Technical Torque converter to bell housing clearance on a Powerglide

How much clearance do you need between the converter and the bell housing on a Powerglide? The engine and trans are rebuilt and the converter is new. Nothing hits, but it’s close. And unfortunately it’s not my car, but I may get to drive it! And the rims are getting changed to the American 200s, 10” wide for the rear.



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How loose is the front pump bushing?
What does it look like bolted up to the engine?

 

Looks too close in the pic.. How much did you pull it up to get there?

 

Was the input shaft on the powerglide changed over to a turbo spline with 350/400 converter ?

 

Spun the engine over by hand and checked the clearance, it was .05, so it should be good.

It’s a stock Powerglide.


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Were ANY hard parts replaced during the rebuild? There are two different first gear ratios with aluminum Powerglides, 1.82 and 1.76; the 1.76 is the "stronger" of the two, and used with higher horsepower, or in heavy duty applications. The input shafts, planetary drive gear/plate, and planetary's are different and can't be mixed up, but they will go together and seem to fit/work, at least for a little while. The 1.82 input shaft is 12-5/8" long, the 1.76 is 12-7/8" long; that 1/4" difference can really mess things up if mixed up. You'd be surprised how many guys don't know that; saw one trans that the input shaft could't be removed from the torque converter as it was mushroomed so bad on the end. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I did not know that the input shafts are different lengths. Never seen aftermarket converters listed as being for specific ratio trans though? The 1.76 are the V8 trans and the 1.82 used on 6 cyl. Although on my old OT drag car I ran the 1.82 with transbrake and never had any reliability issues. I did have the 300M turbo spline input shaft, but my comment is that even the 6 cyl planetary is still quite strong.

 

It can really confusing with aluminum Powerglides. 283, 2 barrel engines came with the 1.82 ratio, as did 4 and 6 cylinders. But, if it was a 283, Powerglide in a Checker Taxi, then it would have had the 1.76 ratio. Also, the converter has no bearing on the shaft length; some aftermarket input shafts, it make s no difference on the ratio. Like I said, confusing. Just pay attention to the Mix-and match rule, not to it. Many guys don't know about this, and I've seen it done, only to mess up their Powerglide build. I too have used the 1.82 gear ratio for drag car builds without issues, and my Pro Bracket 56 Chevrolet was a BBC car. Again, it's not the converter, it's the don't mix parts, or unless it's the correct aftermarket shaft. Confusing! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.