Adapting an A518 transmission to a 440 on the cheap?

[chargerbr549]

I am toying with the idea of putting an A518 tranny behind my 440 in my 74 2wd pickup can I use a midmount plate like this one from summit racing  and basically use it as an adapter from smallblock to bigblock bolt pattern with maybe some modifications to make it work?

Kevin

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CEE-4038/?rtype=10

[RD]

nope, because you are using the same bolts to mate the trans to the engine.

get a ultrabell, cut the A518 bellhousing off, mate the ultrabell and you will be good to go.

[motorcitydak]

yep use the JW ultra bell, the kit is 3-400 iirc

[oldcarnut]

Saw this on Moparts
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=3453311&page=1&fpart=1&vc=1

This was for a truck install but for a 70 B-Body has anyone installed it to say how the tunnel fit/mods were? 

[200MPH]

HighPerformance Mopar  mag had a right up on the swap I believe it was called "Roach Runner"  i think it required mods to the tunnel or torsion bar area, but there is another article too,but on a Dart.. http://www.transmissioncenter.net/SwapInformation.htm   has switches and suggestions etc.

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/727transmission.htm

scroll down the page a bit on this one



http://www.dippy.org/forum2/index.php/topic,231.0.html

 there is some cutting to be done on different cars, i still think this the cheapest option over the Keisler GM Transmission. IMO only!

[b5blue]

  I gotta look into this more!

[flyinlow]

Put a 518 in my 440 Charger last year . Used the Ultrabell. Appeared the best and least expensive way.

Transmission                        $400
Ultrabell                               $325
Big cooler+ 3/8" lines               $100
Transgo shift kit                       $125
Spare crossmember, fluid
wiring and switches ,
speedometer cable extemtion        $100
Shorten driveshaft                         $60
                                                _____
                                                $1110 

Two days work with lift and 2 guys.............worth it!  4500 miles on it so far.                                             

[b5blue]

Any photos? Did you have body mods and trans mount adapting? What TC are you using? 

[flyinlow]

Body mods where small . I let my buddy (Chevy guy, he enjoyed it) take a ballpein hammer to the tunnel to make 2 half golf ball size clearances. You dont notice them with carpet.

Removed some of the webbing on the tailshaft housing. You may not need to do this with a truck. My trans  came out of a 94 B3500 van with a 5.9L engine.

Significant crossmember mods. That's why I bought a spare. Chevy pick up truck trans mount used .

Converter is stock 11" lock up that came with the trans. Probably about 2500 rpm stall with my mild build 446. Would have to put slicks on to tell. Plan on putting a TCI lock up converter in someday. Very limited choices with a 518.

The front part of the trans is basically a smallblock 727. With the Transgo kit in it has been working fine so far.
I do not beat on the car in overdrive and lockup. The overdrive and converter clutches are not rated for over 400 lbs. of torque. Eventually I will put better clutches and stronger springs in. Maybe John or Jamie will chime in here .
In 1,2 and 3 gear ,I beat on it just like a torkflite.

You will need 3/8 cooler lines and the 518 uses a cable to operate the kickdown. I modified my kickdown rod and linkage to work . Takes some fiddling . Do not run without it. Shifter is a Hurst quarterstick 2. Overdrive and lock are controlled by two toggle switches. They simply compleat the circuit to ground. I use a vacuum switch on the converter circuit. If the intake vacuum drops below 6" the converter unlocks.

In traffic you drive it like a torkflite(switches off). When you get out on the road you flip the OD switch. (700rpm drop). Then if you are not going to stop for awhile you flip the lockup switch. (300 rpm drop). 1000 rpm drop at 70mph with 3.55 axle.

As you slow you should unlock the converter . Around 25mph the engine gets unhappy if you have not. The converter will unlock on its own as the trans downshifts into first at about 12-15 mph . Would not recommend letting it do this!

