why a custom built converter isn't for everyone....

do you agree with the 1st post?

  • yes, I agree

    Votes: 20 62.5%

  • Nope, I disagree

    Votes: 12 37.5%
  • Total voters
    32
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rumblefish360 said:
For the wife’s build, I went out of my way for a custom converter. (When they were down the street from me) I went to Pro Torque to have them work on the older converter of the early 904, which is a problem spline wise to find anything for. IMO, even for the mostly cruiser state of the vehicle, it was the best move I made at a price I’d pay for again in a drop of a hat.
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I called one of the recommended conv. guys , and told him my combination and what I had , he said it sounded about right , and having him build me one would be about $975 plus shipping . I got the coin saved , but dont like laying under a car any more = getting too old !
 
Buy the converter you are happy with and can afford if you feel you want to upgrade to a custom built later on thats an option.IMO its better to have one built to your combos specs but its not absolutely necessary especially in a street driven car. A few years ago I was considering an " off the shelf " converter for the 518 in my 92 D150 as I wanted better 60 ft times. I spoke to the guy( Lenny at Ultimate ) who did my two 8 inch 904 converters and he said send me your stock lock up converter and I will redo it, well he did and I went from 2.20 60fts to 2.00s and it was only a few hundred bucks. Years ago I had a pretty much stock 318 in my Dart while my 340 was being redone, it ran 13.20s with 3.91 gears a 10 inch converter and a manual valve body 904, I swapped to an 8 inch Turbo-Action converter 4,700 stall right out of the old Mopar Performance catalog and starting running 12.70s with no other changes. Before purchasing a whole new converter maybe consider having your existing one redone for a higher stall speed as it can be done sometimes for less than a whole new converter would cost.

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Kevin, the converter you have will be fine. Run it and enjoy it. We all leave somethin on the table. **** man, I built my 400 with USED CAST pistons and a cast crank. It's what I have, so I have to use it. I bought an Elgin cam ON SALE for 59 dollars. It's what I could afford. None of this engine has seen the machine shop. Would I like to have done it differently? Sure, but I couldn't. I did it how I had to, or not at all. Unless you're as blessed as some of these other guys, you have limits. I know I do. In the end though, to ME making something good again from something bad is much more rewarding than gettin the checkbook out.
 
BVoelzke said:
Buy the converter you are happy with and can afford if you feel you want to upgrade to a custom built later on thats an option.IMO its better to have one built to your combos specs but its not absolutely necessary especially in a street driven car. A few years ago I was considering an " off the shelf " converter for the 518 in my 92 D150 as I wanted better 60 ft times. I spoke to the guy( Lenny at Ultimate ) who did my two 8 inch 904 converters and he said send me your stock lock up converter and I will redo it, well he did and I went from 2.20 60fts to 2.00s and it was only a few hundred bucks. Years ago I had a pretty much stock 318 in my Dart while my 340 was being redone, it ran 13.20s with 3.91 gears a 10 inch converter and a manual valve body 904, I swapped to an 8 inch Turbo-Action converter 4,700 stall right out of the old Mopar Performance catalog and starting running 12.70s with no other changes. Before purchasing a whole new converter maybe consider having your existing one redone for a higher stall speed as it can be done sometimes for less than a whole new converter would cost.

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Nice Truck! I wonder what your 60 ft times of the truck would be if you had bought a 299 Hughes converter? That would be a fun comparison and thread. A recommended "off the shelf" from Hughes vs a custom built converter in something like the truck. I say custom would most likely win, but by how much in a 1/4 mile?
 
I’ve seen a small block duster pick up 3/10s and 5 mph in a quarter mile. Went from 10.60s to 10.30s. Just goes to show what a good converter can do b 4 ya. Kim
 
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oldkimmer said:
I’ve seen a small block duster pick up 3/10s and 5 mph in a quarter mile. Went from 10.60s to 10.30s. Just goes to show what a good converter c ask do b 4 ya. Kim
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A good custom converter for sure will provide max performance!
 
It might have picked up more with a different converter but I trust Lenny , I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money plus there aren’t to many converters for the 518. I had the trans out to have a shift kit installed so I had him do the converter. The trucks not fast (low 15s) but it goes rounds.

