Automatic transmission

[vso737]

Hi all,

YES, I finally had he "GIRLY" automatic "TCI" Street Fighter 727 with a 2400 stall T/C installed and a "B & M" Quick Silver manual/auto shifter and also replaced my 3.91 gears for 2.76 gears.

NOW, I just have to get my GIRLY wife to drive this 'monster' so we can both drive our rides to the many local car shows in our area. Can't wait for the 2016 show season to start.

For a BIG BLOCK 383CI with an after market intake and 750 CARB and a mild camshaft..........less than 2500 miles on the rebuilt motor with low compression pistons............the car is SLUGGISH off the line compared to when I had the 4 speed and the 3.91 gears. BUT, it is a pleasure to drive and BEST of all, my TACHOMETER reads 2100 RPM at approx 60-65 MPH. I replaced the speedometer gear but they did NOT have the exact one the calculator called for so I purchased the closest thing to it. I do NOT know how accurate my speedometer is but the tachometer is new and driving on the freeway at that speed and hearing that motor cruise along was MUSIC to my ears.

Maybe some day in the far future..............I will install an OVERDRIVE transmission and if I do, my 3.91 gears are going back in the carrier.

The ONLY thing better is the overdrive 4th gear on my Model A hot rod with a 1968 327 CI motor..............cruise at 1900 RPM doing 60 MPH on the freeway and I have plenty of punch on the street with the 3.73 gears..........actually the best of both worlds.

LG,
Mike

 

[Mopar Vince]

So how long did it take and what did you spend overall for the conversion?
Who did the work for you?
Did they do a clean job?
You did save the 4 speed stuff right?

 

[vso737]

So how long did it take and what did you spend overall for the conversion?
Who did the work for you?
Did they do a clean job?
You did save the 4 speed stuff right?

Hi Vince,
As the OLD saying goes, "there are two sides to every story", I'm sure my CROOK must have something up his sleeve in the event he did NOT pick on a sucker. If not, that's why our jail is FULL. These guys are too smart for their own good. Having said that, I'm still waiting for the "BAR" investigator to contact me. I prefer not to mention any names until my case is resolved. I expect a positive resolution on the matter.
In a "nut shell", an $1,100 estimate of 11 hours, for a 2-3 day job...............my car was kept 7 days and my SURPRISE final bill was 43.5 hours which equates to $4,300 USD. In good faith, I added a few more very small items to the job which I estimated in my head at $95 an hour. I was expecting a bill of anywhere from 15 hours to a maximum of 20 and that the 20 hours would be way out there. There is NO verbal or written justification for how he came up with 43.5 hours. I was NEVER apprised of any change from the original verbal 11 hours.
To answer your question of how long...........On the first day he had the car- I dropped it off at 0800 hours on a Monday, by lunch time, the same day, the entire four speed and third member were on the floor under the car and the new 727 was installed.
As far as good work........COULD NOT ask for any better. This CROOK does exceptional good work and has plenty of work coming his way. That is another thing that puzzles me, he can't be doing this to everyone and therefor WHY ME???? I suspect because he thought this old white hair charming-easy going-amicable friendly guy with deep pockets would take it lying down. He could NOT be any further from the truth..........Oh, he was right on all of the first part......just EXTREMELY WRONG on the latter part, I'm NOT a deep pockets guy and it is in my DNA to not let wrong doing go unpunished. I spent my entire adult life dedicated to putting CROOKS behind bars. I KNOW that had I let him know what I did for a living, he most likely would have not tried to pull this off. On the other hand, who knows what his motivation was. Maybe it is for KICKS to see if he can get away with it. We are NOT talking about a HUGE amount of money here...................if I owned a business, I would NOT put my reputation and license in jeopardy for a couple of thousand bucks.
As to keeping the transmission. I sold it the same MONDAY, first day it was taken out and had three guys waiting for it. I GAVE IT AWAY..............
That's another thing that really made me mad. I know nothing about MOPAR cars. I asked this CROOK about what I could get for the trans., he consulted with his main mechanic and they gave me a quote of $600 and told me to go to a MOPAR transmission shop that he could give me an estimate because this guy dealt with MOPAR. I contacted the guy immediately a few minutes after this conversation........the guy told me he did NOT buy transmissions nor did he have any clue what it waa worth. I thought that was odd.
I came up with my own estimate. The day I picked up the car the CROOK asked me of my intentions with the transmission (now I felt he was trying to steal if from under me from the get go), I told him I gave it away for $960. His response was that the bell housing alone was worth $800 and that I could get as much as $2,500 for all of it. I was still fuming from getting the inflated bill and reminded him about his answer of the $600 .......he said they did not know at the time, they were giving me CHEVY and FORD prices and had NO idea of how expensive MOPAR parts were until three days ago. He just finished modifying a 1968 GTX and they know plenty about MOPAR cars.
Finally, NO, I sold it because I needed the $$$$$$ to pay for the swap and I'm not restoring an ORIGINAL RR nor do I ever plan on selling it or driving it as a four speed again. I still like to keep the car as original looking as possible on the outside as with my 1930 Model A Sport Coupe that I built.

