F-Body Demon

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys. Here I am again pestering yalls for answers (thanks btw lol)

Here is the scoop. I want a 2 or 3 speed automatic for my 85 T/A for drags. I would like to do a Powerglide...however I cant seem to find a crossmember that works for the PG. I know UMI sells a good crossmember for TH-350/700R4/T5 but no PG?

Has anyone here done the swap? Anyone here have the info? I would like to know how well it works on a third gen. I also would like to know about strength.

Thanks alot guys!

elky74

Spohn's: http://www.spohn.net/product.cfm?productid=1319

Or this: http://www.spohn.net/product.cfm?productid=1305

AlkyIROC

I made my own but the Powerglide and TH350 share the same crossmember or are close enough to work. In the old days, it was a common swap to yank the powerglide out of your car and install the new TH350 in it's place.

Shagwell

IMO - don't waste time or money on a PG - We went through 4 different brands(ATI, TCI, J.W., can't remember other), 2 of which were over $6k. Their techs reccomended them for the application, said they'd fix any problems. I think we got 3 passes out of the JW the 2nd time we got it back from them. Otherwise, they made 2 passes, ok the 1st, vary drive the 2nd, nobody home if/when we tried a 3rd. All companies wouldn't warranty past the 2nd return. I realize these are "race application", but if your tech reccomends it and it won't take it, you should do something about it.

Glides are fine for lightweight vehicles racing for consistency. If you want to go fast and have it stay together go another route.

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of racers running them. But, most/many will go through 1-2 per season. We got 2 seasons out of our 400 in the blower car. At the end of the 2nd I went through it with only a clutch kit.

AlkyIROC

I've been running my glide for a few seasons now with no problems. I had to adjust the band last year but that's about it.

Junkyard 1.76 powerglide. Turbo spline input shaft so I could reuse my old torque converter. Dual ring servo piston. Steel clutch hub to replace the weak factory cast one. Aftermarket linkage kit. That's about it. I also installed a TCI transbrake valve body and stuck it in the car. Nowhere near a $6000 tranny and it's surviving fine. There's a lot of other things that can be done to it to make it even stronger.

I wouldn't recommend a 1.82 ratio PG normally found behind 6 cylinder engines. The gears are a lot weaker. You also need to find specific years. Not all powerglides are the same. They went through a few changes over the years. The best ones are near the end of their production run and those are getting hard to find.

AutoRoc

iTrader: (1)

Spohn's crossmember works really well, as all of their products do. It was shipped within the week if I remember correctly.

I have a local built 1.76 glide(-Joel's on Joy- here in Michigan) and the builder said it would be fine for 800-900hp and no more... HOWEVER, tire chatter, wheel hop, or a shock coming out of the burnout box can break the internals easily so try to avoid that. I am looking to put out 700-800 and he had no worries, although he said a TH350 would be quicker because of the car's weight of 3400lbs and the fact that I had 3.73 gears and 28" slicks(7000rpm in high gear is roughly 150mph). On motor it isn't ideal but on nitrous I think it will make for a consistant launch, minimal traction issues even on a small tire, etc. The torque converter also needs to be close to perfect so that the engine doesn't bog down with such a low first gear. I have a 5000 stall and shift at 7000 and on motor alone, I believe that's perfect. I may have to get it tightened up to 4000 for big nitrous hits. If nitrous isn't an issue, do a glide/good converter and gear the car for max speed in the 1/4 mile and it will work good. Otherwise a 3 speed is what you want. It'll allow you to run a slightly tighter converter and a more streetable rear gear without bogging at the track in first gear. Goodluck!

Also good info...If you need a trans shield, I did a B&M shield and a CSR kevlar flexplate shield and it fits good and tight. A normal sheetmetal flexplate shield WILL NOT fit in our cars. A Lokar flexible dip stick was a must for me also, worked out perfect.