Trans shield in an A body question.

[Thin White Duke]

With a 727 bigblock in an A body, is there enough room to run a CSR composite trans shield or not.  It seems to add about 1 full inch to the bolt length required.

[Blue]

Yes there is, you will have to trim back the panel seam that runs across the tunnel, and you might have to do a little massaging here and there, but it will fit. Be a lot easier if you cut holes in the bulkhead to access the top 2 bolts. It is no fun trying to get the capscrews through the reinforcing plates, the shield, the gearbox and into the block, with little room to work. If you can, dummy it up on the gearbox attached to a block, I found I couldn't get all the bolts in without clearancing the mounting pads on the shield, you don't need to find that out when you're fighting with it under the car....

[my64dart]

Hi,
   It might depend on what body style & year A body your working on. I installed a CSR trans sheild on my 1964 Dart & had to remove quite a bit of trans tunnel hump & rebuild it. It was alot of work. The trans was right up against the seam before the sheild was even put on. So I think your gonna need the sawzall on this one.   
     Jim

[beeprace]

I don't have the answer but I do have some questions for folks wanting to use the CSR trans sheild.

Do you have a High Gear Aluminum drum?

Are you buying this to meet a tech requirement?

Do you know how to proerly drive and do burn outs with a torque flight?

I am by no means talking down to anyone, I have made thousands of passes with 727 and 904 xmsn's and built many of both. I have had drive train failures that have taken out both the case and the sprag. I have never had a drum explode, only due to knowing the safety issues of the torqueflights.

The CSR sheild comes with a CFI rating. It was tested and approved for a powerglitch. It WILL NOT contain, in the least bit a drum explosion with a torqueflight. I am looking for a set of pictures I had of a car that had a properly installed CSR composite sheild and suffered a drum explosion. It opened the floor up like a peice of foil. It cut a 1 3/4 roll cage bar in half as it exited the P/S door and made a whole in the door you could stick your fist in. The driver was injured badly and I was told has a lawsuit against CSR and the SFI group.

If you have any questions or don't beleive me get with Rick Allison at A&A transmissions, he builds and sells some of the best Mopar stuff and he will tell you it will not protect you unless you also use the aluminum drum.

Just my two cents, safety first, go fast second!! Beep Beep Out

[gt]

I was thinking of getting the CSR shield as well and have heard the same.
Will a trans blanket catch and stop the drum/clutches from taking out our feet?

Would really like to know what will work, without getting an aluminum drum  .

gt

[beeprace]

gt,

I have a few suggestions:

If you are going to race buy the aluminum drum. I have one running for 7 years now in my old car, 3900 lbs, runs 6.40 on the 1/8 with 1.30 60ft and 107 mph. It has a transmission service and band adjustment only every 100 passes. After 5 years it had a tear down, all the bands and clutches went back in.

I run a couple of very trick 904's that use the aluminum drums behind a 2750 lb car. It runs 5.90 on the 1/8th, 1.24 60 ft at 112, it is a footbrake small block car the above is a footbrake 452 big block. I have to service the 904 every 30-40 passes at this performance level to keep them alive. Service meaning oil and filter change with band adjustment.

In a racing application I have never had to throw out an aluminum drum in a properly maintained xmsn. If you are a street and race guy, with significant HP, then buy the molly drum. I think it is as expensive as the aluminum drum, but will last forever on the street/strip.

Now to answer your question on sheilds, the blanket if properly installed is the best protection, I don't like the heat and oil soak issues, so I use the TCI billet aluminum sheild, which will save your feet and those poor track officals and fans who don't have a vote in what you have in your car for safety.

Once again, just my experience and two cents.  Beep beep out

[Joe-Dokes]

Good discussion so far, but I have a couple of questions, if I'm hijacking the thread I'll be glad to start another post, just let me know?

At what point should I worry about a 727 exploding?  I've seen several threads that have pictures of exploded torqueflites and always thought they were in cars with over a thousand hp, am I wrong.  I plan on having about 500 hp to start and maybe 750 when I hit the lottery, should I be worried?

What is the proper way to do a burn out with a torqueflite?  What is improper?

I want my car to be safe and value my right leg, I've seen enough pictures of exploded transmissions to be concerned.

Regards

Joe Dokes

[moparn1]

Speed and/or HP has nothing to do with it. I've seen 14. sec street cars blow them up. As for burn-out's no 1st gear burn-out's and don't "ride" ride them out, no dry hops either. I think in conjuction with the drums and things we also should be running low band apply valve bodies. anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[beeprace]

moparn1 is correct.

To keep them alive there are basic rules:

No low gear burn outs, start your burn out in 2nd and shift quickly to high. If you make enought torque you can do your entire burn out in high gear, with no problem. I found this out by accident in my current car.

NO NO NO NO, yes that is 4 NOs, dry hops. Looks cool, feels great, will brake a sprag sooner or later!!!

If you ever have a driveline failure pull the transmission and inspect the sprag, also inspect the case around the sprag. I have seen perfect sprags and found the case cracked under the sprag (904) and behind the sprag (727).

If you ever have a spinning issue or get out of shape in low gear and have to lift, pull second gear before you get back in the throttle, you will easily brake the tabs or throw out the springs on the rollers in this situation. Better to lift and loose the round than break the sprag and loose your life, your feet or once again as I stated above hurt or kill the track guy or fans (who don't have a vote) on the next pass.

If you race full time an aluminum drum or molly drum are the most important thing you can put in the transmission. Second is a proper sheild, last is a low gear band apply valve body.

Well beep is off to the race track to try and take down the Chebbies. Beep Beep Out

[Joe-Dokes]

Another stupid question,

In order to two a burnout in second gear do you need a fully manual valve body?

It's been a long while since I drove an old STOCK torqueflite car, if you pull the transmission down into second does it start in second?

Anyways thanks for the post.  A dry hop is when you do a quick launch toward the line as you are staging? Correct?  I can see how this would add a lot of stress to the driveline.

Good advice to inspect the transmission after any driveline failure.

Good advice about lifting and just taking the loss, saves on parts and prevents injuries.

Thanks

Regards

Joe Dokes