555, 523, 568 ???????????

[Ondonti]

Some sort of conversion kit to be able to use off the shelf stuff would be killer. And by off the shelf I don't mean some subaru or dodge part that will get discontinued next year :P I bought shift Pads from Lengel so I am not part of the problem. I kinda wish I bought more but I seem to have quite a few good stock pads.
I don't think Chrysler's terrible financial/carmaking performance the last 15 years has helped.

That 020 etc vw transmission does seem to scatter diffs. Old roommate had a turbo 8v 2.0aba and the transmission puked its guts out a block from home. That was pretty awesome. I think a $1k dollar diff helps hold his power level but its not like he was making more then 200 or so.

[dodgeboy77]

It's great to see you experts kick this around. I'm late to the game and just recently started thinking about swapping to a 5-speed just for driving fun. I don't have much knowledge about what's inside the individual transmissions but am learning a lot here.

I'm thinking that a good bet on a low-wear junkyard transmission for my purposes might be a 91-up 523 out of a basic N/A sedan like an Acclaim or a Shadow, not a heavier van or a more powerful (and likely to be well thrashed) turbo, and the lower the mileage the better. Any obvious problem with this plan?

Bill

[jonnymopar]

Did the transmissions in the old Omni's have the funky input shaft with the clutch release pushrod through it?

It's great to see you experts kick this around. I'm late to the game and just recently started thinking about swapping to a 5-speed just for driving fun. I don't have much knowledge about what's inside the individual transmissions but am learning a lot here.

I'm thinking that a good bet on a low-wear junkyard transmission for my purposes might be a 91-up 523 out of a basic N/A sedan like an Acclaim or a Shadow, not a heavier van or a more powerful (and likely to be well thrashed) turbo, and the lower the mileage the better. Any obvious problem with this plan?

Bill

What car would you be swapping it into? That's a great trasmission, and Ondonti, as well as others, have proven the strength of that particular gear set.

[dodgeboy77]

It would be going into an '85 Dodge 600 ragtop. The car is currently a T1 but I have an '89 2.5 bored .020 over, Wiseco pistons, T2 Garrett with a 3" swing valve and 3" exhaust, intercooler, '89 SMEC, OBX, etc. etc. You get the idea. I'd like the new motor to be in the 300 horsepower range.

Bill

[Ondonti]

I don't know what power level the transfer shaft sleeve starts walking off at. My Holset powered car at 3000 pounds (witch hitch) at 108mph was not doing (less then 300hp) it but my light Duster almost put a hole in the case. Not sure if there are other aggravating circumstances. Seems like there are a lot of cars that have not had this happen and in my mind they make good power.

I think the other potential problems are at very extreme HP levels or just bad luck/driving mistakes.

[cordes]

It's great to see you experts kick this around. I'm late to the game and just recently started thinking about swapping to a 5-speed just for driving fun. I don't have much knowledge about what's inside the individual transmissions but am learning a lot here.

I'm thinking that a good bet on a low-wear junkyard transmission for my purposes might be a 91-up 523 out of a basic N/A sedan like an Acclaim or a Shadow, not a heavier van or a more powerful (and likely to be well thrashed) turbo, and the lower the mileage the better. Any obvious problem with this plan?

Bill

The later 3.77FD 523s are a great choice as they are nearly as strong as a 568 is. I like the FD better than the 3.85s too. Regardless you should be good to go with one for a long while so long as you treat it fairly nicely and don't make over 400HP or so IMO.

To 135SOHC's earlier comment, I think he is right on about the ROI not being there yet. Guys are needing something stronger, but there is nothing out there which is proven and even then there are only about 5 guys who would actually purchase a solution for real world costs. Heck, I'll probably need a few of the lock rings you've made, but that's a little ways off. I've got a feeling that you have a few of them on hand still...