Let me just say, this CROOK is very GOOD............both at deception and the work he does. Even worse, he's very friendly and a very likable guy. So was TED BUNDY. That is what makes this guy dangerous. I still "kick myself in the ass" for getting taken in so easily...........if anyone, I should have known better. I did NOT start to get suspicious something was NOT right until the car was in the shop three days and he kept on telling me how much trouble he had finding the ground wire for the shifter neutral safety switch and how difficult the clutch was to remove.

I live in the LAND Of CLASSIC CARS and have NOT even owned my jewel ONE month yet. I can tell you that ROADRUNNERS are very rare in my "neck of the woods" and I can't even tell you the last time I saw a 1969 RR. I have seen a couple of '68 RR at local shows and one '69. People talk to me about the car even at traffic lights.
I have been wanting a 1969 RR Coupe ever since 1969. I finally got one and now I guess I will have to keep my guard up whenever I need anything done beyond my capabilities. I do ALL of the mechanical and everything else on my MODEL A and my new cars ONLY see the dealers. NO MORE "hot rod" specialty shops for me and who ever does any work on my RR in the future, is going to be 'micro managed' by me during the entire job. Hope it does NOT need an mechanic for a looong time.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

WHoa! this turned into a swap to a bad business lol. Hey vso737 you said the "B & M Quick Silver manual/auto shifter" are you referring to the shifter has manual features or the trans can be shifted like a manual without a clutch? My Hurst Pro V is a ratchet shifter with my 727 I wish there was a kit to makes these have a manual mode like the BMW's that would be fun clutchless manual shifting Anyway just wanted to clear it up for my pea brain thanks,

Also do you have a smartphone? When I changed my speedo gear I used the calc but also used the compass app on my phone to help dial in where it actual is, run at a steady 65-70 for a good 5 min and check the app it should tell you what you are actually running at mph wise. Then compare it to your gauge and see if you are forward or behind a few mph, then you can get the right gear.



Broke up your post so my head wouldn't exploder trying to read through it. Sorry to hear about this shop taking advantage of you, Where in Cal are you? I'm in NorCal If you need any suggestions or help with anything just let me know

Hi Vince,
As the OLD saying goes, "there are two sides to every story", I'm sure my CROOK must have something up his sleeve in the event he did NOT pick on a sucker. If not, that's why our jail is FULL. These guys are too smart for their own good. Having said that, I'm still waiting for the "BAR" investigator to contact me.

I prefer not to mention any names until my case is resolved. I expect a positive resolution on the matter.


In a "nut shell", an $1,100 estimate of 11 hours, for a 2-3 day job...............my car was kept 7 days and my SURPRISE final bill was 43.5 hours which equates to $4,300 USD. In good faith, I added a few more very small items to the job which I estimated in my head at $95 an hour.

I was expecting a bill of anywhere from 15 hours to a maximum of 20 and that the 20 hours would be way out there. There is NO verbal or written justification for how he came up with 43.5 hours. I was NEVER apprised of any change from the original verbal 11 hours.


To answer your question of how long...........On the first day he had the car- I dropped it off at 0800 hours on a Monday, by lunch time, the same day, the entire four speed and third member were on the floor under the car and the new 727 was installed.


As far as good work........COULD NOT ask for any better. This CROOK does exceptional good work and has plenty of work coming his way. That is another thing that puzzles me, he can't be doing this to everyone and therefor WHY ME???? I suspect because he thought this old white hair charming-easy going-amicable friendly guy with deep pockets would take it lying down.


He could NOT be any further from the truth..........Oh, he was right on all of the first part......just EXTREMELY WRONG on the latter part, I'm NOT a deep pockets guy and it is in my DNA to not let wrong doing go unpunished. I spent my entire adult life dedicated to putting CROOKS behind bars.


I KNOW that had I let him know what I did for a living, he most likely would have not tried to pull this off. On the other hand, who knows what his motivation was. Maybe it is for KICKS to see if he can get away with it. We are NOT talking about a HUGE amount of money here...................


if I owned a business, I would NOT put my reputation and license in jeopardy for a couple of thousand bucks.


As to keeping the transmission. I sold it the same MONDAY, first day it was taken out and had three guys waiting for it. I GAVE IT AWAY..............That's another thing that really made me mad.



