Hi guys,
first off thanks for all of the advice I've received from you all in the past. It's been a while since I've visited, been healing from a knee replacement I had a few months ago. Was able to pass the physical last week to get licensed again to drive my 63 Dodge. And of course I've forgotten most of what I knew and I don't know much
so here goes.
We had our spring opener last weekend Saturday was a shake down for most, I have 3 Mopars to try and keep rolling down the track this year to complicate things that much more.
My car the 63 Dodge {wt 3550} with a 572 cu in 820 hp running a torque flight with trans brake and dana 60 with 4.56 gears. I've never felt the car was running like it should, this weekend while at the track after some jetting the carb to 101 squared burning c14 fuel in the 15:1 engine with Indy heads. we had our best et to date.
6.27 @ 109.49 mhp @ the 1/8 mile track the car repeated the et and mph several times. 60 ft best 1.392 1.411 1.438 as the day warmed.
The car is launching and making good passes in the 1/8 IMO but am now at 7250 at the end of the 1/8 The first time I recalled the peak RPM from the Biondo box I though something was wrong so rest the tach and made the 2nd pass, same thing.
the car is in 3 gear before the finish line shifting @ 6700 rpm. launching with trans brake and throttle enhancer trans brake chip 4200 and throttle @ around 2500 with the Biondo box in mode one to control the launch, this has been working very good for me.
OK what gear are you with close to the same car using for rear axle ratio and is the pro gear the one's to use?
Thanks for any help.

Rodney to get an idea how bad your converter/transmission is slipping. I had to input a 23" tall tire to come up with the gearing your car has (4.56) and the rpms (7250) you are turning at 109 mph. Sounds like you need to talk to your converter guy. 5700-6000 should be your aprox finish line rpm at 109 mph with a 29.5 tire and 4.56 gears. You get this straightened out and I bet you have a definite performance boost

ok thanks Danny
I'm going to {try and}determine whether I'm getting an accurate finish line reading from the Biondo Box. I see it has a play back feature, hopefully the data isn't lost once the power is off. This would give me "when" the engine hit the peak rpm.
would it seem reasonable that if the trans/converter is slipping I could still have a good and constant ET and MPH?

Rodney I am going to say that it is probably the converter. If the transmission was slipping that bad the performance would have deteriorated by now. The torque that 572 is producing is simply over powering the converter. That thing is going to be in the 5's when you get the converter worked out.

Me too after thinking about this.
the reason I can't say I saw the RPM at the end of the run is I cut the Tach wire from the msd box going to the tach chasing an electric issue. the tach needle was bouncing all over the place down track and I couldn't tell what peak was anyway.
Once I did that and at the same time between round one and 2 also discovered the power wires to about all the toggle switches for ignition, fuel and h2o pump and fan were loose. after tightening them tiny screws down the car ran good. I'm looking for a good brand / source for on off switches. the last ones were on a Moroso panel.
I did have the maga 200 on the RPM screen but I didn't get a good look at the peak at the end of the pass.
The peak RPM stored "has" to be the top end of the pass. {boy its been too long..}
I have a 6000 {or close} in the 3 step to the line lock, the burn out can't go past that.
tomorrow when I go to the shop and before I pull the trans I'll figure out how to recall the pass if doable. It should be, it saves the peak RPM if the power is off then back on.
pretty excited to think I may get this car squared away this time around.
BTW I am running 32 inch tall stiff sidewall tires. so the 4.56's may be OK?
Thanks for steering me in the right direction.
This might be great fun getting that car in the 5.90's in the 1/8

A 456 is a good gear get you a converter that will lock up and you can put the power down a 9' or 10 inch in the power and weight of your car and gear and tire size not one out of the box and you will see a big change .

I was pretty sure the 32 tall tires and the 4.56 gear was a good combo to use for both 1/4 and 1/8 worked well years ago with my 69 Coronet but only a 440 engine 7.10 ET in the 1/8.
After looking back that converter was built by Continental several years ago.
I did have an issue toward the end of last season with the trans shifting from 1 - 2 real fast. {have the air shifter shifting the car by RPM}
{I need to get in the habit of making more complete notes in the log book}
I Adjusted the front band and changed the fluid seemed to fix the problem. This may still be and issue, now more than ever do I need to see if I can recall the run. could be the direct clutch pack is going away.
I'll know more today.

If it is the transmission slipping that bad I would think the fluid would be burnt. Is the converter an 8"? Continental builds a good converter, you just need one tailored to that torque monster you have in front of it.

The converter is off to Continental
and the Transmission to Clay's Transmission in Sandy.
The fluid wasn't burnt last fall during the time I adjusted the front band, Not the case now! fluid smelt awful this time. Clay thinks forward clutches are the culprit. Now is the time to flush the cooler and lines.
It took less than an hour to remove the trans from the 63! not to bad for a couple fat guys.

Good deal, bet your in for a surprise when you get that straightened out.

For what its worth, my friend had the same problem with is turbo 400 and continental converter. in his 55 chevy.
the took the converter apart and found the problem. I think it was a broken sprag.

I'm hoping things will get straightened out this time around. Since I've never driven a car with this combo I haven't had anything to compare too.
I've always felt the 572 should be giving more.
Thanks for the input all much needed.

Absolutely I will post the results! {for better or worse}
If all comes together we will be running the car on the weekend of the 14th of this month in Madras.

good luck with your build, having another 572 breathing will be great fun!
An ol' time racer came up to me last weekend and commented on my car by saying how "Obnoxious" it was, He had a big grin of his face when he walked away. That alone made it a good day.

Rodney,

My car is close to yours in seniority and in power, pushing 575 HP. I run a Dana 60 with 4:89 pro gear, 9" convertor, crossing the line at 7700 at 144 MPH and 9.18 ET... OK I meant used to run that, once upon a time. Let's don't forget your at an altitude where engines and people don't function as well. Bring the big Dodge down here to Woodbine and I'll buy you a corndog.

Got an update from the transmission shop this afternoon to find that it was indeed the direct clutch pack that was fried. Everything else looked great, he is going to use a different kind of band and clutches and change the ratio of the band lever. Other than that just clean and reassemble the thing. It's nice to get a piece of good news once in a while.

'63 Plymouth, 523" around 750 hp. weighs close to 3200 with me in it. I am running 4:10 gears, letting the engines torque take care of the launch, I was wanting the car to MPH, and to hold down the finish line RPM's. I am happy with it. 6:20's, 110 in the 1/8th, thats at sea level here in Coos Bay. Been 9:80's at 140 in Medford. With your "new trans" and the proper convertor, your car will fly!!! You should have a totally different car performance wise, don't be afraid to try a set of 4:10's!

ive got a 4.30 gear and a 31 x 16.50 mickey et street 606 hemi pump gas, 9.60s at 142 mph. shift at 6800and traps at 7000, 2700rpm at 65 mph on the hiway!! ati blown fuel convertor [ cause i broke all the other brands ] we have a 64 plymouth with a indy 540 cuin 3400 lbs with a32x14tire went from a 488 gear to a 456 it picked up 2 tenths and 2mph we are going to try a 4.30 next should pick it up another 2 tenths and more mph for sure best time is a 9.46 at 141 !