The Chevelle
 

So I don't think I have a thread for the issue that I had with the Chevelle back over a year ago. With doing the engine conversion on the Explorer and then the 347 build on the Cobra I just didn't have the time or money to do anything about it.

It all started back on 5/7/11 at California Dragway's Street Legals. That was the day I ran my quickest et of 10.01. As I was driving through the parking lot leaving at the end of the day the Chevelle lost third gear, then second, then everything. I had to call Phil to pick up our trailer to tow it home. Here's how it looked that day.




After I finshed the Explorer I pulled the trans and took it over to Jaime at Crest Chevrolet. Phil had talked to him about it and he told him that he would take it apart for me and let me know what it needed so I could pick up the parts and then he'd fix it. We told him there was no rush.

Phil went by there today and Jaime told him he had a chance to pull it apart and that everything in the trans was perfect. He said the issue must be with the converter and that I just need to pick up a gasket and seal kit and he'll put it back together. So that's good news and bad. I'll either need to have my converter rebuilt which is what I'll probably do or buy a new one. Most likely though I'll have The Converter Shop rebuild mine.

I'll use this thread to post updates but it's going to wait until after I get the Cobra finished and tuned.

Billet converters don't cost all that much. Not even for diesels

My current converter is a B&M Holeshot 3000 and it's $400 new from Summit. I already took a look and they just go up from there. I think the last time I had a converter rebuilt by The Converter Shop I paid $150.

There are some really incredible converters out right know. I encourage you to upgrade. The is a new model of vigilante converter that one of the guys on digital corvettes is raving about that has a 4000 rpm stall, but still delivers 25mpg and better than stock drivability. Obviously it's a different converter than what you run in a the chevelle, but my point is that there is a lot left on the table.

That's a lockup converter, mine isn't. The Holeshot 3000 converter that I have now flashes to 3600 rpms which is perfect for my current combo because my peak torque happens just below that.

So today I boxed up my converter and shipped it The Converter Shop. I told them what happened and that the trans had no wear. They said they would open up the converter to see what happened and that the rebuild should only be $150 but that they will call me if there's something that will end up costing more than that.

I still don't have the trans back yet because Jaime has had some health issues and has not been released yet to return to work. He has it all put together except for the valve body though so Phil is going to pick it up and he'll finish it up for me. Hopefully I'll have it back together and in the car by the time Fontana opens back up.

Nice. Any upgrades planned to get you that 9 second slip?

I'm changing the exhaust and will be tuning the nitrous. I think it is running rich with the current jetting and I think I can pick up some time if I dial it in. So once I have the car together I'll schedule a dyno session at GTR and see.

TCS called and my converter is toast. He said the rear bearing let go and that the stator fell and took out everything. So I'll be researching converters now.

Thats bad news and good news. It's like when I threw a rod. I was pissed, but as soon as I started scheming on the next build I felt better. I hope it doesn't set you back to far.

I've already emailed Coan and a couple other converter shops that have converters in the $500 - $700 range. Hopefully I'll be able to get one when I get my income tax return.our appointment is at the end of next month so at the soonest I'm looking at the end of March.

I heard back from Coan who suggested a 9” in the 4500 stall speed range as well as Edge Racing who suggested a 9.5" in the 3800 stall speed range. Both are around $700. If everything works out with taxes and I get the go ahead from the boss I think I'm going to go with the Coan.

Nice. We you spraying it off the line? If your hooking up go with the higher stall speed and see what you can pick up.

Yes, I have a throttle activated switch that triggers the nitrous at WOT. So on spray I stall it up on the footbrake and then go full throttle on the third amber. I don't use the transbrake with the nitrous because I was afraid of breaking the converter which happened anyways. Both of the converters I'm looking at have antiballoon plates for transbrake and nitrous use somI may try a transbrake launch on spray.

Let me know when. I wanna be there to see the wheelie.

So we signed our tax papers and I'm going to order my converter as soon as we receive the refund checks. I'll update this thread once I order it on what I will be getting.

I ordered my converter from Freakshow Performance today. Now I just need to get my trans back.

My converter arrived today. It's a Freakshow Performance 9.5 inch converter with anti-balloon plates. It should stall to about 3600 NA and flash to 4300 on N2O. I tried to call Phil to have him check on my trans but I haven't heard back yet. Hopefully he can get one of the guys to finish it up. If not I ordered a manual on rebuilding TH400's and will pick it up and complete it myself.

Phil called and said that Fred is going to finish up my trans for me. Hopefully I'll have it back sometime next week.

I got a call from Fred because he went through all the parts for my trans. Apparently Jaimie disassembled it but hadn't started putting it back together so Fred went through it all to make sure everything was there. While doing so he inspected everything and there are a lot of parts that I have to replace. I need new forward and direct clutches and steels, pump, drum, and valve body. So it's going to be a while before the trans is finished. I'm going to have to buy parts over time. The most expensive part is the valve body because of it being a transbrake version. Summit has it for $430.

Ouch