I know nothing about MOPAR cars. I asked this CROOK about what I could get for the trans., he consulted with his main mechanic and they gave me a quote of $600 and told me to go to a MOPAR transmission shop that he could give me an estimate because this guy dealt with MOPAR.


I contacted the guy immediately a few minutes after this conversation........the guy told me he did NOT buy transmissions nor did he have any clue what it waa worth. I thought that was odd.

I came up with my own estimate. The day I picked up the car the CROOK asked me of my intentions with the transmission (now I felt he was trying to steal if from under me from the get go), I told him I gave it away for $960.


His response was that the bell housing alone was worth $800 and that I could get as much as $2,500 for all of it. I was still fuming from getting the inflated bill and reminded him about his answer of the $600

.......he said they did not know at the time, they were giving me CHEVY and FORD prices and had NO idea of how expensive MOPAR parts were until three days ago. He just finished modifying a 1968 GTX and they know plenty about MOPAR cars.



Finally, NO, I sold it because I needed the $$$$$$ to pay for the swap and I'm not restoring an ORIGINAL RR nor do I ever plan on selling it or driving it as a four speed again. I still like to keep the car as original looking as possible on the outside as with my 1930 Model A Sport Coupe that I built.


Let me just say, this CROOK is very GOOD............both at deception and the work he does.


Even worse, he's very friendly and a very likable guy.


So was TED BUNDY. That is what makes this guy dangerous. I still "kick myself in the ass" for getting taken in so easily...........if anyone, I should have known better. I did NOT start to get suspicious something was NOT right until the car was in the shop three days and he kept on telling me how much trouble he had finding the ground wire for the shifter neutral safety switch and how difficult the clutch was to remove.



I live in the LAND Of CLASSIC CARS and have NOT even owned my jewel ONE month yet.



I can tell you that ROADRUNNERS are very rare in my "neck of the woods" and I can't even tell you the last time I saw a 1969 RR. I have seen a couple of '68 RR at local shows and one '69. People talk to me about the car even at traffic lights.


I have been wanting a 1969 RR Coupe ever since 1969. I finally got one and now I guess I will have to keep my guard up whenever I need anything done beyond my capabilities. I do ALL of the mechanical and everything else on my MODEL A and my new cars ONLY see the dealers.


NO MORE "hot rod" specialty shops for me and who ever does any work on my RR in the future, is going to be 'micro managed' by me during the entire job. Hope it does NOT need an mechanic for a looong time.

 

[vso737]

WHoa! this turned into a swap to a bad business lol. Hey vso737 you said the "B & M Quick Silver manual/auto shifter" are you referring to the shifter has manual features or the trans can be shifted like a manual without a clutch? My Hurst Pro V is a ratchet shifter with my 727 I wish there was a kit to makes these have a manual mode like the BMW's that would be fun clutchless manual shifting Anyway just wanted to clear it up for my pea brain thanks,

Also do you have a smartphone? When I changed my speedo gear I used the calc but also used the compass app on my phone to help dial in where it actual is, run at a steady 65-70 for a good 5 min and check the app it should tell you what you are actually running at mph wise. Then compare it to your gauge and see if you are forward or behind a few mph, then you can get the right gear.

Broke up your post so my head wouldn't exploder trying to read through it. Sorry to hear about this shop taking advantage of you, Where in Cal are you? I'm in NorCal If you need any suggestions or help with anything just let me know

I live in Ventura County........the one just North of Los Angeles.
I have the "Quick Silver" 'B & M" forward shifter. You can manually shift it or just leave it I'm in Vin DRIVE and kick back. I drove it today and LOVE it. I mainly use it to down shift and mostly leave it in "D". My wife has NOT driven it yet but I think she will like it. One has to PULL UP on the lever to go to park and neutral. It is done to prevent any accidental shifting into "R" or "P", I think it will take a little getting used to. ONE can shift just like you do with a clutch BUT ONLY better because there is NO LAG time and much faster shifting than one can do with a clutch. The shifts are INSTANTANEOUS without lag time. OR, you can just leave it in DRIVE and let the transmission do all the work. GREAT INVENTION.
I purchased it through SUMMIT RACING.........you should be able to go on the website and find out all about it. Made the swap pretty easy with the shift cable for the 727 Street Fighter.

NO, I'm too stupid for a 'smart phone'...........LOL I still use my flip up phone ........it was the latest gadget out there when I got it. I never use it either..............

This is why I LOVE the "Speedhut" GPS gauges I installed in my '30 Model A hot-rod. I get 6 functions out of my speedometer/tach gauge and never have to worry about calibration. ONLY when I go into a tunnel- loose the signal. ONLY one tunnel near me and it is in Santa Barbara about 100 miles from me.

