Looking for a torque converter recommendation.... There's a story inside.

[JKCuda]

So I call Holley to get a torque converter recommendation (Hay's) since all these companies rate their TC's differently. Guy on the phone takes my motor specs and puts me on hold. 20 minutes later he comes back and tells me that both him and his team lead checked and that they don't sell any torque converters for the TF 904 transmission. I'm like uh....I've got a list of part numbers here right off your website bub. I proceed to give him some of the numbers I was looking at (I'm only looking for a stall recommendation for their products for my setup). He looks up the numbers I gave him and by golly there they are. So now I'm on hold again waiting for a recommendation....

So in summary, they tell me they don't sell a TC for my car, now they think I'm gonna trust them on a recommendation for a product they didn't even know they sold? I'm flabbergasted.

With that being said...Can anyone maybe point me in a direction here? I'm looking for about a 3000rpm stall. 72 Cuda...I'll be running a 360 stroked to 408, factory heads with 2.02/1.6 valves, TTI step headers to TTI header back exhaust, single plane intake mani. Motor should be about 450hp/450tq, 10.5:1 compression, RPM range 2800-5800ish, not 100% sure on cam but nothing crazy. Car will be street driven only. Currently has 3.23 gears but may go to 3.55, 27" rear tire.

If anyone has built something similar and has any recommendations or what to stay away from, I'm all ears.

So far I've considered the Hay's 97-3B32F, Hay's 97-3B28Q, and the Hughes 27-30 or 27-35.

 

[MerlinsMopars]

So I call Holley to get a torque converter recommendation (Hay's) since all these companies rate their TC's differently. Guy on the phone takes my motor specs and puts me on hold. 20 minutes later he comes back and tells me that both him and his team lead checked and that they don't sell any torque converters for the TF 904 transmission. I'm like uh....I've got a list of part numbers here right off your website bub. I proceed to give him some of the numbers I was looking at (I'm only looking for a stall recommendation for their products for my setup). He looks up the numbers I gave him and by golly there they are. So now I'm on hold again waiting for a recommendation....

So in summary, they tell me they don't sell a TC for my car, now they think I'm gonna trust them on a recommendation for a product they didn't even know they sold? I'm flabbergasted.

With that being said...Can anyone maybe point me in a direction here? I'm looking for about a 3000rpm stall. 72 Cuda...I'll be running a 360 stroked to 408, factory heads with 2.02/1.6 valves, TTI step headers to TTI header back exhaust, single plane intake mani. Motor should be about 450hp/450tq, 10.5:1 compression, RPM range 2800-5800ish, not 100% sure on cam but nothing crazy. Car will be street driven only. Currently has 3.23 gears but may go to 3.55, 27" rear tire.

If anyone has built something similar and has any recommendations or what to stay away from, I'm all ears.

So far I've considered the Hay's 97-3B32F, Hay's 97-3B28Q, and the Hughes 27-30 or 27-35.

Dynamic Converters are really good. They asked alot of questions but ultimately must know what they are doing. I got a 3800 stall and it can easily be driven around town all day long. They are expensive but you definitely get what you pay for.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

The Tq converter needs to match the cam , so you say the cam will not be very big , simply put the converter needs to stall into the cam powerband so if the cam starts around 2000 rpm the converter needs to be 2400+ , but with 3.23 gear it may not lock on the highway & creates extra heat in the trans with the converter always slipping so you need to keep the stall below the RPM you will be running at highway speeds as well .
I hope this helps ...

 

[JKCuda]

The Tq converter needs to match the cam , so you say the cam will not be very big , simply put the converter needs to stall into the cam powerband so if the cam starts around 2000 rpm the converter needs to be 2400+ , but with 3.23 gear it may not lock on the highway & creates extra heat in the trans with the converter always slipping so you need to keep the stall below the RPM you will be running at highway speeds as well .
I hope this helps ...

Very helpful, thanks. Cam should be 2800ish from what he told me so sounds like I really need to upgrade to 3.55's at least for a 3k stall. Even then I might be cutting it close... Very helpful info, again thank you. Funny how I ended up being recommended a converter by the folks at Holley and they never even asked me for rpm range or gears. They only asked me motor size and power level which I thought was pretty odd. I assume an external cooler in addition to the radiator is a good idea?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I for street use I would suggest a different cam , Lunati VooDoo series makes some killer cams that work well up to 6000 but will start far lower than 2800 RPM making for a better / longer powerband so I would suggest a 703 cam for the stroker this will allow for a 2400 rpm stall & making the car more fun everywhere . The part # for hyd flat tappet is 10200703LK .
If the converter is locking up no need for extra coolers if it is slipping & making extra heat you have a bigger problem than a cooler will help .

