Auto to manual conversion. If you could do it over....regrets, pitfalls, long term opinions???

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MRGTX

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I know this has been discussed many times before but I'm hoping to hear some feedback from you guys who have already done a swap...or who have experience with someone else's swap.

Which transmission did you switch to? Are you happy with the decision? Did it change the character of the car? Did the performance/efficiency gains pan out? Would you have picked a different transmission if you could do it over?

I've been daydreaming again and looking at some of the complete conversion kits out there. It looks like there are some choices these days varying from finding a parts car to complete kits...
Brewers offers a complete swap to an A833 4spd
Brewer's Performance - Mopar A833 4-Speed Transmission and Component Specialists

Silversport offers the option of a Tremec 5spd or 6spd with a hydraulic system.
Articles - TREMEC TKO, TREMEC Magnum & SST A41 Conversion Kits for 1964-1976 Dart, Valiant, Barracuda, Duster, Demon, & Scamp

Any warnings or serious omissions we could benefit from knowing about with these kits?

Any insight, feelings, opinions, information, horoscope predictions, etc are welcome!
 
I debated the t56 6 speed viper trans and the passon 4 speed hemi overdrive.
I went passon and cruise with my Hurst ram rod and 4.30 gears. Overdrive acts like 3.55 gears and I cruise around 2700 rpm.

The t56 I felt I would never use all 6 gears with a .5 overdrive i believed it would be too much or if I went taller gears in the rear I would never use the first 2 gears. But that is just my 2 cents worth.
I mainly cruise backroads and rarely hit the highway so 6th would hardly ever be used.

The 5 speed I was warned I would blow the trans up with my small block stroker and w2 heads.
 
I swapped to a 4 speed March/April of 2016. (a833 2.66 first gear 23 spline) I had acquired parts over a few year period. Half of the used parts I got were junk. Some of the lesser expensive new parts were junk. Ended buying half of the parts I needed new from brewers. (they are great!)

Things I liked
-rowing gears was a blast
-way more fun when cruising around
-cool factor
-dropping the clutch in 2nd hazing tires
-no slipping like a torque converter
-no transmission lines to deal with
-enjoyed working on the 4 speed vs 727
-having an extra gear kept it in the power band
-tasha would actually drive it (hates ratchet shifters)


Things I didn't like
-I had a rear main seal leak that I couldn't figure out. The oil would get into the bell and on the clutch (not really the transmissions fault but It sucked non the less)
-Lakewood bell sucked to deal with. pretty much had to pull the engine to get the bolts out. (if I ever swap back to a 4 speed I will be using the stock aluminum bell)
-The centerforce clutch I used was too grabby. (if I had to do it over I would use the centerforce pressure plate with a stock type disc)
-getting the z-bar on and off isn't that fun. (I used a ratchet strap between the clutch fork and crossmember to pull the clutch adjusting rod out.) probably not the safest way hahahaha
-cruising low speeds (parade, stuck in traffic, etc) AJ told me about a dial back timing controller that should take care of this issue.
-little trickier getting the engine tuned
-Didn't want to run slicks for the fear of breaking everything
-I had a sweet drive shaft built for my 727 (couldn't be used with the 4 speed)
-Expensive

probably forgot some stuff. I ended up swapping back to an auto with some slight regret. What I have found is that whenever I change something 1000 other things go wrong.

4 speed swap/rebuild
Super tuning car runs good shooting for great
 
Ive been driving mine for a year now. Went from 904 auto to 833 O/D with 2.93 rear gears, McLeod "street" something diaphragm clutch.

Pros:
Blast to drive
Aforementioned cool factor
I have always just preferred to drive manual

Cons:
Don't really care for the diaphragm clutch. Will go back to borg and beck at some point
833 od first gear too steep and drop to second is ehhhhh.
2.93 gear was a bad choice. Should've gone at least 3.23, but have decided to go 3.55
Got a vibration somewhere I can't figure out
Aluminum bell makes me nervous when I spin her up!

Would I do it again? Heck yes.

