Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Hey guys I am new to the board and I will admit that I am a bracket racer, however hoping to one day get into class racing such as stock or super stock, I have a 1969 Camaro and run 1/8th mile bracket races, I am looking at changing my converter but I dont know what to go with I was hoping with your expertise you could help me out, I have had to many run ins with conveter companies recomending me the wrong converter then not wanting to do anything about it. Thanks in advance, heres the specs....
69 Camaro 3500lbs
406sbc
400 Turbo tranny with transbrake
4.33 Gear
Roller Cam 242/242 @ .05 .555/.555 lift
3.75 stroke
750DP carb with vic jr intake
28x9-15 Slick
205/16 heads 64cc 215 runner
leaf spring car (if it matters)
shifting at 5700rpm
CURRENT converter Trans Specialties 10 incher 35-3800. (Too Small????)

Thanks again guys for your help !

Eric Bowling NHRA 332X

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Hey Eric,

Welcome to the board.
You will deffinatly need a looser converter for your combo. I think an 8 inch converter with 5500 stall should work nicely. also that 433 gear will have to go. if you are only running 1/8 mile a 5.57 gear with the short tire should work good. The 433 gear will make your motor labor and will cause the converter to slip excessivly resulting in alot of heat and premature failure. also it will cause the car to be inconsistent. contact ATI for the best converters. Looks like you have a pretty good motor for your purpose. Now concentrate on the chassis and the rest of the combo.

Mike

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Wont a 557 gear wind the guts out of the motor?? trust me any help you guys give me will help a ton, I am a really succesfull bracket racer but I can always use pointers from you guys with suspension and other information, I am a 9 time points champion in Pro class I am 30 years old and I have been having problems getting this car to hook for 2 years well since I put a brake in it, It hook great on a great track surface BUT, in unfavorable conditions the car is all over the starting line, the car get about 4-6 inches off the ground now, but I would like it to be more just for traction purposes, I have the Koni Spa1's on the front with moroso springs on front with afco leafs and Competion Engineering Slide a links on the rear, with Rancho 9000's on the rear, I am pretty low budget like to stay as cheap as possible, any recomendations??? Thanks in advance. Car specs are in above post!

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

There are a lot of good converter companies,We use Turbo Action,and have for 30+ years.ATI,PTC are also good.There are others too,you shoud spend some time with each manufacturer,and listen to what they say.

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

All but one out of 7 companies recomended me a 4500-4800 converter, Trans Specialties said 5400-5600.

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Just out of curiosity, did you talk to Coan?

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Yep Art @ Coan was the first person I talked to and he told me that a 4500-4800 would be perfect.

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Just my opinion, but with the 3.75" stroke, you need to look at it more like a big block - torque! A little too much gear and/or little too much converter is much worse not quite enough of either/both. I don't think you'd need more than 4.56, especially with those short tires and if you ever plan to run 1/4 mile. Taller and wider tires can help if you have the room. But I've found that some bracket tracks just don't want to spend the time and money to keep the surface in optimum condition. With much of their money coming from street cars, it doesn't help help the traction situation when the rubber mixes on the track.

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Has anyone of you ran an ATI Treemaster 8 inch? I called over there and I think I am going to go with the ATI BUT they said I needed to go with the ATI MRT which is suppose to be better for a transbrake, the problem is its $100 more than the treemaster, both have the ballooning plates would it be safe to run the treemaster? They recomended me a 4500-4800, does this sound about right? Thanks!

Re: Needing Help selecting Converter.....
 

Eric,

I would highly recomend that you follow what the guys at ATI have to say. I have run the 8 inch treemasyter converter for about 25 years. believe it or not I still have the original converter that I bought back in 1982. I have never had a failure. The only reason I sent it back to ATI was to change the converter to keep up with the changes in the class. We run a much looser converter in the super stock cars now with the ported heads and the trans brake. The MRT is mostly for the super catagories to get a faster reaction time. I dont think it is nessary for a bracket car as you are probably using a delay box.

Mike