A500 in a 1970 A Body
- Thread starter bandit340
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Guitar Jones
aka Angry Johnny
It can be done but it requires major trans tunnel and crossmember surgery. Is it worth it? I don't know. I know that if I wanted to continue to drive my car on the street an overdrive of some sort was going to be necessary. These days I'd probably look at Kiesler 5 speed conversion. I know they are costly but probably worth it. I wouldn't flip the coin to put the GM O/Drive in my Mopar though. Just couldn't bring myself to do that.
LJS30
Well-Known Member
How about something from Gearvendors?
fstfish66
Well-Known Member
the A500 is the smaler body modern O.D tranny,,,the 518 is the bigger body tranny,,, before u do the A500 look in to the set up for the O.D. see what that takes to hook up,,,i know from dong a 518 and im not sure the A500 is the same,,but,,up to 1992 the O.D is an easier hook up then the 1993 and newer 518,,,al tho its not that big of a deal,,,but a lot of guys that have no clue wil tell you both these trannys are junk,,, if you hook them up correctly they run fine,,
and i agree the keislier O.D auto matic is costly,, and its a GM trany,,,wont find that in my car,,,
and i agree the keislier O.D auto matic is costly,, and its a GM trany,,,wont find that in my car,,,
fishy68
Tyr Fryr's Inc.
Actually thru 95 they are all hydraulic controlled except for the OD switching. 96 is when they went all electronic. I have read the 92's had some issues that were resolved in 93 so a 93-95 is better.
Awhile back I rebuilt an A500 for a buddy and when I had it here I looked it over good to see how well one would fit in my Cuda. It's quite a bit smaller than a A518 so I don't think you'd actually have to modify the tunnel any. Just the crossmember and shorten the driveshaft. But I didn't actually try test fitting it up in there since my car was assembled. Just took measurements. It's close but I think it will clear the tunnel.
C130 Chief
Mechanical Genius
A500 is a 904 with overdrive and lockup converter. Same chunky overdrive in rear, so crossmember still needs mods. If you score one cheap and have a welder why not. Let us know how it turns out. I've been toying with the same idea.
fstfish66
Well-Known Member
i just took out a 518a OUT OF a 1948 dodge street rod we are working on,,other then the over drive unit,, it didnt appear to be as big as a normal 727 body,,
fishy68
Tyr Fryr's Inc.
If it was a 518 it is as big as a 727 because the main case is based on the 727 case. The A500 is based on the 904 case so it's smaller. I've seen them side by side and each main case is nearly identical as the corresponding non od unit. The O.D. unit is alot bigger than the original tailshaft extension. That's where the problem with fitment comes in.
375inStroke
Well-Known Member
This guy did an A-518: A-518 in '68 Dart
The OD part is the same size on both tranies.
The OD part is the same size on both tranies.
lhearold
Well-Known Member
I'm doing a 518 into my 69 Dart. It does require some modification to the tunnel and the tranny cross-member. The A500 is basically a 904 with OD and isn't any stronger unless a LOT of money is spent. The 518 is based on the 727 and with minor mods will handle 450-500 HP. If you are squemish about cutting up your A body then don't attempt it. On the other hand, if you plan and do a bunch of mockups you can make it look pretty decent. Here's some pics of mine in progress and in the final stage ready to put the drive train in. The engine is a Magnum based 408 stroker, MP-EFI..
Larry
Larry
SSDA67
Super Stock HEMI
I put a 518 in a A-Body with a 500 Cubic In 968 HP engine and a 8 3/4 4.30 gear.It was on a Street Tire and ran 9.20's and got 14MPG...
The transmissions will both hold a lot of HP and dependable..The MYTH of a 904/500 is what some people THINK..."I" have broken EVERYTHING Including aftermarket "Bulletproof" Housings..
SS
The transmissions will both hold a lot of HP and dependable..The MYTH of a 904/500 is what some people THINK..."I" have broken EVERYTHING Including aftermarket "Bulletproof" Housings..
SS
speedyb-cc
speedyb
Hey Larry that motor looks very lonely sitting there all by itself, you should send it down here so I can break it in for you LOL
Bruce
Bruce
SSDA67
Super Stock HEMI
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ROFLMFAO^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That'd be GREAT wouldn't it?!
SS
That'd be GREAT wouldn't it?!
SS
lhearold
Well-Known Member
I'm not saying it won't but dollar for dollar, its going to take a lot more modification for the 500 to handle the HP than the 518. All depends on how much money you have to spend.
SSDA67
Super Stock HEMI
That's Called"CUBIC DOLLAR$"..he he he
I have done them all different ways and with a basically stock trans with a GOOD Rebuild Kit(Good Clutches)and a shift kit they work just as well.As long as you're half way intelligent about it(No Reverse Roll-outs or Neutral Drops)it will last quite awhile without any further Mods....
SS
moparfreak77
Well-Known Member
I seen a site where the guy cut the "fins" off of the tranny and only had to modify the crossmember...i think, does that sound doable?
lhearold
Well-Known Member
I saw that one too before I started on mine so I had an empty case bolted to a bare magnum block that I was using for mockups. Cut off the ears and still had clearance problems. The main problem is that the tailshaft is much larger on the 518 than the original 904 that was in the car and its the tailshaft part that goes thru the upper and lower part of the crossmember. Plus you need to open the floor up a little to clear the VSS or speedo cable. Its really close in that area. Naturally once you open up the top of the crossmember, the floor needs to be reshaped to fit. Then the rear portion (behind the crossmember) needs to be formed back into the original floor. Naturally the crossmember is where the torqe from the torsion bars is applied so it needs to be solid enough to resist flexing when you go over bumps, etc., that put stress on the t-bars. If someone was going with a totally different front suspension, such as the Alterkation unit, then the crossmember could probably be just cut out and not replaced on the top. providin sub-frame connectors were used. I suppose there are a lot of ways to do it. Mine was just one of them.
Larry
lhearold
Well-Known Member
Bruce,
Here is its home. My son up in Round rock has one similiar though. Its in a 65 barracuda. Don't think he's run it in a year or so though. He is kinda between jobs and money is tight so he just parked it in the garage....
Larry
two_70darts
Well-Known Member
has any one on this site used the gear vender units
fstfish66
Well-Known Member
im also intrested in hearing about the gear vendors unit,,
lhearold
Well-Known Member
A guy I know up in New Hampshire has one in a 64 Valiant. Had to modify the tunnel on that one too. Don't know if you would on a 67 and up though and I don't know of anyone around here that has one in an A-body.
Larry
two_70darts
Well-Known Member
thankz for the response on the vender i started a thread to see if any else would resp. not to hijack this one thankz alot:happy10:
superdart
Shade Tree Tinker Gnome.....
I think this is about the 50th time I said this, but the 518 fit in my 75 Sport with zero floorboard mods. The crossmember hoop connecting the torsion boxes together had to be cut down and rewelded, but otherwise it fit fine.
Just to be safe, 2x2 inch box subframes were welded in, and a beefy trans mount was fabricated to strengthen the torsion boxes also. The car has a rock solid feel to it.
Just to be safe, 2x2 inch box subframes were welded in, and a beefy trans mount was fabricated to strengthen the torsion boxes also. The car has a rock solid feel to it.
375inStroke
Well-Known Member
Where did the back of the yoke end up? Was it centered in the tunnel or below where it would be with a 727 or 904? For me, the problem would be how low the trans sits, especially with the deeper pan. My 904 in the '69 Swinger is taking a dump now and I have a 518 already to go in it's place, so this thread is just what I need. I have a 440 too on the engine stand, so while I'm at it...
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