904 rebuild

[deathcharger71]

i found a place that will do the labor for cheap on my tranny rebuild, but i want to purchase the parts myself so i know exactly whats going into my tranny. i just need to know what kit to get and what valve body...on a budget haha. i want a hard shifting tranny with a manual valve body, and its going into a 71 charger. ive been searching around online and theres a lot of kits with a wide range of prices, im going for cheap but i also want something thats gonna last...but i also dont need a strip only race built tranny. maybe if someone on here has a 904 they built up they could tell me what they put into it. thanks a lot-scott

[chargerbr549]

I'm not sure what engine you are running but if you want a hard shifting tranny and want it to last I would probably recommend a 727 instead of a 904 but if you are set on the 904 I would recommend an 81 on up tranny because of the low 2.77 first gear instead of the older ones having I believe a 2.45 ratio, but most of the newer trannys are lock-ups so you could do some parts swapping if you don't want that and at least get the low first gear which should make a pretty good difference in acceleration. I had an 82 Mirada with a 318 and 904 with the low first gear and 2.94 rear gears that was all stock and it shifted and ran fairly well  and stayed together but I wasn't very abusive to it either. I have never used a manual valvebody so I can't comment on that but I have used B&M transpacks, Gil Younger and TCI stuff and have had good luck with them and I am sure that there are some other brands that work just as well or better, anyway that's my two cents worth.

Kevin

[dodge freak]

I got a 904 with the 2.74 first and 1.54 second-think you have to get both- and a cheetah manual valve body. Its good but if I had a 360 instead of a 318 the 727 would be better. My trans guy try to talk me in to a 727 but cause it takes up a little more horse power to run I did not want it. He put a 5 disk clutch pack in- stock is four- and other stuff , not sure what, All the good stuff.He charged me $500 and I paid for the valve body another $135, they have gone up I think. Said he did not know how long it last, this is my 3rd year on it but it get stored 4 months a year and I don't drive it everyday when it is out. I have 3.91 gears in back so first gear is great, really great and second is ok and third has a good top end. If I had to do it all over not sure if I would do everything the same but maybe. I hope those trans guys are good cause if it not done right it won't last 6 months. My trans guy said the 727 would last 10 years behind a 318 and if it was his car that what he put in it.

[deathcharger71]

i would like to go to a 727 but i cant afford it, and from what ive been told if you build the 904 right it will survive a 360. i also have a set of 4.10 gears sitting in my passenger seat waiting to be installed when i get the tranny work done

[dodge freak]

Then just use the stock 2.45 first gear. Like I said I have 3.91 with the 2.74 and its great from a dead stop, but if I am going 20 mph or so I wish I had the 2.45. I think the 2.45 would work better most of the time with 4.10 . My trans guy said no, 2.74 makes everything easier. When I had the 3.23 gears yeah, but now I not so sure. Oh I told him about those 360 motors and how the 904 works fine. He said yeah but they rebuild it every few months. Mines doing ok so far.

[John_Kunkel]

If you're hunting for a core to build, the A-999 is the best choice, it has the 5-disc front clutch and the wider kickdown band.

Makco is a good source for quality kits/parts at reasonable prices; I would recommend the TransGo TF-2 reprogramming kit in addition to the performance rebuild parts.