Hi All, Please can i have some input on what power people are running through the old '37 LaSalle 3 speed manual ******s? Also if anybody has any ideas on what they think the maximum would be without risking detonation?!? thanks Dave
I ran a pretty hot Cadillac with a La Salle behind it..They're pretty Damn strong transmissions.There's a reason they ran them in the 50's in Drag cars.
They are strong....as long as you dont shift em like a '69 Dodge Dart every day you should be good....ive had one behind a 330+ HP early olds in my A Cdan for the last 4 years...they are built to beat on.... T.H.
If they survived behind blown, injected hemi motors, they should be able to handle just about anything that's going to be street legal.
What kind of boost? Turbo? Supercharger? A supercharger putting out 20psi can load up at launch, putting more stress on the drivetrain... Most turbos come on later... Bottom line is 700hp is a lot for any trans... LeSalle's aren't bulletproof by any means. If they're worn, they'll die at a lot lower HP levels... Maybe I'm missing the point but if I was building a 700HP, 20lbs of boost monster motor, a 'Traditional' drivetrain would be the least of my worries... I'd ditch the LeSalle for a T series trans and an open 9" and forget about it... Why try for 'Traditional' in the drivetrain when you've already blown that out of the water on the engine? Especially when there are better (and cheaper) options out there...
Looking inside the box, it looks like it could eat rocks without too much trouble. But like the original poster I am wondering if someone has some real first hand evidence of what they will and will not take. There is nothing non-traditional about a GMC blower on a 354, but yes, that kind of power is a lot for any trans.
Thanks for the replies, but to put things in perspective a little i will be running about 350-400hp from a '50 cad 331 motor (bored to 365) with hot cam, 390 heads, 4x2 setup etc....
Like with anything else if you're driving style is compattible it should handle that fine... But LaSalles have some weak points... Do a search for lasalle and Bruce Lancaster... I believe it was him that went through what to look for... It might have been in a thread started by Kevin Lee (grimlock)... If it's in good shape it should be fine... But it's just like with the old Ford Toploaders... Guys in the old-times could make those things last behind the hottest motors of the day... Most guys today couldn't make them last behind a 200hp flatty...
If you intend to use it hard, the thing I'd worry most about is the synchros. They do wear under hard use, and unless anyone is making new ones now, I imagine that they are hen's teeth to find nowadays.
IMO even though it's traditional, that's the wrong ****** for that much power. Yeah you can baby the hell out of it, but in that case why would a guy mess around with having a 350 horse cad under the bonnet? good luck with the project
Frankly I think that's a stretch... There weren't too many 700hp injected blown 354s in the mid to late 50's when the LaSalle would have been used. And none of them would have been in a street driven rod... I think it might be difficult to get an accurate real world feel for what the LaSalle can handle from anectdotal posts on here... Due to the scarcity of parts for these trans, most people using them are just running them the way they found them... So you have no idea the wear they have inside... Also driving style has a lot to do with how any trans lasts... Another unknown. Add to that, there just aren't a whole lot of LaSalle trans still in use, and I just don't think there's enough info out there to give you a real idea what they'll handle. All that said, I think any time you're taking the time and money to build a 700hp motor, you want to make sure the rest of your drivetrain is in as good a shape as the motor... So if you rebuild the trans to stock spec and use top notch bearings and parts... And you drive with respect for the trans, it might just last.... But like I said above, I think you might be trying to stretch the definition of "Traditionalism" to suit your own more modern HP concerns... I get that... Having your cake and eating it too and all that... But I think if you're building a 700HP car, your focus should be on speed/performance first and foremost, and 'Traditionalism' a distant second... Get a trans and rear that can handle 700HP with tinsile strength to spare... It might even be cheaper... And you can drive the hell out of it and not have to worry about where you're going to get your next cluster gear...
When Wilcap adapted my Lasalle trans to an 8BA, Pat told me he was also adapting one to a Hemi that was going into an FED. All the old hot rodders I talk to say the Lasalle/Cad trans are pretty bulletproof.
That was my understanding, but I don't have any first hand knowledge. I do have a '37 LaSalle trans with adapters to put it behind a 354 hemi, but I have a couple of other projects I need to finish before I get to that one. But I also agree w/Kilroy. If I were building a 700HP motor, I'd be using a drivetrain that could handle the power without having to worry about it.
I think that's what was indicated in the other LaSalle posts I've read... I also vaguely remember something about the shift points... Something about them catching the wrong gear and grenading??? Maybe someone else with more knowledge/a better memory can identify the weak points... But the impression I got was that the LaSalle was far from bulletproof.
My buddy has a top loader LaSalle behind his built 390. *Roughly* 400 HP and holds up fine. Now heres a question- how much HP will a Top loader Packard trans take? I have a chance to get one and want to stick it behind a mild 330 Olds.
not "first hand" per say, but my grandfather ran a top loader packard and a lasalle behind a blown hilborn injected stroker 371 oldsmobile (think Hugh Tucker's street roadster) in a 32 chevy coupe before getting into AA Fuel....granted, he moved on to using a B&M like Tucker, but he did run with success with both the ancient toploaders.....Packards are worth it as well...sorry to get OT.... The br*** synchros are definately the weak points....if i remember right its from second to third that usually gives out.... T.H.
Later trans has the aluminum synchros and they will fit the earlier case. Don't recall if you can swap just the synchro, or everything.
Maybe ya can setup a video camera the first time you sidestep the clutch with that combo, LOL I doubt you'll get a second try if its in a full bodied car, but it should be quite a spectacle. Make sure ya bolt on some big slicks for maximum carnage.
heres a follow up from my earlier post....this is what grandpops ran a 37 lasalle and toploader packard behind...1962... thats the same engine he dropped into a lynwood ch***is a year later and was running mid 8s at 170+ mph.... T.H.
I guarentee you can break one behind a hemi but it didn't make that much difference when you could stop by the wrecking yard after work and pick up another one.
To clear up an earlier post: The LaSalle is a "bottom load" "top shift". The 50 Olds stick and the early Caddy(AKA LaSalle side shift) are also based on the Bottom load trans design, and they all have just bottom covers...no top covers and no side covers.
It is self-evident, but I'll say it anyway: That car is awesome. Do you have any numbers that the coupe ran or the size of those rear tires?
413, Figures are hazy, but from what hes told me it smoked the tires the whole track and was somewhere in the low 11s to very high 10s....for a stock ch***is set up 32 chev coupe, he seems to remember it launching pretty well.... T.H.
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