In fact I will be doing it again. I recently procured a Tremec TKO 5 speed from another fabo member and will be putting that in with a 3.55 rear gear. I will be using a sst install kit with a lakewood bell. I believe the tremec is good to 500 hp. But I'll be putting out 350 to 400 so I should be good.

Shoulda gone 5 speed to begin with b/c now ill have to rework the floor where I cut out for the 833. I know sst makes sheet metal for 4 speed cars but i want to get rid of the hump to the drivers side so I'm going to use the auto trans sheet metal and figure out how to fab the rest.

Best

CE
 
I learned to drive ( as most back n the 60's) with a stick! maybe why I SOooo much prefer to bang the gears.

I have always used Mopar 833, 833OD or some 3 speeds. if in good condition, 833 all you ever need. IMO.... perhaps Passion etc are great stuff, must be they are still in business may yrs later/

I too recomment Brewer's . great guys. they too have been doing this so many years.

piecing together a manal system to change over can be a struggle. helps to get everything off the right car, and you or someone be able to work on the trans.

skep419 above hits the nail on the head.
 
My 68 Dart had been swapped to a 4 speed when I bought it. I have to say it was done well in some respects...not so well in others. Floor hump was cut in quite nicely, but the frame bracket that is supposed to carry the clutch linkage was not included. I don't know who thought that sheet metal would carry that load, but...well, judge for yourself.

2017-07-19 09.09.57.jpg
 
My 68 Dart had been swapped to a 4 speed when I bought it. I have to say it was done well in some respects...not so well in others. Floor hump was cut in quite nicely, but the frame bracket that is supposed to carry the clutch linkage was not included. I don't know who thought that sheet metal would carry that load, but...well, judge for yourself.

View attachment 1715071238

Ma Mopar reinforced it there for that reason!! you can fix it!

and sorta like why Mopar put a reinforcing metal under where the seats bolt to the floor! you don't want to have even a fender bender with some darn GM seats screwed to just the floor shhetmetal!! wonder how may Dusters I have bought with such GM seats!??? ha
 
Not exactly what you want but I went from a 833 to a TKO. If your floor pan is for an auto then I'd skip the 833 and go to a TKO or T56, install will be way easier. I cut the hump out and am in the process of patching the floor now. I would have considered the Passon but I didn't want to die of old age before I got one. My TKO kit was from Hurst, customer service was great, ordered what i needed as I had a flywheel, clutch, etc.
 
I've done it both ways, and liked it both ways.
There are good reasons for either set-up

But when swapping to a manual,with a mild engine, or a teener or smaller engine, I highly recommend a 5 speed. The ratios are closer together, so the engine can stay on the power longer, and it will seem bigger,more powerful than it would with fewer gears.
But for a streeter, with a 65mph limit, pretty much anything will get you there.
And when swapping to an automatic, you get the advantage of TM (Torque Multiplication) inside the TC, which allows you to use a little less rear gear. Unfortunately, the 1-2 shift loses a lot of rpm, so to get back on the pipe, a different cam is often a good idea.
And the nice thing about a clutch, is the adjustable "stall". Just rev it up until you get the power you need to suit your mood. You won't be limited by the TC.
So; I have had tons of fun with either.
But the most fun I have is when the combo is geared to hit 65mph at the top of second gear, at the shift rpm. We gave it all she's got, and there ain't no more.
Unfortunately, this will take completely different rear gears,(auto or stick) and the automatic should really have a wider LSA,(really the stick could have a tighter LSA), and, for a streeter, it is often better to work backwards from the rear gear demanded by the application.
What I mean is, if the car is gonna spend a lot of time on the hiway, a 2.94 rear gear might be the biggest acceptable gear. But a guy might have a teener with a 268 cam. The shift rpm of that 268 might be 6600 or more. Well that makes the top of first gear(2.45x2.94) to be 70 mph. Well that doesn't look that bad, until you figure out that the engine doesn't wake up until 3500 at the earliest, which is 37 mph. Can you say s-l-o-w out of the gate. So this combo needs a fairly hi-stall TC to get off the line briskly. Couple that with the typical 110LSA and whenever the engine is out of the powerband it's kindof slugish.And finally, the hiway cruise rpm is a theoretical 65=2375 with zero-slip. So having a 3500TC in there is probably not the best idea.
But the same combo with a 360 and a stick is a different beast. Firstly the 268* is a better fit in this engine of 42 more cubes.Secondly the 110-LSA is a better number for a stick car, cuz the rpm-drop on the 1-2 shift is much less. Thirdly, you won't have to rev the engine as high to stay on the power.And most significantly, you have the adjustable "stall".And finally, 65mph will be 6315 rpm at the top of first, meaning the powerband is all used up. And if she's slow out of the gate, just slip the clutch! Deliver as much or as little power as you need, no waiting until 37mph for the engine to wake up.
But if the cruise rpm is not an issue, then you have much more freedom in the combo.
For instance; that teener with the 268*automatic will be dynomite with 5.38s.These will get you 65 at the top of second(1.45). And the powerband will start at about 3600, so with a 3600TC, the power band will start right on the line,lol.
Consider same engine with a 4-gear. This combo will like 4.10s to hit 65=6324rpm,at the top of second (1.91) gear. And if you slip it out at 3600 that is the fast way. Of course 4.10s will cruise at 65=3310 vs 4344 with the 5.38s,heehee.
So, as you can see, there are advantages to both.

