So, I just picked up another 914 tranny, so now I have the one in my '73 and this newly acquired tranny. I will have a local shop owner and really great friend build me one good 914 tranny with the gear spacing for V8s. What can I do (spend) money on during this transmission rebuild to make it as strong as possible, in addition to the billet intermediate plate?

I figure we'll take both trannys apart, lay out the gears, synchros etc., pick the best parts (hope both 2nd gear sets are in good shape), 1st and 2nd stays stock, reversed 4th becomes 3rd, reversed 3rd becomes 4th and reversed 2nd becomes new 5th. New bearings and synchros if needed, although they work fine in the tranny in my car.

So, definately, the billet intermediat plate, there's $400.00, do I need oil cooler/pump and which system would be the best bang for the buck?

The car is/will be a fun street car, 911SC brakes all around, Kennedy 9" clutch, at the moment mild Chevy 283 (est. 200-250HP) but later in the year Chevy 350 (400-500HP) so may look for ceramic clutch plate (with springs if possible for a little engage slippage). I have never been on the track so I can guarantee that I am a lot less agressive driver than most on this board

Im not a tranny guy but some take first out, others use just to move around the shop or on to trailers,,,,donot use first normally.....you will shear it off..

How are you gonna reverse 2nd? You have a 904 mainshaft? Shame to waste that on a conversion ............... The Cap'n

I know not to use 1st except for as described. Is 2nd solidly on the shaft? If I do have to waste a shaft it's not a big deal to me, I paid $140.00 for this tranny with axles,

The stock 901 will work fine for that ...



You should consider a 915 or a 930 for that kind of HP. Your 901 won't last long with 500HP, no matter how much $$$ you throw at it ...

Andy

The wide gear spacing works well with the V8. I think Renegade and others take first out so it won't be used, you can really tear up the box with first. But, you won't want to use first, second with the v8 is like a normal v8 and first gear. That being said, you may find first helpbul in stop and go traffic, starting on a steep hill inching along through parking lots with speed bumps. I've kept mine and I'm glad I have it.

As for the engine swap, I'd just go with a 327 or 350 and you may not want the big motor. The 901 is good for a little over 300HP if you don't drag race and do burn outs. It'll take revs, but not torque. The extra 50-100 hp will cost you big money to go to a stronger box.

That being said, 500HP would be a HOOT!
B

If you are thinking about 500HP you can build a strong transmission like this: First, push all of those 901 parts over to the side of the garage and move a 915 in place of it. Second get the conversion parts and do 'er up... Unless you like expensive noises, in which case you need to report in at the asshat meeting hall

Lest we forget, 915s have a nasty habit of exploding the 2nd gear synchro assembly ........

The Cap'n

are you gonna be running fat rubber ( flared car ) or fat sticky rubber?

i hear big HP and traction will be your transaxle's enemy.

i hear a 930 box run upside down is the hot lick for big horsepower and grippy rubber.

jim

I hear a 930 box run upside down doesn't oil the pinion properly... I hear you should machine the case to flip the ring.

IMHO, the chevy 283 and the rare 302 are the perfect motors for this car.

400+HP will nuke your tranny in short order, intermediate plate or not.

my car is pushing about 350 to 375HP and I don't exactly baby it. And still i managed to over stress what i believe to be the intermediate bearings at about 2000 miles.

in hind sight, i'd be better off going for a less torquey 327/302/283, or blow some bigger bucks on the 930 or 915 transaxle seen here...
http://longisland.craigslist.org/pts/1065158675.html

this is what yo really need..... ;-)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ZF-TRANSAXL...sQ5fAccessories

ZF tranny for sale
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-parts-sale...saxle-sale.html

GT40 6 speed....
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-power...sa-rebuilt.html

more torque requires more dollars to support it.

unless you've got some good discretionary/disposable income, i'd stick with the shorter stroke V8's.


*EDIT
and that 283 will shorten the lifespan of your CV's if you haven't already upgraded.... ;-)

Well, looks like I'll just put a little money into building a good 914 tranny, and then build another nice 283, aluminum heads, etc., I am sure I'll be perfectly happy with a good running 283.

Thanks for all you input.

EDIT. And Dr. Roger, if I had $8k I'd come up and get your car.

