I have a stock Turbo 350 in my 70 Rally sport, and I was wondering if shifting the trans manually is ok or do I need to put a shift kit in it?
Thanks

Tough question. I'll give you my experience(s) with manual and automatic shifting.

In 1980, I built a TH350 with a B&M Manual Pak kit in it. ANIMAL tranmission with brutal shifts. IF the driver (me) could get the transmission in the correct gear from start to finish AND shift it at the right RPMs, it was hard to beat. I sold this transmission last year. It now resides in a Gen II Camaro 406 NOS fogger'd animal. New owner loves it as he has a shift light.

Fast forward 20 years. New race program and new thought process. B&M govenor modified to shift at 5600 RPMs and it does so EVERY TIME. I put the trans in drive and drive it to the end.

So what's my point? If you know you can shift at the correct RPM everytime it may run faster. BUT if you have any doubts, use the modified govenor and let the trans do the work.

Cardinal

I modified my governor with the B&M to shift at 6000 RPM at WOT, and it does so ultra-consistently, I love it.

hey purple, how does it shift during normal driving(not wot)? does act ok on the road with that b&m governor kit? is it the same for a th-400? thanks, greg

The "govenor" modified trans shifts like normal transmission does except at WOT it won't shift till the preset RPM.

Cardinal

Manual upshift will not hurt anything...

Manual downshift CAN hurt parts....

Do a search under my username in this section.

exactly what cardinal said, the governor only comes into play at WOT, otherwise, the vacuum modulator controls the shifting. In other words, it acts just like it always did except when I put the pedal to the metal.

And yes, the TH400 uses the same governor, just a different cover, the kit comes with a rubber o-ring for the TH350 cover, and a gasket for the TH400 cover.

[This message has been edited by purple81 (edited October 19, 2003).]

TH400 governor body is the same but the gear is different....

Weights are different too but not a big deal when you are changing them.

You can do the same without the kit, save the $30 and go buy a 89 cent package of 6D finishing nails, grind the old pins off, remove the weights, grind them, reinstall using the nails, bend the ends over when reassembled.

If it is shifting too late you need a ligher spring/heavier weight combo...