I am thinking about getting the TCI Saturday Night Special torque converter, for my 305, after it's built up nicely.

TCI says it will give me an increase of 400-500 rpm over stock, in stall speed.

But I don't know the stall speed of my stock converter in my 86 305 TPI/700r4 combo.

So, does anyone know what my stall speed will be with this converter installed?

Thanks to anyone who helps.

 

Typical stock stall speed is 1200-1500 rpm. More often, it's on the low end of the scale.

Stall speed isn't a carved in stone number. The same converter behind different engines will stall at different speeds. For street use, you want a stall speed around 500 rpm into the engine's powerband which is determined by the camshaft. Since OEM or similar camshafts are designed to operate at low rpms where you do most of your driving, something in the 1800-2200 is the most you want to go.

 

I talked to Lunati about their retro-roller, and they told me my stall should be 2200-2400, and it would work well on my 305.

The cam specs are: .507/.517-211/219 @.050-with rpm range 1600-5600

So, I want a stall that is 500 rpm over 1600, for this particular cam, correct? I don't know if the Saturday Night Special from TCI will suffice or not. I like the price of it, compared to other converters that are twice as much, but I also want it to work right.

Also, when changing to a small cap hei distributor, it looks like I'll have to change the plugs that plug into the distributor. I wonder if the wire colors are the same. That would be nice.

 

You should call the guys at TCI, they know what they are doing. They will ask for your cam specs and all that and tell you what you need.

 

That's a good idea. I'll do that.

 

OK, here's the thing about torque converter stall speeds: it all depends on how much torqe is being sent to it. If you build your stock engine to put out more torque at lower engine speeds, or, say, drop a big block into the car, you will find that your stock torque converter now flashes up to a higher speed. And you can't really measure the stall speed by applying the brakes and loading up the converter, either, all that will measure is how strong your brakes are. So, torque converter stall speed ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt, because they don't really mean all that much. The only thing they are really any good for is comparing one converter to another. The whole thing is kinda mysterious. Even people who know what they are talking about (which I don't claim to be) will really be taking an educated guess as to where your new torque converter will actually stall. It takes a lot of experience with that sort of stuff to get it right first try, so just find a reliable expert, (like the guys at TCI) and follow their advice. Like Tommy Boy said, "I can get a good look at a t-bone steak by sticking my head up a cow's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it!"


Scott