Mopar Muscle Association UK

Hmm, i might be interested there Neil.... Not sure i've enough info on my motor to get a converter just yet
Also probably need diff & wheels 1st!

'Bout how much and is there a range of dual-stallers?

Paul
price is around ?400/450 and there's a good range of stall speeds

Dual speed torque converters are a GM thing so I'm not surprised you guys aren't into them. They were actually developed by Buick for thier implementation of the TH400 called the Super Turbine 400 and were fitted to big Buick boats from '64 to '67. The actual name for them is "switch pitch" because they work by changing the vane pitch on the converter to adjust stall speed on the fly. They are also occasionally found in Oldses and Pontiacs as they share the Buick bolt pattern.

My LeSabre stalls at 1800 and 2800 RPM. The stall speed is controlled by the gearbox governer, vacuum signal and a kickdown switch on the carb. Basically if you go from a dead stop it stalls 2800 RPM until you get your foot out of it. If you hoof it on the fly at WOT it will kick down and also kick into high stall. If you squeeze it a little in top on cruise it will shift to high stall mode. When cruising it will use the low stall for easier cruising.

Postons and a couple of other places do competition switch pitch converters and controllers for the TH400, usually spaced 1000 RPM appart (2000 & 3000 or 2200 & 3200 etc) and you can have switched control so you decide when it uses high or low stall, and theres timers for use at the strip where the best performance is generally to use high stall for something like 2 seconds more than your 60' time and then shift into low stall. Theres tech on this in Postons catalog but they hadent discovered the internet last time I checked.

I am planning on doing a Oldsmobuick conversion on my S/P ST400, which uses the Oldsmobile valve body from a 455 with the correct valve bores which allows the ST400 to make automatic part throttle down shifts in high or low stall and also permits the box to shift down into 1st at above 20 MPH. It also means I can use the standard GM trans pan and filters rather than the Buick specific ones. Thats all a job for when the box finally dies of the abuse I give it.

Any TH400 can be converted to S/P operation by using either the gubbins from a Buick LeSabre/Wildcat/Electra/Riviera/GS400 or the external control unit from Postons, or cobble something up with switches and relays yourself.

I like it but it was considered an unnecessary expense for manufacture and maintenance and standardisation across GM killed them in like '68.

A novel solution to an interesting real world problem - how to get the most out of the torque in a heavy barge of a car.

no switches or fancy electrics on the Dynamic ones as far as i know, I haven't a clue how they work but will know when this one arrives

Sounds VERY interesting!
Thanks for the background info Alastair.
Keep me posted

Wil, I'd be interested in learning more. Can't afford one at the moment but its an interesting concept to learn about.

I agree Alistair, very interesting.

When Don suggested one of these for wildmans charger there was no implication of it being anything but a straight fit.

I know nothing about these convertors as i've already said but when it arrives i'll know more.

When I ordered it I got the impression that there had been a few strings pulled to get one earlier than the official release date, now this could have been me but that's what I thought and I can't find any information on these so maybe I'm right.

Wildman doesn't need it now so it looks like I've got myself one, which may come in handy if a BB and 727 will fit in the 54 Dodge pickup i've got coming I doubt a BB will fit but you never know.

Hmm, theres certainly no mention on Dynamics website so we may be pushing the boundaries here
O' course i'll have a manual valve body so will i still get the benefits of dual stall assuming i occasionally have the willpower to not floor the throttle and i try now and then to shift before the redline?

Paul

I can't see why a dual stall wouldn't work with a manual valve body, maybe Dunc or Blue would know more..

Yeah your right, now i've thought about it- all the shifter does is select the gear, the converter still decides when to 'let the clutch out' and with the dual, it has two options depending on weight of boot on throttle?
Actually my BMW635 has the 'Tiptronic' box which you can switch between 'sport' and 'economy' so thats probably doing a similar job.