But lets say you had a 5speed stick on that teener. It might have a 3.24 low in it and it might have a .68 od in it.With this combo you could run a 3.73 rear and probably end up at 6175@65, all used up. So then you could give up that 268 for a 262 and grab a little more torque throughout the lower rpms. And the OD would get you 65=2048;sweet.
Of course now you could re-gear it to run 65 in third gear...... and put still more average hp down from zero to 65 mph. This would allow either a smaller engine or less cam for the same performance level.But 65 might now be 2900ish.

Similar results can be had with a 4-gear automatic; but not quite as dramatic.
 
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From an A904 to an 833 on my Satellite. Whole different car, much more fun. My Duster came stock with a A833 so i built it that way.
 
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Someone transplanted a 4spd in my 67 belvedere.
Pros:
Fun to shift gears
More control of Rpms
Great to do burnouts

Cons:
Hurts my knee after to long I'm only 35 lol.
I don't care much for the Z bar set up
Cruising thru parking lots shakes like hell with 3:23 sure grip.
Can never get the clutch adjusted quite right.

I'd say for my next project I'm going with the T56 with hydraulic clutch set up
Dustin
 
Replaced the A/T 904 in my 1965 Valiant four-door with an A833 from a 1964 Barracuda. I found the holes for the factory Z bar were already there. Just had to remove the tunnel from the donor car and fit it to the Valiant. Initially, I also installed a firewall brace to prevent movement/displacement of the firewall by the clutch pedal because of the extra tension in the performance pressure plate. Later, I replaced the factory bellhousing with a Lakewood scattershield. At one point, I did reinforce the Zbar. I used the 3.09 low gear that came in the factory transmission for awhile. Eventually, changed over to the close ratio box (low gear 2.66) because i installed a 4.56 rear end ratio and the extra low gear did not help my elapsed times. (best 12.72 @ 108 MPH with a 273 CID bored .060 over)

I converted the A833 to a crash box for a short time, until during a power shift drag-strip run I lost all of the teeth from 3rd gear. Took the transmission to Los Angeles and had it rebuilt by "Pepe", who was well-known back in the 1970's. He replaced the synchros (back to normal) and gave me his special gear lube, telling me I could power shift all i wanted. No transmission problems after that, and I could drive on the street again. (with the crash box, could only make full power shifts).

All this time I was running 10 inch slicks with 10 pounds of air, the ball and trunion driveshaft, and an 8 3/4 Challenger sure-grip. I tried the pistol-grip shifter, but felt more confident with a metal Hurst T-handle canted about 45 degrees to the right. Used solid steel motor mounts and never really noticed any vibration.

