Factory High Stall Converters

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Good job @Rat Bastid ; You have been a member for less than a year, and you have already pissed off 90% of the people on this forum. Great job on arguing, name calling and pissing off long time members like @rumblefish360 , @70dart340 and @RustyRatRod (and me). Your rudeness and arguing have not won you any points here. I don't think I have ever seen so many RED Xs on a comment. And rather than backing off a bit and saying "I'm sorry if I came off a bit harsh. I guess I really meant to say something more like, 'Wow, I never thought there were factory high stall converters. Does anybody have any information on them?' you kept harping on your point in the face of data from highly knowledgeable members. I have been a member since 2005, and you are the first person I am going to click "Ignore" on.
 
I'm too old and too busy to get pissed off at trivial stuff like this. I've gained tons of knowledge from members on this forum. I'm driving forward. I'll have more questions for the Mopar gurus on this site soon. Many thanks and much respect to all.
 
I’ll make sure the next time I do a small block I’ll get me one of those factory hi stall converters and a 68 MT 340 cam because that’s the best performance cam they had. Thanks for educating me.
 
Good to see you're coming around to the general consensus. Congratulations on your new viewpoint!
 
The dealer I worked for took in a nearly new 1978 Cordoba 360 wreck, completely totaled. I bought the transmission because I was aware of the increased stall speed I had to knock the counterweights off from the converter before installing it in a stock 69 Barracuda 340-s which with the 69 oem 727 formerly stalled at 2550 rpm which was enough to smoke F70-14's. With the newer 360 trans it stalled at 2650 rpm. and was noticeably peppier. Two years ago while restoring the CUDA I replaced the stock 340 with a well built 11.3:1 470 3.915" stroke BB with 246*@.050 cam. After building up a BB 727 I used that same 1978 360 converter and now it stalls at 2900 rpm behind the high compression stroker and launches with authority on 10x29 MT"s. Yet it still retains the same sane drivability manners of the stock converter it is. Put it in gear and I feel it go into gear solidly, step on the gas just a little and the car moves like one would expect it to without revving way up and causing a commotion. Now I know 2900 rpm stall certainly isn't 4500 rpm, but show me a 4500 rpm converter that has any kind of good street manners while running errands with Auntie Inez who keeps asking :Is this car broken?" "Your transmission is sure slipping badly...are we going to get home?: "I don't have my good walking shoes." "You should get this thing looked at" etc.
While you are at it show me a 3000 or 3500 rpm aftermarket converter that behaves like a stocker during routine low rpm around town missions. The Mrs. doesn't want to make a statement while parking the car at church choir practice. And then there is the fuel economy issue caused by all the slippage in the high stall converters. There doesn't seem to be a free lunch when it comes to performance torque converters.
Steve
 
I always thought it was funny as hell the Chevy guys that put Vega converters behind their hot small blocks and even big blocks thinkin they were the hot ticket. I personally have seen the results layin in a steaming pile of metal and trans fluid on the street. lol
I did exactly that on a turbo 350, a week later the trans was toast
 
The only way to check it is to road test it. Think about it. If you have paperwork or a number on the unit that said it had X stall and X Flash stall would that mean that’s what it is? Or will it be whatever it is after testing? Your best bet is to take it out and test the brake stall and then flash stall then you’ll know exactly. The search function here or do a a DuckDuckGo search On how to test for both
 
The only way to test it correctly is if it has a manual valve body. If it does, put it in high gear. Set the parking brake, hold the brake pedal firmly. Now ease into the gas watching the tach. When the tach stops climbing, that's your stall speed. You can do it in first gear if it's not a manual valve body, but your result will not be accurate. I would suspect you could subtract at least 500 RPM from that result to be "close". But that's just a guess.
 
MyMopar.com has a ton of free information on our early A bodies. Most of it is from the factory archives. I have an old Mopar transmission book from Randy's Ring and Pinion. I'll dig it up. Paul.
 
I did exactly that on a turbo 350, a week later the trans was toast
My brother had a friend back in the '70's that owned a street/strip 350 powered '66 chevelle. It had one of those vega converters in it. The converter worked really well without issues.
 
Now I know 2900 rpm stall certainly isn't 4500 rpm, but show me a 4500 rpm converter that has any kind of good street manners while running errands with Auntie Inez who keeps asking :Is this car broken?"

Have you ever driven a car with a modern 9.5" convertor in it from a place like dynamic or ultimate? You would be surprised as to how well they behave.
 
Have you ever driven a car with a modern 9.5" convertor in it from a place like dynamic or ultimate? You would be surprised as to how well they behave.
You can preach it till you're blue in the face and some people will be stuck in the 70s forever. They will just not listen. It'll be their loss.
 
I have a '70's era 9 inch converter in my 340 Duster. It feels quite mushy at low speeds. Stand on it,locks up and goes.
 
The Chevy guys found a smaller converter has a higher stall but they don't always like the horsepower.
I have a '70's era 9 inch converter in my 340 Duster. It feels quite mushy at low speeds. Stand on it,locks up and goes.
I don't know when the good performance converters became popular but the early ones were just like you described. I sold quite a few back then when I worked at the speed shop. Most were just smaller diameter converters for a higher stall. The converters now are way different by modifying them internally.
 
Have you ever driven a car with a modern 9.5" convertor in it from a place like dynamic or ultimate? You would be surprised as to how well they behave.
I had a Circle D converter in a late model Mustang. Cruising around town it felt stock but hit the gas pedal and it felt like you just added 50 horsepower. It dropped my ET half a second in the quarter mile.
 
I have a '70's era 9 inch converter in my 340 Duster. It feels quite mushy at low speeds. Stand on it,locks up and goes.
Those days are over…. If you want it to be.
You’ll love the new offerings. Mines a 9.5 that drives normal until you hit the go pedal hard.
 
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