833 strength

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Ironmike

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So many variants......so here goes...

Factory 1971 Demon 340, 4 speed. Can this tranny handle 500HP/500 Ftlbs?
More important, can it handle it with a good set of slicks and a great hook up?
Some oldtime Mopar dude told me my tranny will CERTAINLY be short lived once I install my new engine......What?

I'm an addicted Mopar man now, but back in my Chevy days we never even THOUGHT about the strength of a Muncie.

I'm all pumped up for this build and can't wait to get in the 11's and then I hear this. I know you guys will set me straight.
 
Funny you should say that IronMike in regards to the Muncie or the Borg Warner for that matter as I personally never worried about any American 4 speed from taking any amount of punishment.I'm sure in today's world some manufacturers are more into gear ratios rather then worrying about the strength of these things. Note I said some.

Hey I'm new here but I have had more then one 4 speed in my hand in the 40 plus years I been driving and in the past worried more about breaking the shifter rather then breaking the transmission whether it be a 833 or a T10
 
Other than staying away from the aluminum 833, 500/500 shouldn't be a problem. I stomped the crap out of a couple over the years with 600+HP BB's in B Bodies and didn't break em, I did however grenade a few clutches so don't forget the shatter shield unless you don't mind loosing some toes.:-D
 
Ironmike said:
So many variants......so here goes...

Factory 1971 Demon 340, 4 speed. Can this tranny handle 500HP/500 Ftlbs?
More important, can it handle it with a good set of slicks and a great hook up?
Some oldtime Mopar dude told me my tranny will CERTAINLY be short lived once I install my new engine......What?

I'm an addicted Mopar man now, but back in my Chevy days we never even THOUGHT about the strength of a Muncie.

I'm all pumped up for this build and can't wait to get in the 11's and then I hear this. I know you guys will set me straight.
Click to expand...

the right clutch and how hard it hooks will determine this...i think its possible with the right clutch on slicks, but thats not to say it wont break. anything is possible. Obviously in this case an 18 spline would be advantageous, but most say the 23's can take a good beating too...i say try it out and see...if it breaks fix it and upgrade it a little...an 833 should at least be able to take low 11's in an a-body with the right clutch

good luck!
 
Put a T5 in it. I hear they are bulletproof.
 
hi, the 833 will take the power you have. don't use a center force clutch, you'll break parts. I'd use a mcloed or ram clutch. the mcloed makes a clutch that doesn't kill parts. use a synthetic lube in trans. it 's worth the extra $$.
you can power shift an 833.
 
I couldn't break one with a tunnel rammed Hemi. Doubt a 340 will come close to hurting one.
 
It wasn't unusual back in the hey day of super stock racing for racers to swap their Muncie or Top Loader for an A833.
 
perfacar said:
hi, the 833 will take the power you have. don't use a center force clutch, you'll break parts. I'd use a mcloed or ram clutch. the mcloed makes a clutch that doesn't kill parts. use a synthetic lube in trans. it 's worth the extra $$.
you can power shift an 833.
Click to expand...

Don't use synthetic gear oil. I though I would give my A833 a treat back several years ago and put Mobil 1 75W-90 gear synthetic gear oil in it. It would grind gears on any up shift or down shift. After a trip around the block with a grind on ever shift I drained it and put ATF back in it and it was back to normal. The synthetic gears oils are too slippery for the syncros to work properly.

I now use Penzoil Syncromesh Manual Tranny fluid. Shifts better than ATF and is almost as quite as regular gear oil.

I have been considering trying one of the manual tranny specific synthetic fluids from Redline or Royal Purple but haven't wanted to spend the money yet.
 
All kiddin aside, I gotta good friend in Macon who has a '71 Cuda. 528 cube RB motor. 14.1 compression, MP solid flat tappet, Six Pack modded to flow 2000 CFM, 2.25" primary tube headers, Franklin quick change rear runnin an 833. He's a welder by trade. Built his own mega mondo frame connectors so the car will hook like a big dawg. That transmission was also in the last incarnation of that engine. 440 cubes, .720 lift roller with basically the rest the same. He calls it a "street" car and only drives it to local Mopar club meetins and occasionally in cooler weather. He's not touched the transmission since he built it over twenty years ago. I ain't ridden in the new incarnation either. I gotta get over there.
 
Back in the day it was very common to find a scattershield so you could put an 833 behind a Chevy or a Ford, but try finding one to put a Muncie behind any Chrysler.

If the slicks actually grip you're much more likely to break a U-joint, explode the clutch or bust the rear long before you're going to break an 833. I'd be willing to bet the guy you're talking to is talking about things he's heard about and not his first hand experience.
 
you can run 11's on a 23 spline and 10's on a 18 spline. or even a little faster with a adjustable clutch.
 
All about the clutch.........ah.....what's a good clutch set up that ain't gonna take 2 feet to push?


That pic by 68 Hemi GTS looks like Norwalk. This year?
 
I sent an E-mail to Jamie Passon asking that same question. My stroker dynoed at 511ft;lbs. He stated it "could" handle that with slicks. I'll take his word for it.
 
i have broke a 833 before in a 69 charger the trans came from a 72 340 challenger that had been wrecked (rolled over) the engine was well modified. had 323 gears n 50 15 tires. i droped the hammer to that thing every day at least 5 to 10 time a day if not more and for many years and finally striped teeth off the counter shaft. the trans in those 72 small block cars, the gears are a little smaller dont know ratio stuff on them. since then i put a trans out of a 68 road runner and never broke it. i have had other 72 and neweer trans and put the power to them and never broke them so anyhow
 
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