Need a Good Tranny

[dash318]

This is the first message i've ever posted on one of these sights, but hey, its easier than calling a million car shops.

i have a 69 Dodge Coronet 440, with a 318 two barrel. everything stock except for new dual flowmasters. hehe. anyway, i need some ideas on what i can do to get some real tire-burning performance, but keep it a street machine. I had it suggested to me that i put an Eddlebrock 600 cfm four barrel carb and an Eddlebrock performer manifold. that sounds all great, but it seems that with the car, i lose a lot of performance in the tranny. every now and then i get wierd noises from it. ones that make me think its not too happy. would it be a good idea to have it rebuilt or a new one put in? what's a good tranny for that car and engine? if i do the tranny, do i need to replace the rear end too?

I'm guess i'm just looking for some good ideas on what to do with the car. if anyone can help i'd really appreciate it.
oh! and one more thing, the car needs a new paint job, does anyone know where i can find the origional paint schemes for that particular car and year?

hope this works, thanks everyone!

[Duster440]

depends if you want an automatic or standard. you could use an 833 4spd, thats my favorite gearbox. as for the rearend , well that depends on if your satisfied with the gear ratio you have.

[dash318]

how do i know what rearend is in the car? and i probably want to stick with an automatic, i don't really want to deal with replacing the clutch. does the 727 match up with the 318? i have one on a 440 in a 69 chrysler 300.

[morpower]

the big blocks have a bigger bell housing. sorry

[Youknowme]

I have a 727 on my 318, make sure that the bell housing is the one for small blocks. Also, take into account whether on not you want a 3 or 4 speed.

[mopartodd]

dash318, I have the very same car. 69 Coronet 440 2-door. The tranny you have will do fine, if it's in good health. I've been thrashing mine for about 5 years now and it's ok. stick with the automatic. The 904 you have will take the torque from the 318 for street use, even with moderate modifications. If you ever upgrade to a 340/360 engine though, you may want to change it. The rear is probably a 8.25" rear. If you want to get better performance from your car find an 8.75" rear, put in some 3.55 gears. If you really want to modify the engine lokk at the Mopar catalog. I would really like to hear more about your car. Feel free to e-mail me at mopartodd@hotmail.com

[Tim_K]

A couple years ago, I had a '72 Satellite. A 318/904 car. I added an 8-3/4" with 3.23's. After adding duals with Flowmasters, then an 850 TQ on a 340 iron intake, the HP moved from 150 to 170 to 190-195, according to the MP engines manual, the car's weight (3830 going down the dragstrip) and my mph numbers (84). I ran 16.3-16.4's for a year and a half, and 33,000 street miles. Only thing I ever did to the 904 was to crank the line pressure to the max back when I first got it. That and changed converters a couple times. I seemed to keep putting in junk converters with seized sprags which resulted in high highway rpm levels. But the 904 held up good.

[dash318]

Thanks all for the info! If i go to a 4 speed tranny, am i right is guessing that the high end speed will be better, but the car might i slower off the line? or will the 3.55 gears balance it out? I mostly drive the car in around the town in seattle, so i would prefer it to be quicker off the line, my top speed now is about 105, with the flowmasters, about 107. the cars seems to do better all around with the new exhaust. but i still want to add the new carb - the 600 cfm and that means i'll have to go with a new manifold, any suggestions on what i should get?

[mopartodd]

dash 318, The tranny question is a good one. Depends on the gearing of the tranny and horsepower your making. The carb and manifold will improve your top end, if thats what your looking for. What's the speed limit in Washington? Lower gears will help you off the line, provided your getting traction. I recently purchased a Weiand Stealth for a 360 I'm building for my car. It has small ports that look like they would match a 318 intake port pretty close, but the Edelbrock is also a good manifold to use. There are so many variables to consider when boosting performance. The best 5 bucks you can spend will be on a Mopar Performance catalog. Follow the performance recommendations in the back.

[dash318]

hehe the speed limit is about the same every where else, about 60 to 75 depending on where you are. i am going to to get the tranny done, but what is better? the 727 or the 904, i hear the 727 is a better one.

[speedy6963]

your car will be faster with a 904 they "soak" up less HP and a 904 can take more HP than you think, I ran a 904 in a 500HP a body duster than ran 11.23 @ 123mph with only mods being a B&M 11" 2500 stall and a shift kit.

Originally posted by dash318:
hehe the speed limit is about the same every where else, about 60 to 75 depending on where you are. i am going to to get the tranny done, but what is better? the 727 or the 904, i hear the 727 is a better one.

[DartGT66]

According to my experience, the 904 is truly a quicker trans. You should try to find one with the 2.74 first gear ratio, The ratoi can be found in meny late 904's and /6 transmissions. That really makes a difference in off the line performance. I didn't have too good luck with the longevity of the 904's, killed five of them in two years behind a 250-350 hp 360. They were all A999 versions. Propably they would have lasted better if I had used a deep oil pan and external trans cooler. I switched to 727, and had zero problems after that. However, to make up the performance loss I had to use a 3500 stall converter while the 904 run just fine with the stock converter. I remember Dick Landy saying that nine times out of ten a bracket racer is happier with a 727 than a 904, because the 904 needs frequent service to survive behind strong motors. But I think it should handle a mild 318 just fine, and I'm currently using one behind my Aspens 318; two weeks already without troubles.

[ChristianCuda]

Here are a few points that need to be made

1. The 904 is a lighter trans than the 727
2. The 904 has a lighter reciprocating weight than the 727 ( Means more HP to the wheels and not HP lost trying to turn the trans gears.)
3. There are aftermarket buildup parts for the 904 and they are generally chaeper than the 727 due to there aer more 904s on the road than 727s
4. A 904 built with heavier clutches will withstand 500HP.

A friend of mine races 1/8 with a 360 w/ W2s and runs low 7s in the 1/8 and the engine is backed by a 904.

His father has been racing since the Dart became a car. And since the mid 70's he has been using 904's to race. He switched because the 727's are too heavy.

All of my small blakcs are backed by a 904.

In conclusion unless you have an all out drag car with an engine producing over 600HP then I would use the 904.

Christian

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68 'Cuda 383 Working on adding EFI
69 'Cuda Race Parts Car
76 Duster 273 recent transplant
95 Neon 2.0 SOHC best of 16.96
84 Dodge Ram D50 transplanting 360

[BillyBob]

If your'e staying with the auto, why not install one of the MP units.
BB

[dash318]

Okay, i'll stick with the 904, but, what's an MP and exactly how does a stall converter work? How will i benefit from it, and how muchare they?