It was always sppoky/scary launching (popping the clutch off the line) at 6000 RPM and full power shifting at the same engine speed. But a necessary technique for those who need that certain adrenaline rush.

65 Valiant2.jpeg
 
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I converted my Duster from a 904 to an 833 when I installed the 340. Muscle cars should have manual transmissions. It's a whole different car. That's not to say that auto's don't have their place, I'm leaving the 904 in my Dart. I have the numbers matching drivetrain for that car which is part of it, and it's a 1 of 1280-ish GT model so I got a little apprehensive about cutting it up for the 4 speed. The other is that I need an "easy" car to drive sometimes, and since the GT is a power steering/auto/AC car it fits the bill to leave it that way.

AJ makes some really good points with his remarks on gearing. That's the only con as far as I'm concerned with the 4 speed set up in my Duster (although to be fair I'd have the same issues with an auto). I have a 340 with a Lunati 60404 cam (advertised 276/284 duration, .513/.533 lift), and the car doesn't really wake up until it's past 3k rpm. Which shouldn't have been a surprise since the cam is rated for 2,200-6,400 rpm and lunati calls for 3.73's with it. I'm running 3.55's in the car now, which works, but it needs more gear down low. Problem being is that I drive it on the freeway on a pretty regular basis, so, 3.55 is about as high as I want to go because if you can't maintain 75mph on most California freeways you're a speed bump. But 3,450 rpm isn't exactly a good cruising rpm for long distances, and that's what I have to turn with 3.55's and 26" tall tires to maintain 75mph.

The solution for me anyway is I bought a T56, and if I had been smart I would have gone straight to it instead of converting to the 833 first. Do the tunnel once, do the carpet once, not have to mess with the modified z-bar for the headers for my 340, and gear it so taking off is a piece of cake. Initially I had planned 3.91's with the T56, but I think I'm actually going to go to 4.30's. Because even 4.30's and 26" tires will put me at 2600 rpm in 6th at 74mph. 3.91's would take me down to 2,400 at 75, and that's pretty much the bottom of what I can cruise at.

But like I said, those issues are related more to my engine build than the transmission. If I had a more mild 340, or a 360 with better low end torque, the 833 with 3.23's would be just fine. And I could run a less aggressive clutch, which would make that a little easier than what I've got now without going hydraulic like I have to on the T56. Not that a hydraulic clutch is a bad thing at all, but it just adds to the expense of things. Especially if you can modify your own z-bar to fit with the TTI or Doug's headers.

I debated the t56 6 speed viper trans and the passon 4 speed hemi overdrive.
I went passon and cruise with my Hurst ram rod and 4.30 gears. Overdrive acts like 3.55 gears and I cruise around 2700 rpm.

The t56 I felt I would never use all 6 gears with a .5 overdrive i believed it would be too much or if I went taller gears in the rear I would never use the first 2 gears. But that is just my 2 cents worth.
I mainly cruise backroads and rarely hit the highway so 6th would hardly ever be used.

The 5 speed I was warned I would blow the trans up with my small block stroker and w2 heads.

Not all the T56's have a .50 6th. The Magnum T56 I have for my Duster is a .63 6th. There's a few different common gearsets for the T56's. Mine's a 2.66/1.78/1.30/1.0/.80/.63, which works pretty decent as far as ratio splits are concerned.

Someone transplanted a 4spd in my 67 belvedere.
Pros:
Fun to shift gears
More control of Rpms
Great to do burnouts

Cons:
Hurts my knee after to long I'm only 35 lol.
I don't care much for the Z bar set up
Cruising thru parking lots shakes like hell with 3:23 sure grip.
Can never get the clutch adjusted quite right.

I'd say for my next project I'm going with the T56 with hydraulic clutch set up
Dustin

All of your "cons" are clutch problems. Not even normal issues that come up with a clutch, but actual signs there's something wrong with yours. I run a dual compound organic/ceramic clutch with all the manual linkage and don't have any of the problems you describe. And I need more gear than I've got with 3.55's. Not saying that a T56 with a hydraulic clutch isn't the way to go because that's what I'm going to do, but the problems you listed are symptoms of a poorly adjusted or damaged clutch, not problems that come from a 4 speed set up in general.
 
