it's time to start collecting parts for another project. i had a 440 with a 4-speed many years ago (remember the muscle car era?). liked it a LOT. now i've got a small body (the car, not me) that oughtta be killer with mega horsepressure. and how much easier is it to get gobs of hp & torque than a 440 mopar? it'd be really easy to put together with a 440/727 with low rear gears, but then you've got a drag racer, not a street car. i'm thinking that i'd like to be able to afford to put some gas in this thing and actually go somewhere further than the local cruise night. like several states away. i confess total ignorance of mopar transmissions other than the 4 gear i once had. this car will probably weigh less than 2,000 pounds. SO THE QUESTIONS: 1. did mopar make an overdrive automatic transmission behind a 440? 2. how about a 383? 3. what other tranny would be good to use if i can find an adapter?
look at this page from Hot Rod, it talks about using a OD tranny & the 383 & 440 is the same block....joe http://www.hotrod.com/howto/43323/
atch,I dont think you need a OD trans .A gear vender unit will bolt to your regular TF .That 518 deal looks to be a very expensive deal also.I am gonna let you in on something ,big torquie motor dont need a lot of gear.Run a 325 gear if you need to kick ass at the drags just use less tall slicks .I go 12.9 with 325 gear flathead car.
Seems to me that Wilcap makes Mopar to Chevy 700R4 adaptors. I recall having a 69 Charger( not light) w/383, 727 & 3.23 gears & getting 17 MPG on highway.
ok. so i've read the article and it sounds like an A518 automatic overdrive from a Dakota is probably what i'm lookin' for. and i've looked into my favorite tranny id website mr gasket tranny id and the A518 isn't shown. anyone got a website that identifies an A518 or can anyone tell me how to identify one in a boneyard? buying a new one is out of the question money-wise. i googled and found JVX which supposedly had identification illustrations, but they didn't show up on my computer. or is it as simple as looking for something that has a pan just like a 727 (and looks nearly identical) but has a shifter that shows overdrive on it? assuming that the tranny is still in the vehicle, of course. i'm not yet totally discounting using a 727 with tall gears and tall tires, but would like to explore the OD option thoroughly. also, isn't a gear vendors unit as pricey as buying a new A518? seems like i've seen them advertised for upwards of two grand. that right?
here's what i found...joe These transmissions continued the bulletproof line of the A727, A904, and A999. In essence, they were an A999 transmission (which mixed 904 and 727 specifications) with a lockup torque converter and overdrive planetary gear set. The gear ratios of these transmissions were not matched to the engines, which hurt gas mileage and perceptions of power though it saved some money. Generally, vehicles should be just above their peak torque while at cruising speed, which is generally around 65-75 mph in North America, to provide a good mix of mileage, hill-climbing, and passing acceleration. However, at the time, the corporation decided that money was not available to do this. The effect may not have been too bad. look in this site for some info http://www.transmissioncenter.net/727Transmission.htm here are some pics from http://www.technicalvideos.com/identify_my_transmission.phtml
All the Mopar overdrive auto are based on the small block transmission. A 383 and a 440 (and any other big block) use a different bellhousing then a small block. On a Mopar trans, the bellhousing is part of the auto. That means you would have to cut the bellhousing part off the trans and adapt the big bell to the trans. I believe there are companies that make adaptors that do exactly that, but I don't know who they are. If you had the 4 speed setup you could go with an overdrive 4 speed (mopar made them from about 82 up) that is a straight swap for the old 4 speed, although not quite as HD. You might want to visit www.moparts.com once you register someone there can give you the latest straight scoop with much BS. It is the HAMB for the Mopar world. Gene
[ QUOTE ] I believe there are companies that make adaptors that do exactly that, but I don't know who they are. [/ QUOTE ] Here they are http://www.racewithjw.com/, The product is called an UltraBell and it allows you to do various swaps, check it out. And your right about a Gear Vendor being expensive plus it maks for the longest trans I can imagine.
well, thanx folks. maybe i'll look another direction. sure like the sound of big block mopars, though. haven't had one in over 30 years and was starting to get excited about the possibility of having another. maybe the 440/727 with tall gears is the way to go.
I agree man, run a 440! They're dirt cheap (you should be able to find a complete, non-seized one for about $150-$250 if you look around--they're in the big junk-yard cars). And you can build them fairly cheap. The lack of the affordable OD is a problem, though. Gear Vendors is about $2000. A518 will work with an adapter plate. Someone makes one. Check out Mopar Muscle Magazine and start looking in their ads. What you're looking for is something A LOT of Mopar guys want to do, so it's been done--just gotta track it down. -Brad
The cheapest horsepower per dollar you will ever get is with a big block mopar. And I'd buy a quick change rear before I spent 2 grand on an overdrive setup.
thanx, everyone, for the responses. hey, 413, do you drive your red car on the street much or is it mostly a drag car? what rear gears you runnin'? does it break the bank to drive it on the highway? very cool car, b-t-w. wish i could have spent more time around it at the hamb drags, but it never sat still. you were always in line...
4.10 sure grip in a 8-3/4" rear end. Yes I drive it on the street all the time. It gets about 8 miles per gallon, and 110 octane is about $3.25 a gallon here. If i'm not going to beat on it, I will "water" it down with 92 octane ethanol free fuel, just to save money. It can drive 70 mph down the highway.... at 4000 rpm. I made a 200 mile trip doing just that with the car last year, it wasn't a problem. But I sure as hell wouldn't do that with a motor I was unsure of. I've always thought overdrives were kinda dumb, and honestly, for the money I would have into an overdrive system, I could build another wedge, another tranny, and another rear end with a better ratio for street driving, and swap them all in when I wanted to cruise. David
Atch, With the torque you can squeeze out of a 440 and a 2000 lb ride I would even worry about an overdrive. I'd just gear it tall and fly. A good stout 727 and say a 3.0 to a 3.26 gear should allow you to cruise the highway and still run it pretty good from light to light. I dpon't know what kind of milage you're looking for but with those gears a 26-29" tire and that vehicle weight you should easily get yourself into the 20s mpg.
I started to look into overdrive trans too but found I really don't need one. I have a 383 with a 727 trans and a 3.23 rear in a car that is well over 3000 pounds. It runs about 2800-3000 at 70. I think it was about a 28 inch tall tire. I have more then enuff power. I got about 13mpg on my last trip (Pa to Fl) but my motor is not stock. Any big block in a 2000lb car should fly and a taller gear might also keep the tire spin down and the gas milage up.
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