 

[Juan Veldez]

I didn't know Holley made TC's? I'd speak to Hay's and Hughes for the recommendation. Weight of car, street vs. racing use, cam profile and intake setup are the big deciding factors for stall considerations, IMO.

 

[Beekeeper]

I’ve used TCI with good results and they offer 904 units. They have techs who can go over your engine and cam details without putting you on hold.

 

[JKCuda]

I didn't know Holley made TC's? I'd speak to Hay's and Hughes for the recommendation. Weight of car, street vs. racing use, cam profile and intake setup are the big deciding factors for stall considerations, IMO.

It was hays I was talking to, I mistyped in my original post. I just found them via the holley website.

 

[JKCuda]

I for street use I would suggest a different cam , Lunati VooDoo series makes some killer cams that work well up to 6000 but will start far lower than 2800 RPM making for a better / longer powerband so I would suggest a 703 cam for the stroker this will allow for a 2400 rpm stall & making the car more fun everywhere . The part # for hyd flat tappet is 10200703LK .
If the converter is locking up no need for extra coolers if it is slipping & making extra heat you have a bigger problem than a cooler will help .

Yeah I kind of thought that was a small power band. I don't think he ordered a cam yet, and I'll be honest I am NOT up on cams as this is actually the first motor I've ever built. One only ever done bolt ons and turbos with my SRT4 as far as modifications are concerned. I know we're doing either a hydrolic or solid roller so maybe I'll call and talk to him and see if we can find something a little better for the street.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Lunati also has VooDoo series hyd roller cams & usually rollers will expand the powerband range .

 

[JKCuda]

Lunati also has VooDoo series hyd roller cams & usually rollers will expand the powerband range .

Yeah I know I've seen you talk about those in other threads I was reading. My builder works with Comp and does mainly custom grinds. I'm not a brand loyal type person so it doesn't matter much to me. It's quite obvious the 3.23 gears need to go so I'm looking at 3.55 or maybe even 3.73 now. 3.73's would definitely work better for the stall range I'm looking at. Builder wants me to pick gears and a TC and then he wants to customize the cam around that.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Comp Cams suck in Mopars , back in the 70s we used to laugh at how bad Comp was , now after tons of advertising everyone uses Comp & they still suck in Mopars as they are not designed for them just adapted from GM grinds mostly , Lunati uses cams specifically designed for the wider lifter & longer rod ratios all Mopars use .
The gear depends entirely on the type of driving you do & if you have OD , if you do mostly highway 3.23 is great , where 373 will have you running a lot of rpm at highway speeds .
Od changes the whole picture tho , if you can get .71 OD ratio 4.10 has lower rpm on the highway than 3.23

 

[JKCuda]

Comp Cams suck in Mopars , back in the 70s we used to laugh at how bad Comp was , now after tons of advertising everyone uses Comp & they still suck in Mopars as they are not designed for them just adapted from GM grinds mostly , Lunati uses cams specifically designed for the wider lifter & longer rod ratios all Mopars use .
The gear depends entirely on the type of driving you do & if you have OD , if you do mostly highway 3.23 is great , where 373 will have you running a lot of rpm at highway speeds .
Od changes the whole picture tho , if you can get .71 OD ratio 4.10 has lower rpm on the highway than 3.23

No overdrive, most driving would be back roads, light to light, with the occasional highway run but nothing terribly far. I will mention the lunati to my guy, he primarily builds Ford's though and really prefers to do all custom grinds through comp. I really don't know enough to challenge him, and honestly if he delivers the performance numbers we discussed then it's all water under the bridge for me. It's a cruiser, I won't be racing it, so I just want something fun and reliable. Worst case scenario I could always swap the cam if I really really hated it. I just finished yanking the rear stuff and I have a 741 case so seems like I'm limited to 3.55 or 3.73 unless I want to swap to a 489. I'll probably stick with the 741 for now and just build that. Gotta wait on Dr diff to get sure grips back in stock...