72blu- my setup is so haggered. Does have a brand new center force clutch and new MP external balance fly wheel. I've adjusted this clutch one way than another with no improvement. Just not a good swap on my car. I imagine if it was original to the car or a better swap job, would be more of a pleasure to drive. Dustin
 
Someone transplanted a 4spd in my 67 belvedere.
Pros:
Fun to shift gears
More control of Rpms
Great to do burnouts

Cons:
Hurts my knee after to long I'm only 35 lol.
I don't care much for the Z bar set up
Cruising thru parking lots shakes like hell with 3:23 sure grip.
Can never get the clutch adjusted quite right.

I'd say for my next project I'm going with the T56 with hydraulic clutch set up
Dustin
I agree that you're having a clutch problem. Or perhaps a SureGrip issue. Or perhaps an engine low-speed issue, or just plain old; too much cam for the 3.23s. Which is the came as not enough gear for the cam. I love the 3.09 low in the 1964 tranny I have, and with 3.55s;that's a 10.97 starter gear. With 27 inch tires that would be 12.34 corrected to a 24" tire. This works excellent with my 360, in a 3650#chassis (me in it).
With a smaller engine and a big cam, a little more gear might be nice.

I should also mention that some combos do not like a lot of idle-timing with hiway gears; they get real jumpy down low. The bigger the cam,and the more compression,the jumpier it will be.

My 360 runs a 276/286/110 fast-rate cam (I think .541/.579 lifts) and 10.9 Scr, and I normally run 14* of Idle-timing to fight this jumpiness. But I often crank the timing back to 5 degrees, with my dash-mounted, dial-back timing device. That tames her down to 4mph@about 550rpm. With a little-clutch slippage, I can get down to a comfortable walking speed.
By retarding the timing, the pressure spike occurs well down on the power stroke, and the pulse is much weaker,and the piston is moving away from the expanding gasses.
I also use a heavy steel flywheel.
You might need a 360 to do that tho, on account of it has inherently more low-rpm torque.It all depends on the rest of the combo.

Honestly tho, 2.66x3.23=8.59 starter gear,and that just sux at low rpm.
 
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Yep I'm having a linkage problem and a want to work on it problem. Been sitting in garage for over 3 years. It had 340 w/2:94 and it shook so bad the interior screws were falling out. Now has a 408 w/3:23 sure grip and it's better lol. To many cars to work on not enough time. I appreciate the feedback you guys are great. Dustin
 
Yep I'm having a linkage problem and a want to work on it problem. Been sitting in garage for over 3 years. It had 340 w/2:94 and it shook so bad the interior screws were falling out. Now has a 408 w/3:23 sure grip and it's better lol. To many cars to work on not enough time. I appreciate the feedback you guys are great. Dustin

Check the obvious, clutch fork link, length of rod from petal to z-bar, correct z-bar.
The one thing alot of people do not know about is the pivot point for the clutch fork, they are different between E,B and A-bodies, this will totally screw with the linkage angles.
 
I've done swaps for myself on A, E, and C bodies. Love a manual transmission especially with a moderate power level I'm going to drive a lot. I'm less enthusiastic when power levels go up or drag racing is in the picture because shifting becomes a chore and depending on the clutch setup my knee could be an issue.
 
Only reason I don't have a stick any more is my legs/ joints are "going away." Even so I was considering converting my pickup. That of course, would not be "performance" shifting, not as hard on the shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles I even considered some sort of boosted clutch set up
 
I swapped my 408 dart sport from 727 to an 833 and loved every minute of it. I had a fairly rare '74 non OD 4 gear with 3:09 1st, 3:55 sure grip rear and centerforce dual friction clutch and factory aluminum bell housing. I had removed the over center spring. It was an absolute blast to drive.

