Manual Valve BODIES

[airgrabber]

i'VE ALWAYS HAD 4-SPEEDS IN THE PAST. I here alot of talk about manual valve body automatics. What exactly does this mean? Is an automatic that one must shift? What is the purpose of the "Line Lock"?

[BugEyedValiant]

It is exactally what you are thinking. What it does in addition to making you shift all the time is that it puts all the line pressure apply to the clutches bands and servos all the time ending up in less wear and the ever popular tire chirping shifts. Most of them are usually in a reverse pattern too, meaning that what was drive is now low, second is still second, and what was low is now third. They also eliminate your kickdow linkage making things easier. A line lock is a solenoid that locks your front (usually depending on how it is installed) brakes during a burnout, or at the line. What you do is press on the brake pedal, hit the button, and release the pedal, and the front brakes stay locked until you release the button. They make burnouts much easier, especially with at manual transmission. They can also be used to keep you from rolling when at the line so you dont redlight. Hope this helps, and if you get one and need help on installation, e mail me, and I will try to walk you through it.

[Dr. Righteous]

My Coronet is going to be my play toy to scare the neighbors. Is there any negative effect on the tranny and or drive train in having a full manual valve body?
I want to swap from the shift on the column to a ratchet floor shifter anyway. I had a custom 'beefy' driveshaft made for my car because my orginal driveshaft wouldn't balance. That shouldn't be a problem.
My tranny has a pretty fresh rebuilt and shift hard (chirps) under hard acceleration and has a good 'Uhhhah' feeling under normal acceleration.

[ben440brown]

Yes, there are negative sides to manual valve bodies. For instance, the aftermarket ones eliminate engine braking in first gear, which, beLIEVE me is not a good thing. Second, the good shift kits (B&M, Level 10, etc.) optimize manual shifts while maintaining automatic shifting capabilities. There will still be tire chirping shifts, either way. Finally, the throttle linkage serves an important purpose: High line pressure at all times is BAD: it can break stuff, and actually cause premature failure of seals and other components. There are several options to fix throttle linkage problems, including stock and aftermarket cable setups. I do not recommend aftermarket manual valve bodies for street cars.

Ben 440 Brown

[Dart]

Tell me more about the manual valve body. I am having a tranny built as we speak and was planning on having a manual valve body installed.

My car is a '70 Dart with a 10 to 1 360, 340X heads, .509 MP cam, Holley dominator manifold, 750 Holley Vac sec, 3000 stall, 3.55 gear.

The tranny builder I spoke to suggested running one as the trans will last longer and shift harder. I am primarily a street with occasional strip driver.

[DusterDave]

I picked up my 727B last week after getting it rebuilt. It has a Turbo-Action Cheetah reverse manual valvebody. I ran it in my last street/strip 440 Duster, and I loved the hard gear changes and having control of the upshifts and down shifts. I used the T-A Tranz Box kit and A&A master bushing kit. One part I recommend installing is the A&A bolt-in sprag. It can literally save your transmission, and also your right foot in the event the stock sprag lets go.

[GP Hemi]

I also have a Cheetah full manual reverse valve body in my '65 Dodge Coronet A-990 race Hemi. I love it! My 526 cu.in. stroker dyno'd at just under 700 hp. This trans handles the torque and so far has not developed any leaks. This is a street driven car with 3.55's in the 8-3/4 rear end with a 2800 A&W Machine converter. Be sure to use a trans cooler.
The only gripe I have with the full manuel operation is always having to know what gear you are in, and having to manually up and down shift each gear. Otherwise, if you can't go with a 4-speed, this is the next best thing.

[Christopher]

I ran one for 3 years on the street in my Little Red Express truck.Had to use my spare 340 trans when the trucks 727 let go.I had so much fun with it,I left it in.Used the stock 360 converter and 3.55 gears too I even towed my 69 Cuda with it,had zero problems.

[kairosman]

I had an ATI valve body in my falcon (yes that is ford but I have a cuda now) that I ran on the road for 2 years and I loved it too. I actually liked the fact that there was no engine braking in 1st because -I could just slam it into first as I was coming up to a stoplight.

You get comfortable with shifting manually and the reverse pattern is nice too. If you go with a big stall and shift below that rpm as you drive on the road, the shifts are not as jerky (as with any large stall and shift kit) and for a street car sometimes this is good.

go with it, you will like it.

[DartMan360]

We have a turbo action reverse manual. It was in the car when we got it. All of our cars we have had in the past have only had a manual body. The only thing we do not like about the reverse is that my dad used to shift into netural after going through the traps. Or if their was a problem with the car durning the run he could go rite to netural. With a reverse valve body you cant do that. Our valve body is 2 years old with over 150 passes on it and one tranny that went kaboom and we are still using the same one. Next time it gets rebuilt we are just going to use a manual valve body and forget the reverse.

[SpeedSleaze]

I have a Turbo Action reverse valve body and it's definitely fun on the street. I used to take it up to 30-40 MPH in low in the side by side cruising action, let off the gas and then punch it. It was like dropping the clutch. I think I read since those days that you're NOT supposed to do that, but that's the bad habit I picked from when my best friend was driving a Chevy.
I do miss the engine braking in low, especially in the mountains. And I agree with DartMan about getting to Neutral in a hurry. Turbo Action now makes a regular pattern manual for you lucky guys and gals with a slapstick.

[John Kunkel]

I'd like to dispel the notion that thunderous, rock-hard shifts are good for a transmission and will make it last longer. Eliminating the slippage and overlap in the stock units is good (like reprogramming kits do) but the high pressures associated with full manual valve bodies are hard on parts. Continuous use on the street is hard on the trans. Blown seals, broken pumps, broken springs, broken bands, stripped front planetary carriers are all common results of continuous full line pressure.
Also, as stated earlier, most of the full manual valve bodies do not apply the rear band in first gear. This eliminates coast braking in first gear and places all of the load on the sprag which is a failure susceptible part to start with. Add to that the habit of getting off and on the throttle in first and you have a formula for disaster.
Also, the idea that bolt in sprags are a panacea for preventing sprag failures and their associated explosions is false. The majority of sprag failures occur in the internal elements of the sprag, not from it spinning in the case.

[Hybridized]

Originally posted by SpeedSleaze
I have a Turbo Action reverse valve body and it's definitely fun on the street. I used to take it up to 30-40 MPH in low in the side by side cruising action, let off the gas and then punch it. It was like dropping the clutch. I think I read since those days that you're NOT supposed to do that, but that's the bad habit I picked from when my best friend was driving a Chevy.
I do miss the engine braking in low, especially in the mountains. And I agree with DartMan about getting to Neutral in a hurry. Turbo Action now makes a regular pattern manual for you lucky guys and gals with a slapstick.

Ben440brown - Aren't you going to tell SpeedSleaze what he did was impossible. I mean with all your experience, you know best.

[SpeedSleaze]

So how many 10th's do you think the Manual Valve Body shaves off? In a street race, of course, not that I'd ever.