Hot Rods Pontiac Superduty 421 experts

Truly a thing of beauty!

HB

 

Yeah, I had a hard time walking away from it ...
Those pictures were taken on a Sunday... The day after the Woodward Cruise.....

 

Dang it, Harry! I yanked a 389/T-85 out of a 59 ambulance a few years ago...kept the bellhousing/clutch setup for my 34 and sold off the T-85 at the local swap meet for waaaaaay too little....wish I'd known then...

 

Wow! That is a rare transmission, Rocky! The Pontiac passenger car T-85s all had the very long tailhousing like the ones in the photo I posted on P. 4 of this thread. Only other T-85 I have seen with the super short tailshaft like that is a rebuilt Ford truck transmission that is on e-Bay just now. Not sure what it was in...... My '65 T-85N truck transmission is different...... Has the long tailhousing with an R11 overdrive unit.

Good news is...... With the bellhousing setup you have, you can use any 3, 4, 5 or 6 speed manual transmission that will fit a standard GM bolt pattern.

The Borg Warner T-85 was the standard transmission used throughout the '50s and early '60s for big block and other high HP applications. It was the transmission used in the first MOPAR 413 Max Wedge cars and the Pontiac Super Duty cars. 4-speeds were optional, but many of the Pontiac Super Duty cars were run with the T-85 because with the Pontiac's broad powerband, it was felt that in a drag car, shifting 3 times rather than 4 would be an advantage.

First car I had with the T-85 transmission was an ex-Sheriff's car I bought in 1970 as a daily driver. Ugliest car I have ever owned, but man, would it run! We called it the 'white whale' because it was solid white and had huge tail fins. It was a 1960 Dodge Belvedere 2-dr sedan. Looked like the car parked on the street behind the '59 in this photo except my car had no chrome side trim and it had a large spotlight on the drivers side. No light on top, though. There were holes in the middle of the dash where one of the old 'gumball machine' flashing red lights had been......



My '60 Belvedere had the 413 police interceptor engine with a Carter AFB carb and T-85 3-speed with column shift. Also had a 2.93 highway gear in the rearend. It was, I believe, Chrysler's 1st year building unibody cars. Very light for a car that size, weighed about the same as a '57 Chevy sedan. Massive torque. It would pull like a freight train in 2nd gear. You could literally wind it out to 90 MPH in 2nd gear before shifting into high gear and it got there pretty fast. I remember it had special 14" wheels that were made quite a bit like modern wheels are so that disc brakes will clear on the inside. Only the Dodge had drum brakes...... Very large drum brakes...... 12" dia. drums 3" wide at all 4 corners. And even without power assist...... It stopped very well.

Happy Motoring,

Harry

 

Nice looking cat!

 

That's Holmes. He likes to pal around and help me do things. Our last 2 feral kittens we have brought into the house are Holmes and Watson. This photo was taken last year. Both have since grown up and are now about 25 lbs. each.

Best regards,

Harry

 

I have one just like it.... Her name is Mollie....

 

I have a 3 speed T85 in my Modified - it backs up the 347 that came out of a 57 GMC pick up. I converted it to floor shift and cable clutch using Citroen 2CV parts and a shifter that I made using aluminium rods and rose joints. A good Hurst shifter is big money over here - even if I could find one.






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Here’s the shifter - uses two levers like a dirt tracker. First gear is so low on this truck box that I won’t need it. The first/reverse lever has a lock out.





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Nicely done, blackjack! If I might ask...... How did you set up your reverse lockout? I have an overdrive unit on my T-85 3-speed and locking out OD when reverse is engaged is absolutely imperative, lest you blow the sun gear to smithereens!

Many moons ago, I used a separate lever for reverse on a 4-speed shifter (missing parts necessitated this). Always remembered never to engage reverse and any forward gears at same time, but I'm in my 70s now and don't want to leave anything to chance.

Best regards,

Harry

 

Small world, Deuces! We have 2 dogs and one of them is named Mollie. The cats have adopted her and they are all buds now.

Best regards,

Harry

 

It is just a mechanical lock out like you would find in a Ferrari or similar. I can do other pictures if it helps. The locking bit is made from a cabin latch off a Viscount, a spanner, some flat bar and a couple of springs. It’s a bit steam punk but works fine.




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Thanks, blackjack! I love steam punk! I see what you have done there. Quite functional. I may be able to do something in a similar vein. Will give it some thought.

Best regards,

Harry

 

To bring a old thread back, but as I have been looking into vintage carbs and induction setups. Were the little chrome air cleaners on the 62/63 Super duty dual 4 set ups the same air cleaners used on 56/57 dual quad corvettes? They look to be the same in pictures, but I thought the air horn on a AFB was larger than the WCFB. If they are not the same is someone making reproductions for those air cleaners?

 

Try Ames (Pontiac) or Paragon (Corvette) reproduction parts.

 

A little late to the party but to answer the question the dual quad air filters from the WCFB will fit the early AFB carbs. However, I don’t know if a real super duty AFB had a large air horn or not. Probably not. Also they are too small for the modern Carter/Edlebrock AFB style carbs.
Scott


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Here’s a bitchin factory 421 HO tri power w T10 in a 64 Grand Prix I built for a customer

 

I'm noticing the OP hasn't replied in a while but this thread was revisited a week or so ago. I've got nothing at all on SD 421s experience wise. Now having said that I do for the time being have a 62 389 SD block in my possession. Mentioned it briefly in a few other posts. Once it's checked out professionally it will be making it's way to a gentleman that has the required knowledge,parts and interest make something of it again. All of the telltale codes and features are present on the block. Yet the engine # isn't on the list of 179 cars published. It does fall in consecutively with 3 421 SD cars on the list though. Most intriguing part I've come up with in my travels.

 

I wish still had my ‘64 GP, had a 421 ahhhh memories.......


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Let’s see some photos!

 

Not great pics. It's crusty but tried to get the cylinder chamfers and the ribs on the rear of the block.

 

Don't know fe-sure about the Alum. exhaust manis but...........Hot Rod reported it and had pictures. Remember it well from when I was a kid. There was Big Catalina(Attaway-Easterlin Pontiac Motors) with the 421SD-4 speed that competed at the local drag strip back in the early 60's (Star Light Drag Strip, Ware Shoals, SC) He was THE MAN until the light-weight 427 Galaxies come on the scene a few years later.
(I'll bet Gene Cromer would remember the car!)

6sally6

 

old thread, but I'm compelled to answer the question...there's a bone stock '63 SDS421 Cat running 12.60's on Youtube, and Stan Long's '63 Tempest ran 11.90's at 123mph

'63 Catalina 12.60's

Stan Long's car 11.90's

and others have gone faster than that with modern tires, suspension mods.

 

Cool!.....

 

I hate to bring up an old thread. But I recently came across this 1963 Super Duty lightweight aluminum bell housing. Sadly it will need repaired.