Any successful road race cars that ran automatic transmissions?

[Ghoste]

And are there any advantages to running one really?

[John_Kunkel]

A shop owner I know used to have a B&M Torqueflite that was built for a Can-Am car...nothing outwardly different other than it was setup for a dry-sump. No history on the car or how well the transmission worked.

[bakerhillpins]

Are you including paddle shifters in your definition of an auto trans?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_transmission

[Ghoste]

No I was thinking more along the lines of what John posted.  Vintage stuff more than anything I guess.

[NYCMille]

Are you asking because you're thinking of doing one, or just for general information. I run a built up 727 backed by a Gear Vendor unit with a reverse valve body and to be honest, it's the best combo for road racing in my opinion. This combo combines performance and usability by letting you manually run through the gears without the distraction of clutching and possibly missing a shift. Keep in my I also run a Keisler 5-speed in my Daytona and the 727 combo in my experience is FAR superior. Think of it as a triptronic style tranny that actually works well.

[Ghoste]

Out of interest.  It actually began as a discussion at work and no one could think of one.

[mauve66]

i always thought one of the reasons were that the sticks were lighter and ounces are everything in a real race car plus you have to have the cooler weight also

[Ghoste]

Is the stick lighter?

[Todd Wilson]

Heres another one.............running 904's behind Hemi's!


Todd

[Indygenerallee]

You lose more rear wheel horsepower with a auto transmission vs. a stick

[Ghoste]

I've heard the 904 thing before.  I also remember a few years ago some of the Ford guys were putting T-flite guts in their Ford trans for stock elminator somehow because they were lighter and less parasitic.

[MSRacing89]

We run a built 727 with a Turbo Action shifter and valve body. Pushing 550hp in road course prepped car. I think it does quite well. You can ask all the manuals we out ran at the OUSCI.

I do agree you can lose a little power, but this type/ level of racing/driving has so many other factors that the least of my concerns would be the trans.

[aussiemuscle]

i always thought one of the reasons were that the sticks were lighter and ounces are everything in a real race car plus you have to have the cooler weight also

power, i think was the reason no one used an auto (except for drag racing). because the auto sucks power (especially in older cars, new ones are pretty much on par with manuals) they stayed away.

IMO i found i was quicker with an auto in computer games, because 1. there's usually no power/weight penalty and 2.it gives me the driver ability to concentrate more on the road/race/car and not worry about gears and revs.

[RallyeMike]

I can't really think of any other that what is mentioned here.

For awhile, I ran a 727 in the 72 for Open Road Racing. I opted for the reverse valve body but that is a mistake in my opinion. If you have a problem at full throttle and want to get out of gear, you have to go through 2 and 1 to hopefully hit N (and not overshoot it in your excitement). If I was going to run a TF again, it would have the stock shift pattern for sure, where N is 1 gear away.

I have since swapped to a 833 4 speed OD.

[C5X DAYTONA]

Ernie Conn said he put a 727 from B&M into Jack McCoy's #7 Dodge Charger and ran a NASCAR race at Riverside in the mid-late 70s.   I talked to Ernie 3-4 years ago and his son Bill still had it and said it was on loan from B&M.   George Wallace from B&M had told me the same story.  They loaned the Conn/McCoy team an automatic and never got it back..   

[Ghoste]

Did Ernie say much along the lines ofhow he felt the thing worked?

[C5X DAYTONA]

I know Bill Conn said it worked great.   When I started road racing my 69 Daytona clone I used the 727 with a column shift and a delete plate on the 4 speed floor hump to screw with everyone.  I have a gear vendor and almost installed it but the extra weight and horsepower loss was the deciding factor to me installing the 4 speed.   I really wanted the extra gear and the 4 speed just made more sense to me..        Bill did ask me if I wanted to use his(B&M's) automatic.