Big Block/A-518

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Doosterfy

Doosterfy

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I'm going to use an A-518 behind a 440 in my Duster. I know I have to modify the floorpan and fab a trans crossmember. My question is with bolting the small block trans to the big block. The only adapter kit I've seen so far is from SMR trans and its over 500 bucks which is too expensive as far as I'm concerned. What other companies have adapters? I assume that the swap is the same as bolting a 904 to a big block. Is there anyone who has cut the bellhousing off of the A-518 and installed an SFI approved one and/or will an SFI bellhousing for a 727 work? I'd consider paying 500 for something like that but from what I've seen of simple adapter kits is that all you get is a plate, some bolts and maybe a spacer for the flexplate.
 
That is about the cheapest I have seen. Not that I looked to hard. JVX is another place that charges double that price, IIRC. I'd skip the cut and weld myself.
 
Give Lakewood a call. They bought out Quick Time Performance who I got my adapter bell from. if I remember correctly it was under $600 and they're SFI approved and come with the hardware and a block plate. I put a GM 4L80 behind my 517" "B" engine. I'll get some pics up if I ever get my converter issues straightened out!
 
JW might have an Ultra Bell,,,that allows that swap
 
U do not have to cut the floor pan but put a good dimple in it with a rubber mallet to make room for presure switches. Just modify the crossmember up in the hump and weld a plate in the cab. And yes you will have to fab up a new lower support. Working on mine now, give me a day or two and I will post some pics. The support I made is a hybrid of Keislers 4 speed manual crossmember and what charger70 did.
Hot Rod magazine has done this...http://www.hotrod.com/howto/hrdp_0706_hemi_swap/
Also do a search, I have posted in a few threads and a few others have to about this swap

Is this a Lock up 518?
I got my torque converter from smr. www.transmissioncenter.net has what you need to make it shift automatically, not sure if they sell the conversion kit
 
Guitar Jones said:
Yep, JW Ultra Bell for a BB and a 727 will fit your needs perfectly. No welding needed they bolt to the front pump plus it doubles as an SFI flex plate shield.
Click to expand...

And the stock bell is cut off? Got a link?
 
@Whitey, It is a lockup as all A-518 came out of the factory that way to the best of my knowledge. From what I've assed with it, it is a good trans and I plan to install it without rebuilding it and I want to try the stock lockup converter to see how it works. It appears to be an 11 inch verter just by looking at it. I did get a price on a rebuild locally from a good trans guy I've been dealing with for many years. His price is $1000. I'll probly never order a trans from an out of state company ever again, cuz I've done that twice and both times it was a disaster. I want to try it in its stock condition first and decide weather it needs any changes before I do anything to it. I'm pretty sure they were used behind the Cummins diesel too so based on that I'm assuming the verter is strong enough to handle the big block torque, which BTW should be about 500 lb.ft. Any nay sayers your comments are welcomed.
 
First off, here is a link to the price sheet from JW. The TF 727 to Mopar BB is # 42457 and it's price is $356.25.

http://www.racewithjw.com/JANUARY-Product2011.php

Now the diesel trans has a totally different converter from the gas motor ones. The early 518s did not have lock up so it is possible to build one with a good converter. They have a two wire plug instead of a three. If yours has more than three wires on the case plug it is a 47RE instead of a 47RH, later 518. The RE trans is electronically controlled with a govenor pressure solenoid so without the PCM to control it it won't shift.
 
@ Guitar Jones. Non-lockup? That surprises me very much. I'm not a Mopar expert but what I remember reading about the A-518 is this; they were introduced in 88 or 89 and were made until 95. After 95 they were replaced by a computer controlled decendant that used some of the same hardware but could not be used without the puter. I actually have two of them. One is from a 89 and the other is from a 94, both RAM vans with 360s. I think the 89 was a 250 (3/4 ton) and the 94 was a 350 (one ton). They appear to be identical and both have the mechanical kickdown lever like a 727. Again I stress that I'm no expert but I have a hard time thinking that detroit was still making non-lockup trannies at the time the A-518 was introduced, especially considering that the 727s had gone to lockup years before that. With that said, are you saying that the stock verter is not up to the task, cuz I really hate high stall verters, have come to realy like lockup and I'm running a relatively mild 440 which should make plenty of torque by 2500 rpm and I'm using 4.56 gears, so I think high stall is not needed and may actually hurt the performance.
 
