the regular T56. IIRC, the mid-shift location is pretty much the same - main dimensional differences are in the tail shaft housing and some of the auxiliary bits (reverse lockout, etc.). There are aftermarket offset shifters for the T56, but don't know if any would work for you. Various shifter dimensions here (as there are several versions of LS T56s). Most have the 2.97 1st / 0.50" 6th ... not a great combination unless your engine is built for low rpms or you're cruising at 80+: Shifter distances – Core Shifters (core-shifters.com) On the later Javelin, the mid-shift would come through partially overlapping the glove box / ash tray area ... unless you have a deeper bell with extended pilot bearing, which may require cutting out more of the crossmember at the rear of the transmission, again depending on tail shaft housing. Not sure about early Javelin? I also don't have a lift, did everything crawling under the car with it on jack stands. I used this style of transmission jack with a custom adapter to hold the transmission. Just enough room to slide it and the transmission under the car with the jack stands I use. I also unbolted the engine crossmember to give more room to work when installing the transmission and used an upper support beam like shown in the TSM to hold the engine up (uses a long threaded 1/2" rod into the intake tapped boss with locknut, adjusting nut to raise & lower and a safety chain). This gave a bit more wiggle-room when trial fitting the transmission. Also made alignment studs to help align the transmission to the bell. 800 lb. Low Lift Transmission Jack (harborfreight.com) A good comparison of the LS Magnum (what I have) vs. the Magnum-F (direct replacement for F-body LS T56). If the tail shaft housing and shifter of your LS T56 are close to the Magnum-F, I expect you may need to cut the crossmember at the rear of the transmission regardless of what you do with the shifter, to get the proper drivetrain angles. IIRC, that area of early and late Javelin are pretty much the same. The green line represents roughly where I cut a hole - including notching the crossmember at the rear of the transmission (blue line is roughly the front of the crossmember). Could always try to find a shorter tailshaft housing, e.g. LT1, Viper, etc. like NeedafasterAMX, but a bunch more money as likely need to change some internals. Introducing the TREMEC Magnum-F 6-speed for 3rd and 4Th Gen F-Bodies \| TREMEC Blog: Get Connected (tremec-blog.com) Hope this helps, RD Edit: Added Magnum-F photo and link to source Edited by Red Devil - Jul/22/2021 at 4:53pm

mbwicz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Feb/20/2019 Location: Buffalo, NY Status: Offline Points: 1989	Post Options Post Reply Quote mbwicz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Jul/22/2021 at 11:02am
	You're not gonna need to hear any of the normal stuff (your car will be awesome when youre done. You have some great parts. Blah, Blah, Blah). You know all that. It sucks when a car project pushes back at you. Thanks for your service. I work with several Marines and have a great amount of respect for them. You will not be defeated. Mike
	1970 AMX, one step forward, one step back. Both steps cost time and money.