Hot Rods Torque converter Question

Hoping someone can help with a question I have on torque converters. We are installing a Chevy 301 backed by a power glide in a car that originally had a 6 cylinder. Can we use the torque converter that the 6 used originally or will this cause a stalling issue? Will a stock 283 work okay in this application?

Thanks,
TR

 

Was it air cooled?What years?

 

Should work fine. Aluminum power glide?

 

I don't know that it will live behind a 301 without rebuilding.Is this the 54 vette,then it is cast iron I believe.

 

I think i'd suck it up and just get a new converter and be sure--unless you really like pulling automatic transmissions. A 301 (bored 283 in my day) is a high revving beast and was well known for breaking parts-like transmissions.

 

Converters dont last for ever. You are better off getting a new converter. Get one thats made for your idle and lockup rpm. The stock converter might lock up at a too low rpm which will cause it to “push”the car when you are on the brakes and when you are stopped at the lights etc it will still be trying to push which will cause the trans to go bad quickly. I had one like that and it was a pita. Had to put in in neutral at the lights or fight it and hope it did not shove me into the car in front.

 

Read up on torque converter K-factors. Basically, the stall speed of a converter varies with the square root of the torque it sees at that engine speed.

In fact, the first high-stall converters were simply stock converters intended for low-torque applications. They didn't always survive their repurposed roles, though. But I'm talking about converters that came out of 4-cylinder imports etc.

Assuming that your V8 makes 20% more torque than the six, the stall speed would be about 10% higher than before. The V8 makes its torque at greater rpm, though, and so derives more than 20% more power from it. Would a stall speed 10% higher suit your needs?

 

Tell us more about the 6. What year car? The cast iron powerglide was used behind the 6 from 1950 to 1962. Then they started using the aluminum powerglide. The early convertors were bolt together units, very large diameter. The later ones got smaller, and were welded, and as mentioned some were air cooled.

We can only guess at what torque converter you're talking about....how about some details?

 

Off-the-shelf torque converters are affordable. Why go to all the trouble, and then consider using the old converter?

 

Yep you can get one from the local Advance Auto Parts or Carquest. I usually get one for a 70 Chevelle with a turbo 350 and a 350 motor and they're about 85 bucks with the $5 core that should fit the power Glide also I believe

 

TH350 uses a fine spline input shaft, Powerglide is coarse spline.

 

You'll want rear gears and a higher stall torque converter behind a 301/w Powerglide.

 

That’s subjective to how the 301 was built.

 

If that converter's been sitting around for a long time it's probably not safe to use and you're better off getting it rebuilt or replaced because if there's anything damaged inside that converter it'll pump it through the transmission and wipe it out

 

Thanks.

The same converter was used for 53-57 6 and V8 applications....so it might work...I see an adapter for a cast iron powerglide to a V8 in the background, hopefully you also have a V8 transmission to use with it.

There's an O ring between the halves of the converter, that gets hard over time and will leak, if not replaced.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/1929_57chevyparts/57cmpc0374.htm

 

If it weren't "subjective," they would all be exactly the same.