Late 80's to mid 90's magazine...
I'm p..r..e..t..t..y s..u..r..e.. there was a "Vitamin C" orange car on the cover...

Most stand-out part of the article (to me) was: it showed a picture of the valve body to illustrate something - and it said something to the effect of; "if you're doing this with the transmission in the car, hold this article above your head and look up." (paraphrased)

Anyways, point of this post is that it was / IS a phenomenal article to a FANTASTIC, PROVEN shift kit. I used it to rebuild five transmissions, two of which are mine that are still working outstanding, and I drive them daily - that I absolutely love everything about the shift pattern and performance.

Problem. (If it isn't obvious) I've lost the magazine during the past 20 years... and I want to find the article again!

In a nutshell, it was something like;
-- toss these two ball bearings (illustration),
-- drill this hole out with a 0/00th drill bit (illustration),
-- trace this picture onto a piece a cardboard, cut it out and use it as a measuring tool to adjust the line pressure to this 1- 0/0-inch distance (illustration),
-- chuck the accumulator spring, and
-- can't remember what else...

So,... does anyone else remember this article / have it / know of an e-copy?

Does this sound familiar to anyone that is knowledgeable of a same/similar process of making simple, homemade changes to a 727 to make it shift firm and perform outstanding?

Thanks in advance for any input!

I'm pretty sure it was Mopar Action (or was it Cars Magazine... ).

I followed that article on one of my hooptie winter beaters and it worked great!

I'm sure I still have the article, but, I have no idea which box its packed in.

Hwy E-Berg, if you are lurking & eavesdropping, please enlighten! This does sound like one of yours to me...

-Saulsberg

I looked thru the magazine article index over at the MA website and I'm pretty sure the article is in the October '89 (!) issue. (doesn't show the article, just gives you an idea how far back you need to go...)

I can't be the only one out there that saves MA mags.

I think you will find it originated here or in a earlier version.The above has been published more than once over the years by various sources,I'm old enough to remember.

So now I just have to find an old DC manual. How hard can that be....?

Try MoparMusclemagazine.com Feb. 2002 issue. I have a copy of the article but not the entire mag. It's titled "Shifty Business" may not be the exact one but worth a look.
Here's the link: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techa...lite_valvebody/

Glad you spoke up... I didn't want to be in the minority... again

Buy a shift kit

Stop the presses!

Let me make sure I emphasize that I am only talking street-weenie level stuff here. Stock engines, no upgrades. I don't even begin to - or pretend to - understand the real performance side of this hobby.

John - All I'm saying is that in Drive or manual 1-2 upshift - my transmissions shift as thunderous as you describe. As far as a severe overlap, I don't even know what that means because neither of my transmissions act different in Drive or manual upshifts.

These transmissions are in a bone stock 71 Super Bee, 383 and an 84 D350 Crew Cab Dually with a bone stock 72 Imperial 440 with headers.

Again, all I did was follow some article from back in the day and I like the firm shifts for on the street in my daily drivers. If I was ever getting into the race / performance side of the house, there is no doubt I would be learning about and using totally different stuff for automatic transmissions.

52savoy - I'm not opposed at all to shift kits, none-the-least. It's just hard for me to spend money when I know of - and have 2 perfectly working vehicles with a no-bucks alternative. And if I don't find that daggone article, I probably won't trust any other article and will end up buying a shift kit for my next auto trans rebuild.

I'm not saying your wrong.. but it's just not(from own personal experience) that great. You can jack up the line pressure and get the same results if not better.



I've got the same mods in my '68 roadrunner. Been that way for 30 years but it could be much better.

Sounds like what Fairbanks used to do to them essentially for their "shift kits"

Not trying to hijack this thread but...
John - How do you feel about Turbo Action (Cheetah) reverse manual valve bodies (w/o low band apply) for street driven cars?

getting back to "overlap"...
In a strong shifting automatic, you want each shift to be clear and crisp. Chrysler built some overlap into the shift so granny doesn't get a whiplash at every gear change.. So 1st and 2nd are actually engaged at the same time for a split second. The tranny mods you want to do make overlap worse from my experience and I've done maybe a half dozen 727s that way...years ago. Putting good(billet) servos and accumlator along with a few other pieces will do wonders without even moving on to a good shift kit.

My roadrunner has been on the back-burner for years but WILL be done right before this year is over.