 

[Chryco Psycho]

About 14 years ago I was asked to help build 2 440+6 Challengers , the one I had complete control on the engine build incuding a custom ground Lunati cam , the other one the owner let a Ford guy built the engine , even on the one the Ford guy built I still did all of the porting & tuning on the engine . Later on the dyno the the one I built made 340 RWHP to the tires on a Mustang dyno which are hard to get a good # on , the ford builders engine on the same dyno made less than 220 RWHP by comparison .
So you could be throwing away 50% more power .

 

[JKCuda]

About 14 years ago I was asked to help build 2 440+6 Challengers , the one I had complete control on the engine build incuding a custom ground Lunati cam , the other one the owner let a Ford guy built the engine , even on the one the Ford guy built I still did all of the porting & tuning on the engine . Later on the dyno the the one I built made 340 RWHP to the tires on a Mustang dyno which are hard to get a good # on , the ford builders engine on the same dyno made less than 220 RWHP by comparison .
So you could be throwing away 50% more power .

Haha. That's crazy. This guy has done mopars, just specializes in Ford. He's got some other buddies that build mopars giving him recommendations and I've seen some of the stuff he's built. I'm not worried about quality or him under delivering, but if I can get more out of just switching brands of cam then I'll ask him to look at that. So far he's sourced the 360 for me with J heads(I was going to build a 318 and supercharge it), got me doing either hydraulic or solid roller versus flat tappet (I think that's right?), talked me into doing the stroker with scat crank and rods rather than building a motor for a SC setup down the road....so, so far I think he's lead me down the right path based on what my goals are for the car. Again though I'll definitely ask him about the lunati and see what his thoughts are because the cam hasn't been ordered yet, he's waiting on me to pick the converter and gears.

 

[moparleo]

To get a solid recommendation on anything, you can't give if "ish" specs. "Ishs" are usually "wishes"
The torque converter needs to come after the engine is actually built and you have actual information based on actual results.
Or accept the guess that matches what you have in your mind.
A lot of Guys that ask for advice, usually have an idea in mind and are just looking for validation.
Talk to a torque converter manufacturer, not a salesman.

 

[DrEamer]

Once you know all the specs of your engine, reach out the Andre at Edge Racing Converters. He is a Mopar guy and build a quality product at a fair price. He was one of the few guys that a actual stall converter for my A518.

 

[shakerjoe]

Have a Hughes 24-25HD TC in a stoutly built 727 behind my 9.6cr .030 over 440-6, 906 heads, stock carbs and exhaust manifolds, 3.55 8 3/4 limited slip, cam is a Lunati Voodoo 10230703 kit…I spoke to Johnny at Hughes, very helpful, gave him my specs(this was the tc I was wanting to pick and he agreed), I’m very happy how the car runs…nice and cool and snappy…

 

[JKCuda]

Once you know all the specs of your engine, reach out the Andre at Edge Racing Converters. He is a Mopar guy and build a quality product at a fair price. He was one of the few guys that a actual stall converter for my A518.

Have a Hughes 24-25HD TC in a stoutly built 727 behind my 9.6cr .030 over 440-6, 906 heads, stock carbs and exhaust manifolds, 3.55 8 3/4 limited slip, cam is a Lunati Voodoo 10230703 kit…I spoke to Johnny at Hughes, very helpful, gave him my specs(this was the tc I was wanting to pick and he agreed), I’m very happy how the car runs…nice and cool and snappy…

Yeah Hughes wants my cam specs, my engine builder wants to build the cam around the TC so I'm like WTH do I do here. I'm probably going to tell my guy to finish the engine and I'll buy the TC then. I don't understand why he's wanting to reverse engineer the cam specs. I talked to him about lunati but he doesn't like using them any more since they're mostly off the shelf now. He prefers comp simply due to existing work relationship and his ability to custom grind anything he wants. Unfortunately for me my knowledge of internal specs and such isn't good, so I'm at the mercy of trusting the folks I'm paying.

 

[Beekeeper]

This is a bizarre engine builder in my opinion. He should be asking what you want from the car once finished so he can build the engine to match your driving style.

For instance, if he knows you want a stop light race car with a choppy idle, he then builds the engine to suit this and he should have a pretty good idea what sort of gear ratio and stall speed will work with your new engine. He then chooses what the best cam will be along with heads, compression ratio, intake, carb and so on.

From there, you talk to a tech at a reputable torque converter place and with all your specs, they help you select the best converter. They even ask things like vehicle weight, tire size and rear gear ratio.