Yes, it's a tough trans when beefed up right. Lots of guys have one behind their 455's. 2.75 1st gear, .67 overdrive.
Cool! Thanks Larry, I thought these trans. were used in the GN's. Does anyone make or reproduce these so you don't have to yank them from a GN or another car? Thanks
TCI makes, not sure if it will stand up to a 455 without additional beefing :laugh: http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=13860&prmenbr=361
After you guys BUY your shift kits, do yourselves a favor: 1) See what parts are included in a "Shift Kit" 2) Identify those parts as you remove the stock parts from your transmission, before you install the shift kit 3) COMPARE the "Shift Kit" parts to the Stock parts 4) LEARN the differences, to find that the "Shift Kit" parts are ALREADY in your transmission! You just need to "modify" them, and then just put them back! :Smarty: I'm not just going to "tell" you, otherwise you won't LEARN. I will give you a HINT, though: Compare the Stock "Transfer Plate" (that's already in your transmission), to the Shift Kit "Transfer Plate"! When you figure out the difference, you'll know how to modify your Stock transfer plates in future transmission rebuilds, so you won't have to spend "$30" (or $65 or $85, as I've seen B&M and other kits) for a Shift Kit, EVER again! ou: It is true, that you are wasting your money, if you buy a Shift Kit, but don't rebuild the ENTIRE transmission to HANDLE it! So, $30 will ultimately cost you $300-$500, when you destroy your transmission, and it will need to be rebuilt "Correctly" the SECOND time (after you just installed the Shift Kit)! :Smarty: o No:
Scott, I agree, there's nothing in a shift kit that you can't do yourself, sometimes better. I was told this years ago by Mark DeConti (dcm422). Buick even had recommendations on how to modify the seperator plate. Installing a shift kit on a sick transmission will certainly hasten it's demise. Best time to do this is obviously at rebuild time,and it certainly helps to install all the good stuff while your at it, but I don't think a shift kit is going to hurt a healthy transmission.
Larry, You and I already know the benefits and advantages of Shift Kit performance, but for these guys who haven't experienced it yet, they will have a better understanding when they FEEL the difference between the Stock (cushioned) shift pattern and the Shift Kit's "DUAL" (Hard OR Soft) Shift pattern, depending on how you step on the Gas Pedal! :TU: :bglasses: :sleep: :3gears: :eek2: :3gears: :shock: :3gears: :TU: :bglasses: :laugh:
Sounds like that's what happened in my case. Previous owner put a kit in it. It was likely pretty tired as it had 140K on it when I bought the car. We took the original universals off, which indicates the tranny had never been out of the car.
My THM-350 got a B&M Shift kit at 90K miles, and lasted just fine until 250K miles, and wasn't in too bad a shape then. Of course, it was healthy to begin with. :laugh: Also, a shift kit in a healthy tranny can actually extend the life of the tranny, since the clutches slip less when engaging. Of course, it really depends on your right foot... :Brow: And don't forget to add in a trans cooler!!! It's something like double the trans life for every 20 degree drop in fluid temp.
The only shift kit to bother to use is the Transgo 400 1&2 Kit. It has a completely different patented seperator plate, which uses both direct clutch apply passages and both apply areas of the direct clutch piston, and the direct clutch is what generally always fails in a 400. The other features of a shift kit for a 400 are: * Back to 1st at any speed.. this is accomplished with a special 1-2 shift valve, which is actually a copy of the stock valve, (there are two different versions) with one land area missing. Also you plug an orifice hole on the valve body passage in the 1-2 shift valve cavity. This allows shifting back to low at any speed, and can be helpful at times. The standard calibration varies somewhat, but typically you have to be going about 20 mph or less to get the trans to go back to manual low range, with an unmodified unit. The trans go kit also allows for fine tuning of the accumulator valve, instead of just defeating the accumulators. This is done by a combination of springs, or no springs at all. That kit also contains special direct clutch return springs, which really clean up the 3-2 downshift, as well as a special HD Intermediate clutch snap ring. The perfect shift is described as the car speeds up, and the engine slows down. Anything beyond that, softer or harder is a result of a miscalibration. High HP combos will of course break the tires loose, but that's a function of HP and available traction. JW
