Any you have a 1980's aluminum overdrive in your muscle car?

Have put several in over the years. They work good if you have low rear gears and don't beat on it too hard. I always thought the 833OD worked best in front of 3.91s or lower. 3.55s and higher I didn't care for.

I had one (aluminum case) in my 57 while I had the Iron Case 833OD out being rebuilt. I was always afraid to beat on it too hard. I've come across a couple of cracked aluminum cases over the years which makes me a little leery of them. The iron case has seen it's fair share of abuse.

I agree with Dave on the 3.91 or lower (I'm running 4.10s in the Plymouth). With 3.55s or higher you really notice the gear split between 2nd and 3rd. With the lower gears 1st gear winds up almost too quickly but for every day driving it's a great transmission, especially if you're running a cam that's low end torque impaired.

I had a Duster with a 9 to 1 360, the 292/508 cam and the 833 OD. I did not like the wide gear spacing. 3.09 1st, 1.67 second? Really ?? You almost have to spin the mill past redline to allow it to be in a sweet spot for 2nd gear.
For a mild build in a car you don't intend to run hard, they might be okay.

I don't like it either. Not sure why so many people are okay with this. This is the exact reason cars and trucks from today have at least 6 gears.

I have one in my 1966 Dodge Coronet Deluxe two door sedan that I'm putting together now, 440 with 3.91 stroke, Eddy RPM heads on pump gas, Dana 60 with 3.54 gears and 275x60x15 inch tires on the back I have several of them, I will not beat hard on this tranny, not EVER This tranny came out of a truck or van with the dual tranny mounts, I took the side cover off of it to inspect it before deciding to use it, it looks good so I'm going to try it Hopefully it will do good

I put an iron case OD 4 speed in the Dart years ago. The 440 couldn't hurt the trans, and it did make the 4.10 rear gears seem like 3.55s, but that rpm drop when shifting to 2nd killed the deal.
OP, if you're set on using an OD and your only concern is the alum case holding up, get an iron case OD instead.
(i have one for sale ).

I have one in my street rod behind a 318 and it has 323 gears. its built for comfort not for speed. It works great and I'm happy with it, I really like cruising 65mph at 2100rpms. I really don't notice the big jump in ratios between shifts.

I had one behind the TT440. The OD was great with the 3.23 gears but I really did not like the 1-2 split.

this was my thought too. these trans' were designed for highway cruising. why is everyone trying to use them as a performance trans when it's clearly not designed for that.

You know how hot rodders are, if you ain't testing different parts your not learning On my deal it is a street car, not a Pro Street wannabe race car

Why are people trying to use them? Consider the alternatives.....Spend thousands and cut up the car or spend thousands and wait for two years?
I got my A833OD for $100, complete with Slant 6 bellhousing and shifter. It'd bolt right into a car. But you're right, the gear split is too big for performance driving.
It's a no-win situation. All three alternatives are less than perfect.

R.

agreed, I had one in a mild build & it was unacceptable (that split)

what's the age old saying? If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay.


someone i know has a Passon OD unit in their '73 Barracuda. you can still rip through 1st and 2dn gear, big spread to 3rd is where you loose it. but 4th is awesome. I was doing 2200 rpm at 70 mph.

Isn't the ratio on the NP 833 O.D. in 1st,2nd and 3rd gear the same as the 3 speeds in stock Mopars?
I seem to remember seeing all the gear ratio in a old Borg Warner catalog showing them the same
Not that I'm saying I like those ratios, I had one 1973 340 Duster with the original 3 speed that I ended up swapping it for a standard 1969 A body NP 833 That made that car easier to sell

I've got one in my '73 Newport with 2.94 gears. The jump from first to second is pretty far, but its still quite drivable. Gets driven every day actually.

I would rather have a regular A833 in it though. Just can't pass up these OD ones for what they can be had for. I've gotten em for free and they're usually in great shape.

500 cubes and 600+ ft/lbs easily fixes that 1-2 split.

Have the aluminum case bushed for durability and it's a good idea for the iron case too.

Kevin

I've debated about buying the passon OD kit for the a833, is it really worth it? its about half the price of their 5 speed without any waiting