I would suspect a lot of the clutch chatter problems mentioned are due to bad trans to eng alignment or worn / damaged linkage parts. Go over everything from the clutch pedal pivot bushing/bearings to the fork pivot bracket to the z bar alignment, pivots and engine mounts. With a diaphragm clutch pedal forces are a non issue.

My regrets? I always thought that the wide power band and torque of the 408 would respond well to an OD 833, but sold the car out of necessity before I got to try. It would have made highway cruising that much nicer.

I now own a cast iron shorty 833 OD box for a future project. Take your time, source good used parts, rebuild everything prior to installation including the trans. It is easy, interesting and fun.

My 2 cents......
 
if done correct, a 833 should shift and work fine. state of eng, alignment of bell, type clutch, right parts, rear gear.. all has a bearing...

yes wore out knees affect us!
 
My regrets? I always thought that the wide power band and torque of the 408 would respond well to an OD 833, but sold the car out of necessity before I got to try. It would have made highway cruising that much nicer.My 2 cents......

I have run every Mopar box behind my 367;the 3.09/od included. IMO to run the od box you need a low-rpm engine with a low-rpm cam.The ratios are 3.09-1.67-1.00-.71od., and the splits are .54-.60-.71
My 367 only put up with that box when it had a 270/276/110 cam and 10.9 /1 Scr. That engine revved quite high, and that saved it, cuz the 1-2 split pulled the Rs down to 54% on the 1-2shift.
Unfortunately for a streeter second gear being 1.67 was kindof an in-between gear. I like to gear my car to be revved out at 65 in second gear, so the average power during the run can be as high as possible. Well that 270* cam made peak power around 5200.And the 110LSA made the top of the curve long,broad, and nearly flat. So I used to shift her at 6000. Well,with a 1.67 second gear, this requires a rear gear of 4.44s and I used 4.30s. Well a 4.30x3.09 =13.29 starter gear. And that is a great dragrace starter-gear, but I found it to be a ridiculous street starter.
Also cruising 32 mph(with 4.30s) was 5282 in first,2855 in second,1709 in third. So while cruising there was OK, accelerating from there was painful. I either down-shifted to be right on peak-power and then outta revs; or tried to pull from 2855. If I did downshift, of course it blazed to the 6000 shift-rpm in a heartbeat. But going into second the Rs dropped to 3240, and I was back to Slow-performance. So With that box, I used to carry the Rs up to 7000, to in-shift second at 3780 where that little cam had some pull. All-in-all, not very satisfactory.
So I got me a GVOD and started splitting gears. And that made a dynomite combo. The best I ever had, in terms of ratios.
The ratios were; 3.09-2.41-1.67-1.30-1.00-.78-.55, and the splits
.78-.69-.78-.77-.78-.71, pretty tight.
On the street;this worked reasonably well with 3.23s. I was now turning 6300@65, in 2.41 ratio.With 5 more ratios to go. 65 was 1434 in double od. But the splits in the main box were worse than ever with 3.23s. The 9.98 starter was just right, but second was just too far away for anything but casual driving. So I was more or less forced to split all the gears, and this became a PITA. I drove it like that for awhile. Then I had a bright idea; why not gear it so that First-over was actually the First chosen gear. I found that the GVOD would actually hold 1od right through a stop-light, and I liked a starter of about 10 to 11. So I tried me some 4.86s. The first chosen ratio was now 4.86x2.41=11.71. and that was pretty deep. I didn't like it much as a streeter. At the track it was great. Those 4.86s got me 108@6500, and the 15.02 starter really blasted me off the line. And the tight splits got me a pretty good ET for the poor suspension I had.
But on the street it sucked.
So I got me some 4.30s just to be sure, I wasn't missing something.And that didn't work out either. No matter how I sliced it, I couldn't have it all. All being;a nice starter of 10 to 11, and a nice downshift at 32 mph, and reved right out at 65, and a nice gear to trap with. Plus I kept forgetting to not over-work the od gear, cuz they won't take much. I zipped the teeth right off them twice.
So I did the math to find what ratios I would need to "get it all". And that tranny was instantly yanked; it was hopeless.
That tranny likes a torquey engine with a very low operating rpm.
It worked great behind my 1973 stock 318, with a 4bbl and headers. The factory cam is done by 4500, so out-shifting first at 5000, the Rs drop to 2700, right about where the teener makes peak torque. So 3.73s were the gear of choice. This got me 65=5030rpm, revved right out in second. And it got me an 11.53 starter gear. And it got me a cruiser gear of 2.65 where 65=2139. And it got me a trap rpm of 4800@ 79mph in second-od .I finally "got it all"
So the key to using that tranny is being revved out at 5000, which is about a stock-sized cam of 240*. lol And if it ain't fast enough, get a bigger engine.
You, with a 408cuber, mightta been able to make it work. But it woulda worked best with a tiny cam, making a very low shift rpm and it wouldda needed to make a lot of low-rpm torque from starting at about 2700 rpm.
IMO, tho, you mightof been better off with a regular box and gearing it for whatever hiway rpm you wanted. IMO, 3.23s wouldda been great. With 3.23s I wouldda tried the 3.09/direct4th box. These gears will get you about 65=2600. And the starter is 9.98. Shazzam! And 65=5000 at the top of 1.91second. So a real small cam is all you need with that combo, in a big engine.
But of course there is no gear to trap with properly.Third gear (1.39) would get you 5500=99mph, 6000=108, 6400=117 there it is! So the little cam is gonna have to pull a lil outside it's comfort zone. In direct,117=4700. You kindof need a half-gear there. Hmmmmm, GVOD to the rescue; 117=5100 in 3rd/over. But then, if you had a GVOD, you wouldn't need the 3.23s,lol; it just never ends.
What I finally did was to say to heck with Quarter Miling; what about in the 1/8th? And that is where I found my niche.
For you and the aforementioned 3.23s, and a little cam, you could hit maybe 93 (or a bit better), in the 1/8 and that wouldda been 5300 in third, with lotsa room for more mphs. So again, just a small cam is all you wouldda needed.
Lest anyone reading this far down the page might think 93 in the 1/8th is mundane, I know at least one guy who was ecstatic......me
The Wallace Calculator thinks 93 in the 1/8, translates to over 115 in the qtr. And it thinks 115@3650 is 445 flywheel hp.
I was a happy guy!
 