I've seen it done either way. Machining the case to flip the R/P is not as big a deal as it sounds.

Working out a good shifter arrangement is much more of a hassle ...
Andy

find an early 327 block [small crank journal] and throw the 283 crank in with some 302 pistons [a little spendy] and then you have a bore that can take heads that will breath and the short stroke to make a high winding lower torque engine.

The 283 and 302 are great motors, but you can get a lot more for the less money than spending for the aluminum heads and strong valve train stuff.

I've got an over bored 327 that equals 331 cu in. Comp cam hydrolic cam that comes on at about 1800 rpm and will twist to 6500 with some free flowing heads. When I did this I found that I never really turned it up that high but a few times. Over 5500 you are really stressing the standard valve train and unless you will be spending a lot of time in the +5500 RPM range you won't need the 2.02 intakes. 1.94 valves will serve you much better.

Cam is the key and there has been a bunch of discussion in the exhuast area too with how to put in a crossover. Be careful, a crossover will improve torque!

B

So if I'm looking for a 327 block for a small journal 283 crank, what production years am I looking for?
I'm already loooking on Craigslist and there are many 327s available. The 327 would be a 4" bore and 3.25" stroke, correct?

I have an early 327 short block assy. I would like to sell.

PM or email if interested.

Jerry

Thinking out of the box, have you looked at the Subaru tranny option? Folks here are doing that with a Suby motor, but why not for a SBC? Many of the conversion issues are already solved. The 5 speed units are easy to get and cheap [relatively]. For big hp/torque, there are gears and rebuilds that hold together with the 500 hp range engines.

Then there are the 6 speed units that will take 500 hp stock. Just another thought for you.

Mike McBride

this is a subject that would be helpful to me in getting the ball rolling on a project, donot like to start-restart without a clear direction.

there are several all aluminum 5.3 liter gm v8s available at reasonable ($ 600-$700 or less) (see car-parts .com)with the ability to provide 340 + hp . see super chevy 5.3 truck article.( without cam change).
vin z,lm4,l59,lh4,lc9 coded engines, also ls4 in the impala, granprix
the truck engines may require LS intake, truck is some 3 inches taller.

Richard

early 327 block is 1967 and older. you can find the date codes here. http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm
and here are the crank and jounal sizes http://www.mortec.com/journal.htm
the ls series i don't have much experience with, there are others that do. it would be a good idea to open another thread on this subject. i'm interested too!

350 and 327 were both a 4" bore and the difference in the stroke was 1/4". 3.5 vs 3.25 respectivly. Some of the engines had a large or small journals on the crank and some had 4 bolt main caps and some two.

4 bolt bottom is better and you can make a 327 with a 350 block and a 305 or a 307 crank, not sure which one it was. Any of the chevy builders can tell you and I'm sure you can find out on line. OOps, don't forget to consider rod length!

B

i gotta correct some things here...

the early 327 had a 2.30 main bearing as opposed to the later sbc 2.45 all 350 and any other sb built after 1967, the 400 block was even larger at 2.65.

the stroke of the 350 and 305 is 3.48 not 3.5 .

while the 307 had a 3.25 stroke, it was a only had as a cast iron crank. that is why the 283 which is a forged steel piece is the great deal.

rod length for all but the 400 are 5.7. the 400 uses a 5.565 rod.


the short stroke of the 3.0 stroke allows for a sweet high reving motor and this can be built on a 2 bolt main for "street use" this would not survive a racing enviroment. i wish i could write this the same way that i could say it. a short stroke engine doesn't have to "throw" the rod/piston as far and a hard as the long stroke engine does. this doesn't stress the crank or block as much, so a 2 bolt main would be fine and still rev to 6,000 + with heads and a stable valve train.
new desings in valve springs and cam profiles along with the other peices are not super expensive and moderate priced stuff with last just fine on the street.

now i have to say that all this is on the first gen sbc, the lt series and ls series have there own unique set ups.


edit: all 283's had steel froged cranks that's another thing that makes them good.

per wiki ,
4.8 and 5.3 gm engines share the same bore . the 5.3 stroked .
hence a 4.8 with the 5.3 all al block and 4.8 crank etc.- 295 hp-300 ft\lbs

oh - just get a brand new crate 350 and pop it in - jim

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.as...+115+4294755930

: )