has B&M 151 tf embossed on it---what is missing ? what does it fit ? how do i find out more about it ?---got it in a load of junk at a sale...
B&M shorty clutchflite, GM belhousing, looks complete less clutch/p-plate/to-bearing. Uses a three finger p=plate and a paddle style disc. Still have a RAM six paddle disc, out in the barn somewhere Whats it fit? Anything With a GM BOP/Chevrolet belhousing with starter on right side and room under the floor. Old skool drag race trans. Had the Turbo version in my big block Anglia back in the day..
Try searching the forum, a number of threads on these. You have the good parts from the pics. Very cool find.
They were a drag racing trans before high stall torque converters. The idea was to launch hard with the clutch and shift fast with the automatic. One odd feature was the pump. They had to eliminate the oil pump from the trans when they did the conversion so they used a power steering pump with long hoses from the front of the engine to the trans. I don't know if they were all like that but the early Chryslers were.
The later versions used a spider to drive the pump off the engine crank/pressure plate fingers. The Fairbanks version (which I believe came first) was a better design than B&M's, it was a little more well thought out. BTW it's clutchflite, not clutchflight.
Your trans has a Chevrolet ONLY ****tershield designed to also use a block plate. The ****tershield is most likely no longer legal for compe***ion, especially since it has been modified by having an inspection cover fabbed up, and the starter motor side of the bell has also been cut down. The shorty adaption does away with the speedometer drive, so that may be an issue if used on the street. You could use another output shaft/extension housing to regain a speedometer drive, and a rear trans mount. Personally, I'd prefer a Clutch-Turbo, basically the same kind of setup, only using a TH400 trans. My reasoning is that when a TorqueFlite lets go, they literally explode. Butch/56sedandelivery.
yeah...exploding Torqueflites are real issue. Plus, a TH400 is reputed to consume more HP than any other 3 speed auto....
I used to run one on my altered. I learned not to shut the engine down going through the lights. The front pump stopped running, and the rear bushing on the output yoke seized up from lack of lube, locking up the driveshaft, stopping the rear tires RIGHT NOW!
only time I seen a 727 let loose is if the sprags broke ( from a broken driveshaft or improperly done burn out ) and the person didn't check them before running again , they changed the sprag design to help get rid of the problem , one of the nice things is the ****ter sheild makes it adaptable to any motor you want . we call them now poor mans lencos as thats basically what it is . and there is still a following for them today ( guys who cannot find a convertor that will hold up or the right stall speed for there combo ) . was thinking of using a clutch-turbo in the 50 .
any type of trans is dangerous if it blows up , thats why we use blankets or sheilds around everything on them .
No, the three fingered piece that shows in his picture is the pump drive. It interlocks with the three fingers on the pressure plate to operate the trans pump.
I run a Clutchturbo in one of my cars and it's a hoot to drive on the street! The "Ninja star" looking thing around the input shaft is called a Spider and it hooks to the clutch fingers to drive the pump since it don't have a converter. The clutch needs to be modified to accept the spider -McLeod can make them. These were used in the interim of the good converters and before Lencos became popular. The weak link on these is the small input shaft.
Measure the input shaft- there were many offered (diameter and spline count). typically the weak part is where that input shaft connects to the front drum just inside behind the pump- but unless you got mega hp/traction/heavy car, you probably wont have a problem. They are fun on the street, and you just need to get a non-diaphram clutch (use a 3 finger Long, or Borg/Beck style). The current twin disc street clutches work nice with them. I wish i had your shorty rear housing- mine's regular length. Like was said before the 727 can be a bomb even without it being a clutchflite. the problem is if you break a driveshaft or axle and the trans unloads under power in first gear. The sprag rollers climb up and out of position. If that happens, you just need to open it up and put the rollers back in place before your next run (while you're home fixing that broken ds or axle) I asked my machinist if i should go with a Supersprag or Bolt-in sprag (he races a hemi-Cuda and knows 727s) and he told me not to worry about buying those- just always do your burnout in second gear (or shift to second as soon as the tires start spinning at the beginning of the burn out). It's when something lets loose WHILE IN FIRST GEAR that the sprag parts "CAN" get out of place. But it's important to check it out, because the NEXT time after a driveline failure, is when it'll blow because the sprag got tangled. ALSO- it's a 727-the easiest auto to take apart and work on-they're AWESOME! -rick
I have a clutch turbo also, with hemi bell, was going to run behind my 392 but got cold feet at last minute, didnt know enough about them....
Isn't it, wasn't it, all about people neutral starting the torqueflite cars due to the lack of good converters? Way back in the day folks did that and often got an explosion (actually a hot oil bath)! When a torqueflite is neutral started the low reverse band is not applied and the rear sprag takes all of the apply load thereby causing failure and the subsequent overdriving of the front clutch hub. 12,000 rpm is more than it can take resulting in a grenade. That was cured with the full manual valve bodies(low-reverse band applied in 1st position) and of course better torque converters. Or so I remember. I know a guy that got oiled! It hurts.
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