Doosterfy said:
@ Guitar Jones. Non-lockup? That surprises me very much. I'm not a Mopar expert but what I remember reading about the A-518 is this; they were introduced in 88 or 89 and were made until 95. After 95 they were replaced by a computer controlled decendant that used some of the same hardware but could not be used without the puter. I actually have two of them. One is from a 89 and the other is from a 94, both RAM vans with 360s. I think the 89 was a 250 (3/4 ton) and the 94 was a 350 (one ton). They appear to be identical and both have the mechanical kickdown lever like a 727. Again I stress that I'm no expert but I have a hard time thinking that detroit was still making non-lockup trannies at the time the A-518 was introduced, especially considering that the 727s had gone to lockup years before that. With that said, are you saying that the stock verter is not up to the task, cuz I really hate high stall verters, have come to realy like lockup and I'm running a relatively mild 440 which should make plenty of torque by 2500 rpm and I'm using 4.56 gears, so I think high stall is not needed and may actually hurt the performance.
Click to expand...

Honestly I don't know if the converter is up to the task or not.

Look at the plug that faces up on your trannys, if there is 2 prongs in it, it is a non lockup. If it has 3 it's a lockup. The center prong is 12 volts hot with ignition on, the outer two are for lock up and overdrive. All you have to do is ground them for it to be engaged. Not to be confused with the neutral safety/reverse lamp switch which is on the side.
 
Guitar is right, if the interface has 3 pins then it's a lock-up. Mine is a 93 and a LU. Here are some pics of what I've done...
Wish I had shaved off just a LIIIIITTLE bit more on the left side... but it fits. Make sure your pinion and output shaft centerlines are parallel, within 1/2*. My pinion is 4* up, my powertrain CL is 4-1/2* down.
Your speedo cable might need to be longer...
Also, I would recommend following what PATC recommends for having it shift automatically. I'm adding a rocker switch to act as an 'AOD OFF' switch, once I have more I'll post here.
Look around. A good friend of mine recomended someone who rebuilds trannies and motors/builds race cars on the side...He knocked off $100 because of it, but I paid $425 for my rebuild, case was acid bathed and my shift kit was installed as well. I waited 2 weeks, and backs it for a year if you keep your invoice.
 

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Well what do ya know. I looked at the plugs on the two units I have and the 89 one has a two wire plug(non-lockup) and the 94 one has a three wire plug(lockup). Apparently I did not know my *** from my elbow about these things. This situation suits me fine, I'm using the non-lockup unit in my 440 Duster and the lockup one is going into my 87 D-150 PU truck behind a 318. I know I'll have to remove the balance weight from the torque converters. One thing I'm wondering about is the thing about making them shift automatically. Are you guys refering to shifting into overdrive gear automatically or shifting at all? I guess I'm assuming things here but, the gear shift lever and the downshift (kickdown) lever are identical to a 727 so, dosent that mean that the trans will operate like a 727 and then shift into O.D. once 12 volts is fed to the correct pole and the other is grounded, or are you saying that these things will need a computer to shift at all?
 
I need to mention. Thanks to all who have posted here. I hate calling businesses for tech advice about things like this cuz they will always try to steer me into making a purchase of some sort, which is fine but I am on a budget so I need non-biased advice as much as possible and you guys have been very helpful. I appreciate it. BTW, I'll post any results I get as to weather the setups worked out and/or how well they did.
 
I have a like new J&W bellhousing for bigblock /518 trans $225 shipped
 
Wont the 518 fall apart behind a 440 making any kind of HP and torque???
I have a v10 Dodge pick up from the 90's. What trans is behind the V10.
270,000 miles and still haulin!!!
Body is shot but I have been haiulin cars for 10 years and have never serviced the trans
Is this a 518??
 
tooslow said:
Wont the 518 fall apart behind a 440 making any kind of HP and torque???
I have a v10 Dodge pick up from the 90's. What trans is behind the V10.
270,000 miles and still haulin!!!
Body is shot but I have been haiulin cars for 10 years and have never serviced the trans
Is this a 518??
Click to expand...

Pretty much yes it is.
 
tooslow said:
Wont the 518 fall apart behind a 440 making any kind of HP and torque???
I have a v10 Dodge pick up from the 90's. What trans is behind the V10.
270,000 miles and still haulin!!!
Body is shot but I have been haiulin cars for 10 years and have never serviced the trans
Is this a 518??
Click to expand...
You know, now that we've covered what it takes to get one into the car and working, I have some other things I'm wondering about. How much power can these things handle in stock form? Is it the same as a 727 with that, cuz I've heard that 727s can handle 700 HP with the stock hardware in them. Is the overdrive clutch pack and planetary strong and able to withstand top speed-full throttle-6000 plus RPM, or is it like the GM ODs where OD is only for light load cruising? If I place the shifter in 1st gear, (stock unmodified trans) will it stay in first regardless of RPM or is there any kind of over ride that will make it shift at some point?
Has anyone found what the limits of these things are, stock or modified?
 
the front half of a 518 is the same as the 727 with the exception of the 518 having a larger sprag. the back half is strong enough that i have always towed my full 12' box trailer in overdrive and never had a problem with it.
 
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