Trans shield

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What moparstud said : I have a CSI shield on the small block / 904 in my 68 Dart and I also had to make access holes in the firewall to access the bell housing bolts , my car is high ten second capable but is slowed down to run 11.50s I technically don't need the shield for that E.T but leave it in for safety .

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I jumped at a screaming-deal on an ATI Turbo-400, with all the goodies [it had 10 passes on it]. Since I already had it, it went into the Krusty build. I bought it with a BB/hemi bell, but just ordered a SB bell from ATI. After engine-dyno, I have to send the converter to ATI for it's new usage. Gonna see how well it works...hopefully, soon.

The aftermarket support for the bowtie stuff, can be appealing.

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Very cool.....didn't know that option was out there. Sounds pricey. I'm guessing that would use the mopar starter and torque converter?
 
I have a shield on the pro-trans in my silver car. They can be a real PITA, but my limbs are worth more. NEVER second-guess safety. Lots of weird stuff happens with racecars.
 
Very cool.....didn't know that option was out there. Sounds pricey. I'm guessing that would use the mopar starter and torque converter?
It uses a Turbo converter, ATI flywheel, and mopar starter. I bought it from an estate, car part-out [convoluted story]. Paid about 1/3 of brand new price. Otherwise, I wouldn't have it...
 
For the guys that cut access holes into the firewall, are you using a stock k-member or an aftermarket one?

The reason I ask is because I've read that the QA1 (and maybe others too) k-member moves the engine forward about 1" from the stock location. I'm wondering if that extra space will give me enough room to install the shield without cutting.

My drivetrain is out of the car now, so I might as well tackle it.
 
For the guys that cut access holes into the firewall, are you using a stock k-member or an aftermarket one?

The reason I ask is because I've read that the QA1 (and maybe others too) k-member moves the engine forward about 1" from the stock location. I'm wondering if that extra space will give me enough room to install the shield without cutting.

My drivetrain is out of the car now, so I might as well tackle it.
1975 Duster originally a 318 car, has a 440 in it with motor mounts. If QA1 would move the engine forward an inch that may help, but that may also not be the best for weight transfer. The reason the bell bolts are such a pain is with the CSR shield you add the thickness of the shield, plus there's a flat metal bracket for extra strength that goes from the top bolt to the 2nd bolt down on each side. I don't know what the thickness of both are offhand, but with both probably adding close to 1/2" so that just makes it pretty much impossible to get a wrench on the bolts.
 
So how does it perform compared to mopar trans?
Lots say the T400 is faster than a 727. how much? I’m sure each car is different in that regard. Why is it faster? I’ve never done a T400 to know from experience, but I know the functionality of the T400 is different than the 727. That is what I believe the reason is for why people say it’s faster than the 727. Biggest reason guys go to T400 is because of parts availability, gear ratio options, and biggest one in my opinion is the SFI case and bell housing.
 

1975 Duster originally a 318 car, has a 440 in it with motor mounts. If QA1 would move the engine forward an inch that may help, but that may also not be the best for weight transfer. The reason the bell bolts are such a pain is with the CSR shield you add the thickness of the shield, plus there's a flat metal bracket for extra strength that goes from the top bolt to the 2nd bolt down on each side. I don't know what the thickness of both are offhand, but with both probably adding close to 1/2" so that just makes it pretty much impossible to get a wrench on the bolts.

That's a good point. My car has a static 51/49 weight balance with me in the seat. It'll be interesting to see how it hooks when I come off of the transbrake with the engine being forward a bit.

I really don't want to cut access holes in my floor if I can help it. This is a street car with carpet and interior, so tearing everything out just to detach the motor and trans if needed would be a pain.

Hmmm....
 
I never ran a temp gauge until recently but I don't feel the shield causes a problem. With an 8" 4500 converter I have seen 200 in the pan once. It was during drag week 21 where we had a 17 mile crawl in 5 lanes of traffic, took 2 hours.
 
That's a good point. My car has a static 51/49 weight balance with me in the seat. It'll be interesting to see how it hooks when I come off of the transbrake with the engine being forward a bit.

I really don't want to cut access holes in my floor if I can help it. This is a street car with carpet and interior, so tearing everything out just to detach the motor and trans if needed would be a pain.

Hmmm....
I have 4 holes cut inline with the bellhousing bolt holes. Its just below the carpet line and I cover them with sheet metal patches. You can hardly see them and they are a massive time saver even without the shield.
 
The aftermarket definitely supports the Chevy stuff more. It’s just pretty costly to switch over from 727/904 to a glide, or T400. The shield or blanket costs much less than totally switching to a T400 or Glide. Pretty much the main reason I’ve never swapped to a glide.

that‘s a bandaid I should have ripped off long ago….. but to be honest I haven’t priced a decent glide. Shifter $700, new driveshaft $800.…
probably cheaper that the 904 I’m having built.
 
that‘s a bandaid I should have ripped off long ago….. but to be honest I haven’t priced a decent glide. Shifter $700, new driveshaft $800.…
probably cheaper that the 904 I’m having built.


Wholly crap. I’ve never paid over 250.00 for a driveshaft. Lol
 
that‘s a bandaid I should have ripped off long ago….. but to be honest I haven’t priced a decent glide. Shifter $700, new driveshaft $800.…
probably cheaper that the 904 I’m having built.
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve priced it out time and time again. Hell even this winter I’ve almost pulled the trigger and started ordering parts. But in the end, it was cheaper to just run what I have lol.
 
Ok so we’re adhering to John’s 1987 budget…. So where am I going to get the $300 converter and $400 glide
 
Ok so we’re adhering to John’s 1987 budget…. So where am I going to get the $300 converter and $400 glide

I was lucky enough to get into glides years ago. My spare transmission cost me 250.00 with a 1.76 gear and transbrake. I had everything here to build my son a powerglide that would have cost him 250-300.00. He hasn’t had enough money to race for over 4 years so what did he do??? Had a 4000.00 powerglide built and a fab 9 inch. He won’t be racing his car again this year because of lack of funds.
 
Lol I was actually going to ask you, how much you wanted for a glide case. Or your whole 1.98 glide minus the bell.

I sold my 1.98 this year and bought another 1.80 gearset. I won’t sell any of my ATI cases or gearsets but like I said if you want the big block mid plate and an empty stock powerglide case you can have it for free just in case. I sold all my stock 1.76 gearsets to Bob Spelic for 150.00. He is building and selling race ready powerglides.
 
I greatly appreciate it John. I am going to have to take you up on that!!! I actually have a powerglide 1.76 in my garage. Me and Danny rebuilt it and listed for sale. It’s setup for footbrake so I would need a trans brake for it if I kept it. But I’ll definitely take that case and mid plate and then start gathering pieces for it. Your the man
 
Lots say the T400 is faster than a 727. how much? I’m sure each car is different in that regard. Why is it faster? I’ve never done a T400 to know from experience, but I know the functionality of the T400 is different than the 727. That is what I believe the reason is for why people say it’s faster than the 727. Biggest reason guys go to T400 is because of parts availability, gear ratio options, and biggest one in my opinion is the SFI case and bell housing.
The case and bell were my main draw. Plus it's rated to 1500hp. It did require a tunnel mod, but it won't even show. I'll see how it works, come summer...
 
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