Have u ever seen this before?

[SRT-440]

Pulled the 383 and old tranny out today to freshin it up some and install the rebuilt 727 thanks Jamey (RD). Everything went fine until I saw the bell housing on the original 727. According to the numbers it came from a run of the mill 383 ('68). So, why are there 3 big a** holes in it? For cooling? Never seen it before. 

Also, after looking the engine over it is a '69 383HP block.



Pic of the engine right before it was pulled:

[Charger-Bodie]

van transmission?

[SRT-440]

Thats what I thought or from an RV or something...but according to the numbers on it supposedly it was from a passenger car. 

[doctor4766]

Perhaps it was on a weight loss programme.........

[SRT-440]

Maybe for some kind of timing?

[tan top]

could of been a trans in an all out  drag car !!  between rounds  pour water to cool converter/fluid  & or with the lower converter bolt access plate removed   would give air flow in at the bottom & out the top holes 

[RD]

could of been a trans in an all out  drag car !!  between rounds  pour water to cool converter/fluid  & or with the lower converter bolt access plate removed   would give air flow in at the bottom & out the top holes

that is my guess.  heard of this stuff, never saw it personally.

[SRT-440]

I think yall are right..prolly for cooling..it was a race only car in it's previous life.

[RD]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

[SRT-440]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

my dad said that is the B&M lever for that shifter. But ud think it wouldn't look like a 904 lever..how much of a difference is there?

[RD]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

my dad said that is the B&M lever for that shifter. But ud think it wouldn't look like a 904 lever..how much of a difference is there?

i would stick with the 727 style.

[terrible one]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

my dad said that is the B&M lever for that shifter. But ud think it wouldn't look like a 904 lever..how much of a difference is there?

i would stick with the 727 style.

Not to hijack, but is the straight lever the right one for a 727 console shift?

[RD]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

my dad said that is the B&M lever for that shifter. But ud think it wouldn't look like a 904 lever..how much of a difference is there?

i would stick with the 727 style.

Not to hijack, but is the straight lever the right one for a 727 console shift?

straight lever is for all 727's minus pushbutton ones of course   though some did come in different lengths.

[terrible one]

in hindsight... weird to see the 904 style shifter lever on there instead of the 727.

my dad said that is the B&M lever for that shifter. But ud think it wouldn't look like a 904 lever..how much of a difference is there?

i would stick with the 727 style.

Not to hijack, but is the straight lever the right one for a 727 console shift?

straight lever is for all 727's minus pushbutton ones of course   though some did come in different lengths.

That is good to hear as that is the lever I have. Thanks for the info 

[Rolling_Thunder]

seen it before -  not 3 holes but one in the center top of the trans...     

[TylerCharger69]

It looks as if it were done in the factory  and not an "after the fact" hack job......But then again.....if it were made for cooling as a "pro"   which if the trans and converter grenaded during passes wouldn't that be a place for fragments to go  being a "con"??   Very interesting though!!!

[RD]

It looks as if it were done in the factory  and not an "after the fact" hack job......But then again.....if it were made for cooling as a "pro"   which if the trans and converter grenaded during passes wouldn't that be a place for fragments to go  being a "con"??   Very interesting though!!!

not if you have a bellhousing scattershield.  not saying they did, but it could have been a possibility. just saying 

[SRT-440]

It looks as if it were done in the factory  and not an "after the fact" hack job......But then again.....if it were made for cooling as a "pro"   which if the trans and converter grenaded during passes wouldn't that be a place for fragments to go  being a "con"??   Very interesting though!!!

After looking even closer at it, seems to look like maybe something that coulda been from the factory (not saying it was)..looks nice and clean around the edges and perfectly spaced apart...def not random holes someone drilled at home...unless they had something real fancy and cleaned it up after the drilling. 
Another useless fact about this engine/trans the builder works for TCI, we spoke with him briefly after we bought it...maybe this was done in their shop.
And surely when this setup was raced they had some kind of scatter shield..