Torque converters: Quality ,for the buck.....

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Abodybomber

Abodybomber

Breaking street machines , since 1983.....:)
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You ,pay more for a good product. My ride ,came with the high end G.E.R. 9.5 (Yes,I know!),converter. It was 500 bones ,in 1998. This converter,locks up at 3000-3200.Register 21 m.p.g.@2900@ 63 m.p.h. Also seen the converters 200 bones less,kill a 727 in a heavy burnout,on the street. The one spot,you don't skimp,unless you have experience.Share your thoughts....Please.
 
converter is one of the biggest things not to get cheap with. it will make or break a combo.... i went with a dynamic 9.5" unit when doing my dart.

too many times i see guys dump thousands into a motor,trans, rear and a ton of stupid little things on their ride only to go cheap on a converter. i just don't get it. the right converter will make that car run 100% better then that cheap garbage they have out on the market.

guess its kinda hard to explain to someone how much a good converter helps. i guess its one of those things you have to feel for yourself before knowing the difference..
 
abodyjoe said:
converter is one of the biggest things not to get cheap with. it will make or break a combo.... i went with a dynamic 9.5" unit when doing my dart.

too many times i see guys dump thousands into a motor,trans, rear and a ton of stupid little things on their ride only to go cheap on a converter. i just don't get it. the right converter will make that car run 100% better then that cheap garbage they have out on the market.

guess its kinda hard to explain to someone how much a good converter helps. i guess its one of those things you have to feel for yourself before knowing the difference..
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at the end of a build sometimes its not in the cards for a 5, 6, or 700 dollar converter
 
Years ago I put a cheap G.E.R 3000 converter in a Dart. It revved (felt like a bad slipping tranny) to high heavens just to pull a hill. It would smoke the tires to no end off the line and then just revved. I put a factory stock mopar converter in the car and dropped 4 tenths. Yes, the factory stock out performed the 3000 G.E.R. I later installed a 10 inch street fighter TCI. More money but the car dropped e.t's massively
 
805moparkid said:
at the end of a build sometimes its not in the cards for a 5, 6, or 700 dollar converter
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Then you didn't plan right. The right converter will make more of a difference then a ton of the stupid little **** people spend money on.


And seriously. On something so important leave the car apart that little extra time and save till you get it. Hell that's what I do. I can't afford to just go buy everything in a day. I pick up ot at work if I can. Sell some stuff and play the waiting game till it's done right. Why spend the time and money twice? That's just stupid.
 
805moparkid said:
I agree but a budget build today probably cant afford it.
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Bullshit. Plan and save.

Once you use a good converter ya understand and won't go cheap again. It gives you everything. Better performance, better drive ability and even better mpg.
 
abodyjoe said:
Bullshit. Plan and save.

Once you use a good converter ya understand and won't go cheap again. It gives you everything. Better performance, better drive ability and even better mpg.
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Agreed, I can't imagine throwing something in there in haste and have to purchase another converter when disappointment strikes AND have to do the work all over again.
 
abodyjoe said:
Bullshit. Plan and save.

Once you use a good converter ya understand and won't go cheap again. It gives you everything. Better performance, better drive ability and even better mpg.
Click to expand...


x3. If the convertor's a last thought item you already blew it.
 
A good convertor is important in your tow rig as well. I busted the Allison in my Chebby. Buddy went thru it and gave me an oe style convertor. After paying for the Allison I was broke and could not afford a good convertor. The parts bill for the trans was just north of 3k. Was moving some stuff up to Washington from AZ. Load was about 8500 pounds or so. Was going thru the Snake River area, climbing a long steep grade. Truck went to lock the convertor up in fourth....and next thing you know it started shuttering, bad enough to blow the gps off of the windshield and make the cd player skip. Nursed it the best I could to finish the trip. Buddy cut the convertor open when I made it back to AZ, the clutch was in pieces. Ended up with a mulit disc convertor from http://www.tcsperformance.com/ .....one of the best things I have ever purchased. When it locks up it feels like it is shifting into another gear. Drove the truck with my scanner plugged into it when I was hauling a min-excavator. The mini-excavator/trailer was right at 8 tons. Was checking for convertor slippage, was at 0% when it was locked up climbing a fairly decent grade.....boost gauge was at 22 psi.....
 
abodyjoe said:
Then you didn't plan right. The right converter will make more of a difference then a ton of the stupid little **** people spend money on.


And seriously. On something so important leave the car apart that little extra time and save till you get it. Hell that's what I do. I can't afford to just go buy everything in a day. I pick up ot at work if I can. Sell some stuff and play the waiting game till it's done right. Why spend the time and money twice? That's just stupid.
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abodyjoe said:
Bullshit. Plan and save.

Once you use a good converter ya understand and won't go cheap again. It gives you everything. Better performance, better drive ability and even better mpg.
Click to expand...

as stated above I bought a good converter. also have used A&A and A-1. im not trying to say you don't get what you pay for but ive had much better like with my 550 dollar edge than the 1000 dollar A-1 that we had to have re adjusted 4 times before they got it right. now mind you we had the engine dyno sheet, weight, gear, everything. even time slips.

Perfect example is my 68. when I built the motor while going to school I had a set amount of time to R&R the motor, and rebuild it. budget was small and I wasn't able to get all the motor work done that I needed due to a screw up on my part (hit water on the head). **** happens so chill out...
 
