New Combo for that goofy 273

Alright guys, I finally got the money to change my combo. a little bit. Now instead of the TCI Street Fighter torque converter that had a stall speed of 2500-2700 based on my combo., I bought a 9" GER full competition 4200 stall torque converter. I called there and Dynamic and both agreed on the same converter, but GER was $250 dollars cheaper. I still am leary about intakes though. I know the converter will definitely help me, but with the cam size of 224/230 @ 50 and .501/.510 lift, I wonder if the M1 single plane or the Torker 340 would kill my torque or not. Basically, I don't want to spend money on something that won't help me. For those that don't know I'm running a 70' 340 cast intake now and 4.88 gears, and am shifting at 6500 RPM. Someone out there try to help me see which intake would be better and tell me if it will kill my torque.
Thanks, Steve (still very frustrated)

If your converter is a 4200 stall, your motor won't even see 'low end'. Single plane all the way, baby!! The torquer has a lump on the inside of the port so I would go with the Mopar piece. The lump can be ground off, but there is still quite a sharp turn for the air flow to negotiate. Giver!

Go with the M1 single plane.Your engine does not know what size it is,it's just a big air pump.I've had a 340 Torker and DID NOT like it.I switched to a Holley single plane and the engine was more responsive and faster.The Holley isn't made anymore and the M1 is the best manifold on the market.What kind of car do you have the"little killer"in???

[This message has been edited by Christopher (edited April 02, 1999).]

Steve, I have had GER converters. They don't like tranny brakes. If you foot brake the car they last a while. Don't know anything about Dynamics. I use Coan. They cost more but you get what you pay for. You might call them and then call some tranny dealers. Sometimes they give you a brake on price. Make sure you have a good or extra cooler. A lot of heat will be generated by a higher stall. Heat kills transmissions. As far as intakes go USE THE M1.

Chris, that engine is in a 1968 Dodge Dart 270 4-door, I know a 4-dor what, but it sure gets those 5.0 guys shaking in there boots I'll tell you that much.

Steve,I personally think a 4dr is the ultimate sleeper.I'm trying to buy a 68 Valiant 4dr so I can put a 400 big block in it.The reason I asked about the car is that I was wondering about weight.Also what size are the headers? When I had my 68 cuda,I had 1 5/8" then stepped up to 1 3/4".It really made a big difference.I had a 3800 Turbo Action converter and the headers was one of the last things that I changed right after the converter swap.I used #5204 Hooker,which are street and strip headers.

Chris, the headers are jet hot coated Dynomax headers. They are 1 5/8" in size I believe.

Probably about right for the 273.You might overscavenge with bigger tubes.

Steve,
If you haven't paid for that GER DON'T. Tell them you don't want it. I bought a 9" converter 3500 stall and their strip trans for my Big Block '74 Duster. 500 miles later boom and there were parts all over the street in front of my house. Calles their "TECH line" and the dude said wasn't my fault its the motor/car combo that caused it. A&A trasmission here in Indiana said it looked like the trans hadn't even been assembled right and they said never to buy GER converters. A&A said they had personally worked on several cars with GER stuff and all the problems related back to the junk converter. That's why they are so cheap. I didn't even get the chance to take the car to the strip before it went. Please if you can DON'T BUY GER its the only way I can get back at them is to make sure I cost them some business.
Just my oppinion but after spending $1000 on the converter/trans setup that lasted only 500 break in miles I have a right to voice it.
Later,
Nick

Right on Nick!

Steve,
I had the same problem out of my torque converter don,t buy the GER it will only cause you headaches spend the extra money and get you a good brand and you will be able to drive your car alot longer. And if you already have it best of luck to you.

For what it's worth I have heard nothing but good things about Dynamic torque converters, although I have never owned one.

I have personally never used a GER converter but I have heard mixed reactions about them.(OK for the street but not at the track)I've always used Turbo Action.Yes they are in my hometown,but I've NEVER had a problem with any of there products.In fact,the converter in my Dart is 22 years old, and it's never been back for freshening.It's one of the old 3800 deals that even MoPar sold in there catalog.Belive it or not.

I work in a trans shop rebuilding torque converters and building new ones. And my experience withe the GER's that I have cut apart is not that great. One was grenaded. Nothing was furace brazed, Tack welded yes, {IS stonger furnace brazed} And the bearings wernt big enough to handel the power.{One was a 302 c-4 with gas, Not that much power, No big block.}I beleive inferioror quality.
TCI, Turbo Action, B&M, Fairbanks, Are good quality companies and build good products. Actualy it's russian roullet whe n it comes to buying a converter. Check around with other racers , to see what they run.

Richard Reardon, well first of all you Mopar guys ( Steve ) stop picking on the 5.0 Fords. As I see it I'm sick and tired of what I now call it "Chevy Shyt" crap! We should all ban together and kick their butts-right?
OK here is my responce to the single plane intake question concerning loosing torque on the bottom end. If you're launching above the 3,000 rpm range , as mentioned in a previous responce, your engine won't know what bottom end is. However if you're launching @ a lower rpm where off the line torgue is a concern, try this trick. Take the single plane manifold to a machine shop ( or save $s if you have a buddy machinist ) and have a 1/8" wide (or a little less) slot cut in the front, bottom and rear of the plenum. Make yourself 3-5 "spacers" of different hights and slide them into the slot. This will "fool" the carb into "thinking" you're running a dual plane manifold, ya know, like the ones you run on the street for stop light to stop light torque. Try the different spacer heights starting with one that comes right up to the base of the carb basically separating the left and right sides of the carb mixture. Try the others to see what is best. I've heard this works and I'm about to give it a try myself.

Rich

Pretty advanced stuff Richard, tuning down single planes to live with the best of both worlds is actually good advice, usually heard in pit row. 273 will probably like this, since these intakes are designed with bigger inches in mind.

I ran a 70 Duster 340 at the track and the only manifold I found that was worth anything on a 340 was the Torker. I was running a 727 with a 3000 stall and 4.11 gears. The engine had been worked over nicely by Larry Holt speed specialties in San Diego. I was running a 750 holley, Sig cam, Hookers and 28" tires. the car weighed 3200 or so and was running mid 12's through the mufflers. Make sure you have 37-42 total advance at about 1500. This worked real well for me. The torker and 750 were enough to beat the 2-4'd tunneled 340's and 302 boss stangs. This by the way was in 1970-72. Don't race anymore but still love fast Mopars