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Everything I have is manual shift except the 68 383 Formula S, and the Cherokee. I like the precision and the rush of a good power shift. Like everything, get the right, and good parts. Take your time and put them together right. I'm running an O/D gear set in an early cast iron case in the 66 273 Cuda. No problem or complaints. Have my name in for a Passon Hemi gear set, December? Not much for cutting up cars or mixing and matching parts. I've never run a diaphragm clutch in an Early A. For me there is nothing like a Hurst shifted A833.
 
My 73 duster was a half of a basket case but very straight and rust free when I got it. It came with a hopped-up 318 a 727 automatic and a 7 & Quarter rear end. Through a splash of gas in the car and put a battery in it when I got home and made sure the motor would at least sputter. Pulled the entire drivetrain out and gave away the automatic and rear end. I bought an eight and a quarter with 355 gears and my wife went to Seattle and got what was supposed to be a complete 4-speed setup. The main box was in great condition and the bellhousing and the shifter mechanism there was things I had to put together but for $800 I think I did extremely well. There was some fighting and cursing and figuring things out but in the end I was extremely happy. As a side note I just put in a cheap AutoZone Heavy Duty clutch diaphragm Style and that lasted with slicks and drag racing with the 318 for two years no problem and then it lasted another year behind my stroker at the drag strip with full slicks for almost a year until it started slipping in 4th gear down the track. I went and tried a couple fancy clutches and it didn't get me anywhere and now I'm back to more or less they stock Hayes disc. Not saying anything's better than the other just telling you what my experience was. Now I built a 904 for my wife to try drag racing and it's all great but I can hardly wait to get the 4-speed back in the car.
LOL in conclusion I regret putting the automatic in the car LOL
 
Paid alot of money for a pos for a 4-speed set up, complete, best to get everything from the same car.
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