I say don't cheap out spend the xtra money and get a good one..call the converter co.tell them what you have and what your going to do with it.and what you xspecked..I have bought cheap.And always ended up bying another..from then on I make the call and get it right the first time,O and wen you by one from a good co.tell them NOT to send you any decals wen they ask wy tell them your not going to pay to advertise for them.unless you give me sum kind of discount..my last 800.00$ converter cost me 650.00$ to the door....hope this helps........Artie
 
A good torque convertor is the last thing that I will buy for my 408 build. Once we get the dyno sheet I will be having one built. I haven't decided on a builder yet, but I've budgeted up to $900 for the convertor. My buddy thinks I'm crazy...
 
Why does everyone always think "budget" means cheap?
Budget is simply how much money you plan to spend on something.
It can be a little or a lot!

Rant over!
 
My buddy thinks I'm crazy...
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i had friends thinking i was nuts spending $600 on mine.. until they drove my car. three different friends damn near **** themselves when they felt the difference. they swore i did more to the car then just a converter change.. needless to say all three of them went out and bought good converters. 2 bought dynamic and the other bought an ultimate.
 
805moparkid said:
at the end of a build sometimes its not in the cards for a 5, 6, or 700 dollar converter
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Hmmm.....why not just wait until you have the additional funds??

abodyjoe said:
Bullshit. Plan and save.

Once you use a good converter ya understand and won't go cheap again. It gives you everything. Better performance, better drive ability and even better mpg.
Click to expand...

Yep....
BrianT said:
A good torque convertor is the last thing that I will buy for my 408 build. Once we get the dyno sheet I will be having one built. I haven't decided on a builder yet, but I've budgeted up to $900 for the convertor. My buddy thinks I'm crazy...
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The one in my truck was right at $1400....at my buddies cost. $900 budgeted for the convertor sounds about right, been a few years but I got a good convertor for a co-worker's c-4 from my buddy, it was a touch over $800....From what I can see the good convertors for my 4l80 are in the $1100 range.
 
inkjunkie said:
Hmmm.....why not just wait until you have the additional funds??
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yea just wait an indeterminate amount of time before that can happen? when i built my slant i had it built and ready to go, pulled one and installed the other as it was my daily driver. i had no choice, car had to go together.

joe, nowhere am i saying buy a cheap off the shelf converter.

Moper, why would picking the converter last be an issue? your complete build is working, and final (maybe lol unless you like me and always changin stuff) combo is together. you can tell the converter guy exactly what you have, because its infront of you, not on paper. kinda like building a motor and then picking a cam, *** backwards
 
Spend the money on a good one. The converter and camshaft are the two things that I think about and purchase first. I'd go with an Edge or PTC. A couple of the guys I slant race with use them and have seriously fast slant sixes. When you don't have the cubic inches, you make the best power with what you can. A good converter is EVERYTHING and it does not matter if you have a 225 or a 440.

A Edge built to your specs still costs less than a TCI. All these guys saying that a good converter is the place to spend the $$$ are 100% correct!
 
abodyjoe said:
Then you didn't plan right. The right converter will make more of a difference then a ton of the stupid little **** people spend money on.


Why spend the time and money twice? That's just stupid.
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X2 if you can afford to spend more in the long run by buying twice you can afford to buy the right one once. Not to mention a cheap convertor is a quick route to trans failure.
 
ok got my motor 400 hp 360built finally after 2 years going in a 65 barracuda glad my 340 still ran hard just not enough , could have been tranny or tourquenverter motor ran gr8 but its sold . so I want headers this time so it tti od dougs doesn't matter yet unless you know something I don't . so I pulled my 340 away from my 727 wii sold the motor and have a 727 for sale now . last night I picked up a supposed to be 74 904and haveit built to hold 5-550 hp I would think should be enough I hope , so this is where I need help from fabo transmission techs ,as is that enough what guts I start looking to put in and what brands are good to use for my new prodject building a 904 for a 550 hp 1965 what valve bodies, springs plates , and so on I was going to put a 3000-3200 stall in it .most suggjestions welcome or an a- grade tranny build shop or guru please send pics of yours if you liked the performance and workmanship. it will be more street than strip I just wand good hard holding fun thanks
 
winstoninwisc said:
ok got my motor 400 hp 360built finally after 2 years going in a 65 barracuda glad my 340 still ran hard just not enough , could have been tranny or tourquenverter motor ran gr8 but its sold . so I want headers this time so it tti od dougs doesn't matter yet unless you know something I don't . so I pulled my 340 away from my 727 wii sold the motor and have a 727 for sale now . last night I picked up a supposed to be 74 904and haveit built to hold 5-550 hp I would think should be enough I hope , so this is where I need help from fabo transmission techs ,as is that enough what guts I start looking to put in and what brands are good to use for my new prodject building a 904 for a 550 hp 1965 what valve bodies, springs plates , and so on I was going to put a 3000-3200 stall in it .most suggjestions welcome or an a- grade tranny build shop or guru please send pics of yours if you liked the performance and workmanship. it will be more street than strip I just wand good hard holding fun thanks
Click to expand...

You'll probably have better luck if you form a sentence.
 
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