If you leave the OD switch on it just shifts into OD about a second after the 2-3 shift. Makes the converter slip more and the car feels sluggish until up to speed.

Will try to post pictures.


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,58556.msg652819.html#msg652819

[flyinlow]

518 mod.

[200MPH]

Would these mods work for a 618 trans

[b5blue]

Thanks I've got a much clearer idea of what it takes, it's a better option than the GV overdrive some have had trouble with. 

[flyinlow]

Would these mods work for a 618 trans

Not sure . 618 should be stronger, but the valvebody is probably set up for a diesel.

[200MPH]

interesting

[flyinlow]

more pictures

[b5blue]

Now..I 'm wondering about the speedo gear, is it changeable for axle ratio adjustment like 727? 

[flyinlow]

518 uses an electric speedo. But, the 727/904 geardrive works in it. It is farther back. I used a 20" speedo cable extention. Drive comes out buy the crossmember on 73-74 Chargers. Had to cut and reinforce. Uses the same
speedo gears as torkflights.

[200MPH]

This could be a better deal than GV or Keisler??

[flyinlow]

The 727 I had in my car after I put the 440 in was a buddy's Ray Christain trans from 30 years ago. Still worked fine,but he did not want to sell it. So I was looking for a trans any way.

Looked at GV . Only .78 OD

The 4l60 is supposed to be a decent trans. 3.06 first gear is nice. .65 OD if I remember is good also.  However.....
It is a small block chevy trans, heavily modified to live behind a Big Block Mopar. It requires a computer to operate it .As long as it works it is great. If I am 500 miles from home when it quits , I don't know if NAPA will have one.

Eventually after I upgrade the clutches and converter I will have about $2200 total in the swap doing the work myself.

The A518 looks and drives like a Mopar transmission. It was my choice , good luck with yours.

[200MPH]

This is true and the keisler is over 4k   

[b5blue]

I have an ace in my back pocket. The friend that sold me my car owns a transmission shop! We talked about this 14 years ago (and since). The 70 was his first car and he had it for 17 years before I bought it. I almost switched from 440 to small block but the 440 had 1 build left in it, so I kept it. With my new job at the V.A. 2 miles from my home and having built the car as a long range cruiser (3.23 rear) this swap would be perfect a year or two from now when my money is better. 

[ac_knight]

I am extremely considering doing this, this thread will be a big help in the future.

[Big440]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forums but have been a car guy all my life. I'm building a 68 Charger ( rotisserie resto, but also a driver) so I'm interested in overdrive. The A518 looks like a good choice but I have some questions. My car is going to have a 500 CID engine around 500-600 bhp when done (440 stroked) do you think the 518 will handle hard launches and the 1-2 shift?  I don't plan on beating the car, just want to smoke some mustangs off the line! Anyone have any problems after their install? Parts breaking? How about flex plate, will the 518 converter bolt up to the 440 flex plate?
Any other info would be great .
Thanks

[flyinlow]

The 518 front section is very similar to a smallblock 727. Mine came out of a one ton van with a 5.9L engine. My engine makes more torgue (525-550 ftlb ?)  but the vehical is lighter. I have BFG tires which are a relief valve for my drivetrain. They spin before things break. I installed a Transgo reprograming kit and want to upgrade the clutches in the future. I DO NOT subject the OD and lock clutch to full throttle

Converter bolted to the stock 440 flex plate. The converter had a balance weight for the external balance 360. I ground the welds and removed it.

[Big440]

Are you happy with the 518? It doesn't sound like you had any problems yet.
My concern is that because the 518 is for a small block is it strong enough for a big block? Also you mentioned a reprogram? I thought there was no control unit with the 518 swap, just two switches for OD and lockup. So what is the reprogram? Also are you able to tell me the sources for the Ultra Bell and speedo extension?
Thanks

[flyinlow]

One of the best mods I have done to the car. I live in the sticks ,so I do a lot of hi way driving.

