42RH / A-500 in a Duster with pictures.
I'm thinking long and hard about doing a OD swap in.
My dilemma:
Right now I have an A999 that is only a year old on a rebuild with the works: kolene, red eagle components, Cheetah valve body and non lockup conversion. With a Hughes converter. This has been a very good trans, but I think I've been too spoiled by OD trucks/cars cruising at 70 mph and while spinning only around 1900-2200 rpm's
Of course I could sell the A999 once I get a good A500.
I also have a good buddy of mine (a GM fanatic but that's ok he's got good beer so it equals out) who is selling a rebuilt 700R4 for $700. I priced a Wilcap 360 to GM conversion set for $710.
So for over $1900 (+500 for other mods to fit this) I can get a setup for an GM overdrive.
Something tells me if I'm frugal enough I can do an A500 for cheaper. I did a 60% rebuild (the shop did the rest) on my A999 and did the conversion to non-LU myself.
Sooo, do I dare try to rebuild the A500? It should be similar but that OD unit seems intimidating as I've never even touched an A500 or A518.
A rebuild kit for the A500 (with premium clutches, bands and kolene steels) is around $700-$800+ a set. A shop quoted me $1300 to rebuild an A500.
A junkyard trans is $145.