Just make one call. Vigilante 9.5 inch. mod the tranny for 4th gear only lockup and the ability to use WOT in 4th without a kick down. Use a 3.90 rear end.

 

I agree with camshaft manufacture recommendations also. I'll give some real world specs as what I have now.

355 ci sbc
180cc pro topline iron heads 64cc chambers
60103 voodoo camshaft
9.5 to 1 compression
600cfm edle carb
performer edle intake
2004r trans built to handle 400 hp with lockup 4th gear only
2400 rpm stall converter
355 rear gear

The voodoo cam specs make power from 1800rpm to 6200. I have not had the engine dynoed so dont know what the hp rating is. The car will hold a incline at idle in gear and will move forward at idle on a flat surface in drive without using the brake. The 2400 stall was recommended buy the Luanti rep and has proved to be a good match. This 81 will now roast the tires from a dead stop if desired.

 

There ya go. Buy what you can afford. Who cares what all the engineers say. Who cares what your cam is, what your tire size and gear ratio are and your intended use. Ask the tranny shop guy instead. The same guy who works on minivans and front drives probably 100 to 1 compared to actually building performance cars

We spend hundreds of dollars to pick up a few horsepower here and there. What's a set of headers gain you...15hp at best?

So why not do some research and spend a buck or two for a better converter and get something that will actually make a huge difference in power transfer, torque multiplication and drive-ability? swapping a converter is not a trivial task for most home mechanics. And they aren't typically returnable simply because you chose wrong.

 

I will tell ya why , someone with your approach is over the top with all this scientific and over thought ideas , your acting like every ounce of power and every 1/10 of a second is what needs to be considered.

It is a street car , with moderate power. He is not here with a race car trying to accomplish a specific goal .

He needs a reputable brand T/Q with a higher then stock stall speed. 2400 is a very good stall speed for most mid power motors ...And let me also add with all your posting why don't you tell him what stall speed he needs, you have apparently read enough to be the experts , expert lol .

 

My vette got a 4.11 rear and a 700R4 in the 80's. I had many engine combos in front of it 355, 383, and finally a 427 small block Every one of them had 3000 - 3800 stalls and they drove nice. high end efficient TC's got me over 20 mpg on trips. I also had to use the best rear tires for traction


http://www.converter.com/vigilante.htm

 

Then why do we spend $800 on headers? $300 on carbs? $250 on intakes? $450 on cams? Why even have a tech section where we ask questions and help our fellow enthusiasts? They're just cars. As long as they drive, who cares, right? All that money we spend, and the results are minor. People spend $5k+ to build up a motor and the buy on off the shelf $200 tq converter to transfer that power to the tires based solely on an rpm recommendation from a catalog. I don't get it.

I never claimed to be an expert. But I am armed with the questions to ask of those who are. That's all I've said in this thread. 'Ask some questions...and ask the meaningful ones.'

I realize he is not building an ET car. But if $200 buys a 'pretty good' one stall fits all converter but $400 and a hour on the phone to make 3 or 4 phone calls buys a much more efficient converter that gets him not only more torque to the ground, but also better drivability and fuel economy, then why not?

 

Your insisting I said go buy a wall mart t/q and are acting a bit childish.And honestly I really don't care about the prices of things you have bought or want to buy , a lot of people think they more they spend the better it is going to be.

And the idea calling is a huge benefit , let me remind you almost every call will land you a sales rep or someone with a dog in the game where here at a forum asking gets you someone like myself with no dog in the game. Now if he had said 4.11 rear and a huge cammed high RPM small block I would have said look for 3k or over .. BUT HE has a possible 450hp with 3.55 rear.. ( Which is about exactly what I have )

So relax with all that research that usually causes people to buy things called dreams when in reality you want to buy a good t/q for a good street driven car.

 

 

What were the rpm ranges of those engines george and which stall coverter did you have with each.

 

First of all when ever going to an OD tranny you should do some math calculations with your exsisting tire diameters. Then you have to be smart enough to realize that hoplessly over geared like a 3.08 and a 700R4 just because it is doing 1600 rpm at 70 mph is lugging the engine so bad that it is getting worse mileage than a motor running efficiently at 2300 rpm @70.

When you get into lockup high end 9.5 inch converters they tailer them to stall rate with your amount of power. like a 350 might produce 400 foot pounds. So I just ask for a 3000 rpm. Later on with 7000+ rpm roller cammed 383 I ask for a 3500 stall and later a 3800 stall.

The beauty of efficient high stall TC's is that 95% of the time you can just be cruising around with only a little bit of slip, but for other 5% when you floor it. You are instantly in the beginning of your power range.

I also owned a dragster with a 6500 stall power glide. At the end of the run you just drove it back to the pits. So higher stall is really nother to worry about.

My first 355/4.11/700R4 motor had a Crane 272 power max H-flat lift cam. It was a sub 6500 rpm motor. It peak because of the small cam was probably low 5000 rpm. then a crane 278 H-flat (died of KB Hyper piston failure) The next motor had a Comp Cams 274 Xe H-flat (died in less than a year)

 

The engine assassin.

 

My home page has pictures of my broken 427 crank shaft. It lasted a summer and a half maybe 4-5000 miles. Bad summers are when you blow the motor and replace it and then your out raising hell and the tranny blows. Then you get it running again and the rear end blows. I have 160,000 on the vette and it has had dozens of engines and transmissions

 

Just messin with ya.

 

When I was young I could not afford or even trust somebody to work on my car. So I figured out how to rebuild a TH350 with better parts. I had to ask a tranny guy a few questions or even maybe borrow a special tool. I even did a tranny with a B&M hop up kit and when I fired the engine it had no reverse. Just a learning curve.

Hey the sun is on it's way back. I never came up north till june 1st!

 

Yeah i can usually get my harley and vette out of the garge for litttle while mid day in april. You got to be really carefull, shade spots can still be icey.