what is the best overdrive transmission for a Duster

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A833 is a Truck trans and been told it won’t fit in a duster without many custom changes

I’m too am looking for a manual trans for my 318 duster . I currently have 3 on tree but thinking I want a 4/5 speed on floor but can’t find one that will fit
 
The only one that will fit is the A body OD. After that, tunnel clearance MAY be an issue. Check the threads!
 
doesn't Passon make a 5 speed overdrive in a 4 speed case?
 
Johnny71dusty said:
? What ? That trans mission # is that ?
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HUH?!?!

A-833, OD version, not B/E version. Which, by the way can be fitted in without to much hassle since the tail bolts up at the same spot on the cross member.
Go to the bigblockdart.com tech pages below.
Tech Index
 
RustyRatRod said:
The A833 OD is not a 3 speed. I don't know why people insist on calling it that. Anything with the A833 designation is a 4 speed transmission. The 833 OD just happens to have 4th as an OD.

The best one for you car is relatively rare. It is the 1976 only transmission, which had a cast iron case. Find one of those, if you can.

To get an A500 or A518 in your car, you will have to do some major work to the floor and to the torsion bar cross member and the transmission cross member. If you want to stay automatic, the GM 200R4 is probably the best.
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no one calls manual trans with over drive as 4 or 5 speed . Ford famous trans is called a 4 speed with over drive . Aka 5 positions but they don’t call it a 5 speed . Nor does the shifter 1,2,3,4 ,od . A833 was a real 4 speed but once they changed it is called a 3 speed with over drive. Brewers trans even corrected me on it in email when I asked for a 833 4 speed with over drive by mistake .
 
"Overdrive" used to mean a three speed manual transmission with an extra gear at the back to overspeed the ouput shaft faster than the input shaft. Then the automatic overdrives came out and some of them were actual overdrives and some weren't(like the 700). Now anything that overspeeds the output shaft is considered an overdrive.
 
Johnny71dusty said:
A833 is a Truck trans and been told it won’t fit in a duster without many custom changes

I’m too am looking for a manual trans for my 318 duster . I currently have 3 on tree but thinking I want a 4/5 speed on floor but can’t find one that will fit
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Look, you are confused

The A833 is not a "specific" rendition of the Chrysler gearbox. It was used in SEVERAL versions from about 63 to ?? and was used with DIFFERENT tail housings and lengths, AS WELL AS "straight through" 4 speeds and towards "the later"---the OD version

First version through --64-65..........In "big" passenger cars, long shaft, straight 4 speed, and "flange" type drive shaft connection

65--69--------B/C body cars was long shaft and slip yoke, shifter mount towards front of tail shaft
65-?? A bodies used SPECIAL SHORT TAIL HOUSING and in later years was built BOTH WITH straight 4 speed gearing and OD gearing

So far as "truck" boxes, they are simply long shaft, same as B/ C body cars

HOW TO TELL if you have an OD or straight through 4 speed box

Get the box into neutral. That is twist/ wrench the shifter shafts to the mid position until you can turn the front shaft without the tailshaft turning. Now wrench the front shaft CW, "to the right" This puts the box into 3rd gear in a straight box, or the OD gear in an OD box

Turn the front shaft exactly one turn while watching the rear shaft, after marking it somehow. If the front shaft turns 1 turn and the rear turns LESS than 1 turn, it is a "straight through" 4 speed and NOT an OD box

If the rear shaft turns MORE than the 1 turn of the front, it is an OD box.

The front shift lever on an OD box points DOWN, but someone may have mounted it incorrecting, regardless of box type.

CAVEAT!!! READ!!! There were also some oddball cases MADE FOR GM USE. Some of these had a case with the Chev bellhousing pattern, and a short GM input shaft

Example of a special GM A833 OD box.........special case with GM bell pattern, GM input shaft and special GM tail shaft. YOU DO NOT want one of these

attachment.jpg


Another: Chrysler A833 built for GM. This time it has the GM input shaft but a Chrysler bell pattern, and was used with an adapter plate to the GM bell. This one is for a 4WD "married" transfer case

a883-018b-jpg-jpg.jpg
 
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Chrysler A833 tail shaft lengths. On left is short shaft FOR ALL A BODIES. Middle is long shaft with the two shifter mounts, made in 70/ later. Front mount was used in B bodies, rear mount was for E bodies Far right is long shaft before 70 (There were no E bodies)

Trucks used long tail, and either long or short "could" be an OD or "straight" either one

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67Dart273 said:
Chrysler A833 tail shaft lengths. On left is short shaft FOR ALL A BODIES. Middle is long shaft with the two shifter mounts, made in 70/ later. Front mount was used in B bodies, rear mount was for E bodies Far right is long shaft before 70 (There were no E bodies)

Trucks used long tail, and either long or short "could" be an OD or "straight" either one


I’ve been looking for that A body tail everywhere since July not seen a single one for sale anywhere
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A Body 833 transmissions are not that hard. It really does not matter what gear ratio it has. The O/D gears are no big deal. A body tail shafts come in 26 spline, 30 spline, and ball and trunion outputs. A Body O/D tail shafts come in 30 spline, same as standard A Body, and 26 spline different from the standard A Body. You can swap the standard main housings on any A or F body to the O/D and tighten everything up and it will slip into any bellhousing. The only difference then is the 3-4 shifter rod and arm. The earlier the O/D the better the gears. If you have a truck O/D, I'd change the main and tail housings and main shaft. They also are not as weak as one would think.
 
You'll save more money by tuning your carb and ignition.

I have same car, same engine, same tires, same axle, built 340.
-A-833, 750 double pumper, but tuned fairly well, 11-12 city, 13.5-14 or so mixed with some hwy, cruising at 3000
-A-833, Sequential multi port EFI, 13-14 city, 16 with a lot of longer mixed 45mph to hwy driving with long trips
-T56 magnum with .68 OD, multi port EFI, better first gear, 14.5-15 city, 45 driving has been over 17, but never went on long trips so far, but could probably get 20.

Any loose converter will make it worse. But it shouldn't be 9.6 mpg.

Years ago when I had the 318-2bbl, it got 13.5 pretty much constantly with a stock 904.

With a carb you're kind of at the mercy of the accellerator pump and it hurts city mileage, especially with a stick, with the EFI I have a lot more precise control. The EFI also goes into overrun when coasting so it injects no fuel in certain situations. But I fully believe you can get to the 11-12 mpg range very easily and probably on a trip cruising at 3000, 15-16.

Get a good wideband and a vacuum gauge and start tuning it.
 
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