904 lockup info

Cheech, call me Rob. ;)

I gotta tell ya, we are on the same page on wants. I read this reply and said, Oh hell yea! I get that, that’s just like me. I’m going to try and make my way to a drag strip and be (a little) serious about laying down some numbers. But in the end, I just love a power plant that is fun on the road. It’s gotta move that car well!
It's actually pretty straightforward- they came on 318s and V6s, so it has a standard small block bolt pattern, no adapters needed. It still uses a standard '66 and later 904 slip yoke, and the driveshaft stays the same length as with a 904. Naturally if you're putting it in a '65 or earlier A, you need to ditch the ball & trunnion shaft and get a suitable slip yoke shaft. I used the B&M 10239 flexplate to bolt the stock torque convertor (neutral balance) up to a 360. Not an ideal convertor for optimum performance, but it suits my purposes on my wagon (cruiser). On my '66, I used the shift and kickdown levers off the old '66 904 and bolted it up to the stock column linkage. The 999/32RH lockup is all hydraulically controlled (no electronic or pressure controllers needed like on the later OD transmissions), with just a lockout for the convertor lockup (the tow/haul button on the original truck application) that can be wired to a simple on/off button or toggle.
It uses a typical late model speedo drive, so on the early A you need to run a '66-'67 cable (threaded ferrules on both ends) in order to drive the early speedo, especially if you're replacing the one piece '65 and earlier cable. A standard cable works on later As.
For the cooler lines I cheated and used brass 45* fittings coming out of the trans, I just couldn't make sharp enough bends in that tiny tunnel without kinking them- there's just not much room with the shift/kickdown linkage and speedo cable all crammed into the same real estate... :)
The good news is, I'm looking at doing the same swap into my '75 Dart, and there's LOTS more room in there- doesn't look like I'll have to grind the tailshaft ribs at all, and mucho more room for the linkage/lines and such.

OK - I made a trip to my storage trailer today to look at my core lockup transmission. Turns out (according to Mr. Hand's book) it is a 998 out of a 1980 Chrysler. Just looking at it, it is Very similar in case/tailshaft housing dimension. This is as compared to a 1965 cableshift gearbox. Should fit right in the same space.
That being said, does anyone know if that particular breed of 904 have any particular problems? it's a 4130956. It should have a lot of the upgraded parts and a 4 disc front clutch retainer as well as the wide ratio gearset. (some of the early 998's even had 5 disc clutches - but that would be too much to ask for!)
While I was messing around, I pulled the cooler line fittings off and took a look down the outlet hole. It is quite close to .250" (sits back in there a ways and I didn't have my inside mic handy) So, now I am wondering, just Why would I need to have cooler lines any larger than that??? The inside diameter of the fittings (-4 to 1/8" pipe) is even smaller - around .228 at best. I pulled a stainless AN -4 to 1/4 pipe thread adapter out of my parts bin and even it was less than .250! So - what we have here is not one, but two flow restrictor orifices. Not gonna get much, if any, better flow with larger lines. (same volume, less velocity) That being said, I will still put -6 (3/8") lines to my cooler, just because it makes me feel better. And the guy you run over will say "Wow, look at those fancy cooler lines!"