manual valve body

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1969moparDART

1969moparDART

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can i get some picture of you guys manual valve body setups ( i.e. interior tranny steering column basically anything that had to be changed to swap to a m.v.b. for your 727 autos) and also where you got your shifter and linkage ect ect, i want to do a m.v.b. setup on my 1969 dart 318 727 tranny and 71/4 rear-end ( i have a 8.25 i just havent done anything with it yet) so i wanna mock up a parts list so i know what im looking at. thanks guys
 
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im gonna change rear-end, i already have one i just havent put it in yet and i love shifting, i like the control but i just cant afford a 4 speed right now so im gonna go with this for now
 
You'll need a MVB unit (fairly easy to swap with the standard VB). Shifter linkage is straight forward with aftermarket shifters, though it can take some fine linkage adjustments to get it shifting just right. I find it helps to have someone in the car moving the shifter through the gears while I eyeball and adjust from underneath. I haven't tried to retro a OEM column shifter to a mvb, but guessing someone her has done it.

Be well and enjoy that project,
Pat
 
Divenut said:
You'll need a MVB unit (fairly easy to swap with the standard VB). Shifter linkage is straight forward with aftermarket shifters, though it can take some fine linkage adjustments to get it shifting just right. I find it helps to have someone in the car moving the shifter through the gears while I eyeball and adjust from underneath. I haven't tried to retro a OEM column shifter to a mvb, but guessing someone her has done it.

Be well and enjoy that project,
Pat
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ok sweet thanks man
 
My computer crashed, lol, else that wouldda been one of the shortest AJ posts ever!
Because the column shifter is like a big rubber band. If you don't push hard enough nothing happens, but if you push just a tad too much it might jump a gear or worse hit neutral. Downshifting is even worse,cuz if you go from third to first, your rear wheels will will skid and you have a good chance of losing steering control. You will be spending so much time concentrating on not fubarring the shift, you will become a hazzard to all the other drivers on the road. Where is the control in that?
On the street, do yourself a favor and get a semi-auto kit and a floorshift with a stout shift cable. Just as much up-shift fun, auto backshift, or not,variable throttle pressure,and put in D so your girlfriend will ride with you.
 
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1969moparDART said:
how so? you cant just say that and leave lol you gatta explain
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Disaster might be too strong of a word. But for a manual valve body, you generally want a shifter that has strong detents for each gear, if not a gated type shifter, to prevent inadvertent selection of the wrong gear or neutral. That's why you will usually see MVBs used with floor shifters like quarter sticks, ratchets, or race-style gates, like shifter1
 
Last one I used I kept the factory floor console shifter. Get a reverse pattern mvb and you dont need to worry about hitting neutral. Not much else to do really other than removing the kickdown linkage since it will no longer be needed.
 
MoparMike1974 said:
Last one I used I kept the factory floor console shifter. Get a reverse pattern mvb and you dont need to worry about hitting neutral. Not much else to do really other than removing the kickdown linkage since it will no longer be needed.
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TCI 121700: Manual Valve Body 1967-79 Chrysler Torqueflite 727/904 | JEGS so the pattern on that would be 1-2-3 or D-N-P and are there any brands to stay away from? and would i also have to swap rear-ends now or could i do it a little later? also what should i do for shifter as i have no console or anything? should i get an oer console then do a shifter or can i go just to the floor with a shifter boot?
 
D 2 1 it says it is a reverse pattern....

D is where 1st gear

2 is 2nd gear

1 is high gear or 3rd..
 
Reverse and Park and Neutral never move...only the forward gears do....

Park
Reverse
Neutral
1st
2ns
3rd.....
 
1969moparDART said:
can i get some picture of you guys manual valve body setups ( i.e. interior tranny steering column basically anything that had to be changed to swap to a m.v.b. for your 727 autos) and also where you got your shifter and linkage ect ect, i want to do a m.v.b. setup on my 1969 dart 318 727 tranny and 71/4 rear-end ( i have a 8.25 i just havent done anything with it yet) so i wanna mock up a parts list so i know what im looking at. thanks guys
Click to expand...

Most of the shifters like you would want are floor mounted and cable controlled.
You just have to make the hole in the floor for the cable and mount the shifter to the floor.

I have a kitted 42RH and the Hurst Promatic 2 ratchet shifter and like it just fine.
Shifting 1-2-3 manually is easy as I just put it in first by pulling back on it from drive twice to ratchet it there, and then bump the shifter forward each time I want the next gear.
A ratchet shifter returns to it's center position after each manual shift, but the indicator on the shifter moves to each position showing what gear you are in.

A non manual valve body will also NOT let the trans go into first if you accidently put the shifter in 1st.
It would wait until your road speed gets down to a safe level before downshifting.