The Transgo shift kit firms the shifts, bumps the preasures up to help hold the clutches/bands and lets you shift into first gear at any speed(left that out) Two switches, one for OD ,one for lock up.

Changed the fluid/filter over the winter after about 5000 miles . Nothing in the pan. Transmission had about 80k on it from the Ram van. So far ,so good.

How strong is it? I always felt a 727 with a cooler and a good shift kit could handle a Hemi or mild build 440  for a long time in street use. When you look at a 518 it looks like a 727 with a fat tailshaft housing. Internal differences ? Don't know yet. I was going to upgrade the internals last winter, but did a couple suspension projects instead. Maybe John Kunkle or RD could tell you more specifics on the internal differences.

If I went to the track often a beefed up 727 and GV. would be stronger.

Ultrabell was from Summit , Speedo cable on Ebay, forgot wear.

[idahogrumpy]

      We have a 518 behind a 470 stroker. Ours was pro built here locally for our 600 hp engine. The owner had the transmission built to non lock up specs. He also had a custom built converter with about a 4000 stall based on the dyno slips.  This has been stuffed into a 73 Plymouth Scamp. Serious cross member mods were made to the Scamp which included building a new upper and lower cross member primarily for strength. Our combination used a adapter kit, plate. It is not quite finished yet but we have a target date for the second week in July. I do not have any pictures. Grumpy

[Big440]

 I got my 46RH today! Any one have the part number for the JW Ultrabell from summit?

[Hot_Rodder]

You will have to cross reference the number with Summit but here it is:
http://www.campbellenterprises.com/parts.php?type=search&query=jwp92457

[flyinlow]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/JPT-92457/

[FJMG]

A fair amount of components are shared in these trans. For example, when I built my 46re in my 97 ram I noticed on the parts invoice that the oil pump is identical from a 1961 727 to my 97 46re!! which would lead one to think that you could build one any way you want. I was only warned that a stock lockup TC can wear prematurely if the  flex screws are not torqued properly since they can dimple the TC exactly where the L/U wears on. The solution (I was told) was to use a billet face TC. 

[adauto]

Intresting thread for sure with a ton of good info. Some day I'd like to get an OD behind my HEMI and get the 3.23's swapped for some 3.91's. Wonder how it fit in an E-BOD tunnel... hmmmmm

[rcannon440]

What is the connector on the side of the over drive unit used for? I found an A518 R3008101AC unit to use but I want to make sure this will work, it also has the same connector on the side of the tail housing shown in your pic.

[rcannon440]

Disregard my previous post. I see that the connector is used for the electronic speedometer. What truck did the crossmember come from?

[flyinlow]

The crossmember was from a 73 Charger,not a truck. Modified by me. The transmission mount was a 92 chevy 1500 , I think.

[Paul G]

The A518 was the best mod I have done. I used a GM auto trans kick down switch mounted to the throttle linkage along with a relay. I believe they have it as a kit on the PATC website, I pieced mine together, it will kill power to the OD and TC at what ever throttle position you set it at. It insures that the OD and TC wont engage under heavy load. I used pressure switches on the trans as suggested already. All this stuff is on the PATC website I think. Oh, I picked up an adjustable pressure switch on Ebay for the OD to get it to come in a little sooner. Your final drive ratio along with line pressure in the trans will determine when the pressure switches operate. I have 3.91 gears, OD & TC were coming in pretty late. OD comes in at 40 mph the way it is adjusted right now. I recently ordered a time delay relay to try in place of the TC pressure switch I am using. I am going to have the TC engage 5 seconds after the OD comes in. Newer cars operate kind of that way. Other wise the TC doesn't engage till 52 MPH, I hardly ever get to 52 when cruising. The goal is to have nice low RPM while cruising. We'll see how that works out.     

[Paul G]

Also, to avoid pinion angle issues, make sure you get the trans tail in the same position as the other trans was, no lower or higher.

[Paul G]

This thread is over two years old!