Can't wait for the "BAR" investigator to contact me on Friday.

When I moved the RR out of the garage today to remove the RH door panel and install the new RH side mirror, I noticed a LARGE lube puddle on the floor under the rear end and transmission fluid on the garage floor. Further investigation revealed that all the carrier nuts were loose. I could back them off by hand. They did NOT use the carrier gasket I supplied..........I know a lot of mechanics rather use a sealer instead of gaskets, but one has to tighten the nuts after the sealant sets for a while. He either forgot to go back and tighten the nuts on the carrier or it is another SCAM to get me back in there. I would NOT go back there if they were the LAST SHOP in the STATE.
As far as the transmission fluid, I found a small amount but could NOT determine where it is coming from. I'm hoping it is just spill over from when they filled the transmission. I did notice that the THREE PRONG NS plug has NOTHING on it. I have backup lights when I put it in reverse and the car starts in PARK. I have not tried to start it in any other gear. The shifter I have locks in PARK so I really don't need this NS switch hooked up unless TCI tells me it needs to be. I will contact them tomorrow..............
I'm pretty happy on how the car runs. I was never aware of HOW MUCH HEAT these big block motors put out with the headers. It really puts out a lot of heat with the hood open and idling............I could also feel the heat while driving.
I will look into having them coated or maybe I will wrap them. I wrapped all of the exhaust on my Model A from the exhaust manifold all the way back on both sides.

LG,
Mike

 

[Basketcase]

don't worry about that speedometer being correct...there is always someone in uniform ready and willing to let you know your speed....

 

[A12]

don't worry about that speedometer being correct...there is always someone in uniform ready and willing to let you know your speed....

Just get a GPS...........and then later when you have time get a couple of speedo gears. With the GPS you can pretty much calculate the error and which speedo gear you might need. Did that with the the '68 Road Runner when I swapped the trans and put 15" tires and wheels on it and the same on the '69 GTX. GPS's are great for that and I know plenty of car and bike guys that only use a GPS for the speedo all of the time.


Edit; Oops I just read more of your post and saw the GPS gauges part you wrote, never mind :eagerness:

 

[vso737]

Just get a GPS...........and then later when you have time get a couple of speedo gears. With the GPS you can pretty much calculate the error and which speedo gear you might need. Did that with the the '68 Road Runner when I swapped the trans and put 15" tires and wheels on it and the same on the '69 GTX. GPS's are great for that and I know plenty of car and bike guys that only use a GPS for the speedo all of the time.


Edit; Oops I just read more of your post and saw the GPS gauges part you wrote, never mind :eagerness:

When I purchased the speedometer gear, from Summit Racing, for the gear ratio swap, the sales person had a calculator that he was using to determined which gear to use with the automatic and my ring and pinion gear. He told me that they did NOT make the gear that the calculations recommended and sold me the nearest gear that it called for. So, I'm pretty sure that my speedometer is not accurate. But I don't think it is that far off either. My calculations indicated that I should be clocking 1,987 RPM traveling at a speed of 60 MPH. I was traveling at around 60-65 and the tach was at 2,100 RPM..................
I'm more than pleased how this 'monster' handles on the freeway............I can drive all day long cruising a nice 2100 RPM's..............it's MUSIC to my ears.

I have the "GPS" speedometer on my '30 Model A, from "SPEEDHUT". I can't be any happier with those gauges. As far as the '69 RR, I don't intend on messing with the gauges at all. I will see about getting the speedometer calibrated .................

My project though is getting the WATER TEMPERATURE gauge to work. I replaced the sending unit at the engine and still no luck. I also do NOT get the FUEL GAUGE to register FULL when I fill up the tank. It registers around the half way mark. SLOWLY BUT SURELY.....................

LG,
Mike

 

[A12]

Did Summit include the tire diameter in the equation for determining the speedometer gear?

And you could always go out on I-5 and time yourself with a stopwatch between the mile posts and compare it to the speedometer reading.............

 

[vso737]

Did Summit include the tire diameter in the equation for determining the speedometer gear?

And you could always go out on I-5 and time yourself with a stopwatch between the mile posts and compare it to the speedometer reading.............

I believe the salesman asked me the diameter, mine are 28". I do use the SUMMIT RACING calculator on their website to figure out the RPMs at a certain speed. All you need is your gear ratio and tire diameter.............
All he told me is that he had a calculator that would determine which gears to use in the tranny. They did not have the gears that the calculations called for and I purchased the nearest one to it.

Our back country roads in the county usually have a SPEED check billboard that tells you exactly how fast your are going as you approach it. I will be on that road next week to see what it registers.