I can just put mine in D and it does everything automatically like a regular VB, but I added the "1st at any speed" option of the shift kit.
I can put my trans in first at any speed because an unmodified trans will not downshift into 1st with the road speed too high and sometimes I want that high RPM and lower gear instantly.
Now remember, from D I have to pull back on the shifter twice to go from D into manual low so it really can't be done accidentally unless I'm in manual 2nd and pull back instead of pushing the shifter forward for 3rd.
(If I ever did that it would be tires squalling and over rev city):D
I still can however drop down to 2nd any time I want and at any speed by pulling the shifter back once from drive.

Clear? :D

Sorry, no pics of a manual VB install or setup but there's always Youtube.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Why?
You ain't going racing with a 7.25 are you?,lol
Having to shift every single time, on the street, gets real old real fast.
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i did it for 10 years in one of my 69' 340 swingers with a straight pattern. column shift car the first 5 years. you get real good at hitting second with the column :D biggest no no, don't eat while your driving :rolleyes:
i'll be going manual reverse with my Winters shifter in the valiant
 
I had a full manual in a 69 Barracuda /6/console car. With a 2800TC, I was gonna be Mr. Kool.. I think that lasted about a week. Maybe two. Then I converted it to semi-auto.All the fun of full manual, but when in D; auto-downshifts and starts in low. That was 1978 or 79, so I was about 25, dang that's a long time ago.
All my auto cars since, got the semis
 
AJ/FormS said:
My computer crashed, lol, else that wouldda been one of the shortest AJ posts ever!
Because the column shifter is like a big rubber band. If you don't push hard enough nothing happens, but if you push just a tad too much it might jump a gear or worse hit neutral. Downshifting is even worse,cuz if you go from third to first, your rear wheels will will skid and you have a good chance of losing steering control. You will be spending so much time concentrating on not fubarring the shift, you will become a hazzard to all the other drivers on the road. Where is the control in that?
On the street, do yourself a favor and get a semi-auto kit and a floorshift with a stout shift cable. Just as much up-shift fun, auto backshift, or not,variable throttle pressure,and put in D so your girlfriend will ride with you.
Click to expand...
Well AJ, here are my experiences with 25+ years of RPMVB usage. Every day I drive either a 68 Satellite with a column shift or a 73 RR with Slap Stik , both equipped with RMVBs. The column shift feels as natural as can be. The lever is close enough to the steering wheel that I can leave my thumb against the rim of the wheel while shifting. With the reverse pattern, the worst thing that could happen when upshifting is accidentally going from first to third. Not much downshifting going on. If I have to slow down below about 15-20 mph and then accelerate, I will drop down to second. I generally don't shift back into first until I come to a stop. If I don't hit any traffic lights on my way home from work, I might never get out of third until I get home.
 
I ran a RMVB with the stock column shift in my vert for 3 years. First 6 months was with the 7 1/4 until it exploded the spider gears. You get use to shifting it on the column pretty quick.
 
I forgot to mention I have a column shift now but I plan on going to a ratchet shifter on the floor
 
I have a Cope reverse valve body in mine with a Hurst Pro-Matic 2 shifter. I don't mind the shifting at all, really not that big of deal to have to shift it. When I bought the car it had a forward VB and I liked not having to find and deal with transmission linkage. I did have one issue, you can shift into any of the drive gears regardless of speed. When I changed valve bodies was use to the old pattern and went from second to first, instead of third, on a speed run and ended up breaking the u-joints, rear yoke and twisted up the rear so bad that the axle moved forward enough to do some body damage also.
I kind of like the forward pattern because you can go from 3rd into neutral. There has been a time or two that I've had an issue at cruise speed and throwing into neutral would have been nice. With the reverse pattern its not an option, pretty much have to slow down to crawl, as you downshift to get to neutral.
 
And that is why I would not run one up here, Cuz shifting into neutral at speed is my first line of defense when the back starts coming around, on mixed ice, snow,mud, and/or too deep in the throttle on cold concrete. I just sip it into neutral and let the tires get a bite and recover, then back into D, and motor away. I woudn't be able to count the number of times this maneuver has saved my butt. I need neutral to be where it's supposed to be on a streeter. But I suppose not everyone drives like I do,lol.

Plus I really like the auto kick-down feature. And the Part-Throttle KD feature. And I like the 1-2 shift to be several hundred rpm higher than the 2-3, Automatically. When it comes to autos, I've always been a smash the pedal, and let the hydraulics to the thinking. I just hang on and keep it between the ditches.
 
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There's a time and place(s) for a manual valve body, just depends on how involved you want to be, or not be. I like having the shifter in my hand and controlling the shifts, or downshifts at all times. I also like the elimination of kickdown linkage or cables and brackets etc. Real simple! Running a good shifter with it obviously improves things. I'm running a PPP shifter w/standard pattern, with a TransGo 3 kit. Slam or snick, no worry of over shifting.
 
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