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It may be worth a shot. The 764 is a durable converter from the factory. This will be a core that was cut apart, then checked and maybe some parts replaced then re welded. Just changing to bearings from thrust washers will up the stall speed. U can have ur core rebuilt in the big city as most big places have converter rebuilders. Kim
 
yellow rose said:
In what respects? ET? How it drives? Both? Neither?

Making a decision as you first asked is largely based on what your expectations (optimization, potential etc) are and how you define them.
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yes, to all of it when speaking of Max Performance. But my point has been, when building "dirt road budget build" vehicle, and parts or being thrown at it and continued to be thrown at it, a custom converter isn't optimal for the budget because the changes would be enough to warrant "another custom" converter.
 
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318willrun said:
yes, to all of it when speaking of Max Performance. But my point has been, when building "dirt road budget build" vehicle, and parts or being thrown at it and continued to be thrown at it, a custom converter isn't optimal for the budget because the changes would be enough to warrant "another custom" converter.
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I've only skimmed the 7 pages of this mess, but it appears that folks are talking in circles. To your point made above, if you are throwing parts at a build, then it would make sense for you to just throw whatever converter you have at it, because you really don't care about maximizing your combo (ET and speed). For those of us that DO care about having a fast car, get a converter tailored to your specific combo or you will be leaving a lot of ET/speed on the table....its that simple.

By the way, this was posted in the RACE forum; therefore, I would suggest a custom converter everytime....if you posted this in the non-race area it might be a different story.
 
flyfish said:
I've only skimmed the 7 pages of this mess, but it appears that folks are talking in circles. To your point made above, if you are throwing parts at a build, then it would make sense for you to just throw whatever converter you have at it, because you really don't care about maximizing your combo (ET and speed). For those of us that DO care about having a fast car, get a converter tailored to your specific combo or you will be leaving a lot of ET/speed on the table....its that simple.

By the way, this was posted in the RACE forum; therefore, I would suggest a custom converter everytime....if you posted this in the non-race area it might be a different story.
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I agree with your entire post. I posted it in the race forum because the project of topic was our drag truck.
 
318willrun said:
I agree with your entire post. I posted it in the race forum because the project of topic was our drag truck.
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I have been racing for over 35 years and IMO two of the biggest performance enhancers are A better converter and steeper gears !

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BVoelzke said:
Buy the converter you are happy with and can afford if you feel you want to upgrade to a custom built later on thats an option.IMO its better to have one built to your combos specs but its not absolutely necessary especially in a street driven car. A few years ago I was considering an " off the shelf " converter for the 518 in my 92 D150 as I wanted better 60 ft times. I spoke to the guy( Lenny at Ultimate ) who did my two 8 inch 904 converters and he said send me your stock lock up converter and I will redo it, well he did and I went from 2.20 60fts to 2.00s and it was only a few hundred bucks. Years ago I had a pretty much stock 318 in my Dart while my 340 was being redone, it ran 13.20s with 3.91 gears a 10 inch converter and a manual valve body 904, I swapped to an 8 inch Turbo-Action converter 4,700 stall right out of the old Mopar Performance catalog and starting running 12.70s with no other changes. Before purchasing a whole new converter maybe consider having your existing one redone for a higher stall speed as it can be done sometimes for less than a whole new converter would cost.

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To me that is a custom converter since he did it based upon the vehicle. I use a local outfit for converters all the time and they are built to spec for $250 with quality bearings etc.-no junk parts. they are great for a budget deal but when I need something more serious I have YR speed dial his guy at ptc lol. No way I could run an actual off the shelf converter after some of the nightmares I have seen/been through.
 
I had two converters for my 727. One would go 1.34 60 about anywhere. Made the car incredibly predictable when I was running my smaller carb and intake. Went a ton of rounds with that set up. The other was on the tight side and would 60 better and grab better ETs, but was hit and miss off the launch (10.5 slick). Came in handy for heads up challenge races. Of course I threw that perfectly good combo out for a 904 trans, bigger intake and carb. While I like to be a “good” bracket racer, I also like to tweak the combo to see what’s in there :).
 
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