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727 explosion poll
#2641109
04/04/19 11:26 AM
04/04/19 11:26 AM
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 9,824
MI, usa
dvw
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 9,824
MI, usa
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Since the majority of posters here run a Torqueflite, let's get to the truth. Ok who's really blown one up. I mean drum explosion. No I don't want to hear if you've seen it or heard about it. I want real numbers. Lately fear is being spread. Don't just view this post, vote.
Doug
Last edited by dvw; 04/04/19 11:42 AM.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: dvw]
#2641120
04/04/19 11:47 AM
04/04/19 11:47 AM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,526
Fulton County, PA
CMcAllister
Mr. Helpful
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Mr. Helpful
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,526
Fulton County, PA
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Never blew one up, but I have broken a roller clutch on the starting line in a 904. And I've seen the results of numerous roller clutch failures in Torqueflites and other brands.
Not trying to spread fear or scare anyone. Just trying to tell people it happens, as proven by all the sad pictures floating around, and it's not necessary or unavoidable. Use the right parts, maintain it, drive it right and put a shield on it. And stop thinking people are full of $#!+ because you've been doing it your way for a few years and nothing bad has happened yet.
Last edited by CMcAllister; 04/04/19 11:50 AM.
If the results don't match the theory, change the theory.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: dvw]
#2641130
04/04/19 12:02 PM
04/04/19 12:02 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,772
Keymar, MD
DusterKid
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,772
Keymar, MD
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My dad has raced since 1978 I think, he did run a 4 speed for a good many years, but I'd say since the early 80's he's ran a 727. Raced every weekend from April-Oct. My sister started racing in 2000, I started in 2002. All we ever run is 727 with stock internals and a turbo action valve body. We race on 25-40 races a year depending on how many rain outs. We've never had an issue with the 727, but we also shift our cars at 6,000 and don't twist them over 6500. Our cars aren't the fastest typically mid to high 11's in 1/4 with my car high 10's. I know of one guy personally who broke a drum, but the week before he broke the ring and pinion and didn't bother checking the trans. The next pass when he left off the trans brake BANG and it made a big mess. I think as long as your smart about stuff a 727 is pretty stout, just have to be wise in your choices of how you treat them.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: DusterKid]
#2641132
04/04/19 12:11 PM
04/04/19 12:11 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,158
PA.
pittsburghracer
"Little"John
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"Little"John
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,158
PA.
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I ran them for a lot of years running high 9’s to low 10’s with zero special parts in them other than a manual valve body. My buddy usually charged me 150.00-200.00 to freshen them up every 5 years. My sons car now has a CRT 727 only because it came with my black Duster when I bought it. Zero issues
1970 Duster
Edelbrock headed 408
5.984@112.52
422 Indy headed small block
5.982@112.56 mph
9.42@138.27
Livin and lovin life one day at a time
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: pittsburghracer]
#2641138
04/04/19 12:19 PM
04/04/19 12:19 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,673
On the parachute mount
n20mstr
master
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master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,673
On the parachute mount
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I exploded one big time....BUT I can tell you that I should have known it was coming.
Before I had wheelie bars, I was riding out wheelstands pretty high and far. Well eventually it caught up to me. I stood the car up on the bumper, and it was one of those " rear wheels off the track" wheel stand. That's all it took to roll the sprag, the rear tires came off the ground under power. Next pass it BLEW and I mean BAM! ! ! on the starting line. I should have known that it could have rolled the sprag, and should have taken the car home and inspected it before raing again.
IF you race a T flite, you have to be aware of what causes sprag damage and if you think you hurt the sprag….DONT race the car, until you make sure. Im pretty sure its almost always a broken sprag that allows the drum to overspeed and explode.
....BAD A$$ STREET CAR.....
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: Locomotion]
#2641180
04/04/19 02:00 PM
04/04/19 02:00 PM
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,069
Michigan
A727Tflite
master
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master
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,069
Michigan
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To no one in particular - but every one of the ORC failures I have seen started with an event.
Broke something in the driveline, spun then hooked the tires, bad wheel hop, severe tire shake, and doing dry hops. You can’t damage the ORC in 2nd or third gear by driving the car in any manner.
It always starts by what happened in first gear. At least on a street or drag car.
Trucks can fail the ORC by driveline snap when coming out of park when the truck is loaded on an incline.
The similarities between the car and truck is called roller spit-back.
Using LBA valve bodies will mitigate, and using an aluminum drum will keep the parts from coming through the floor but the first harmful event will generally always be driveline failure, driver error and/or lack of inspection after the event.
So......install your bolt in ORC, aluminum front clutch drum, put a good shield on it, instruct the driver how to launch the car, proper way to do a burnout, and maintain the trans after an event.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Last edited by Transman; 04/05/19 06:51 PM.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: birdtracker]
#2641196
04/04/19 02:56 PM
04/04/19 02:56 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
Master
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Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
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Never blew one up.. start spinning.. shift the damn thing.. on and off the gas is just about a guarantee to blow a sprag.. thats a big slam into the sprag ramps.. when you spin the sprag you start to spin the drum 2.2 times faster than the engine RPM.. being the the 727 is larger in diameter it will only take so many RPMs and it come apart at ABOUT 13000 rpm.. a 904 drum is smaller in diameter so it can go to higher RPMs 
Last edited by MR_P_BODY; 04/04/19 02:59 PM.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: A727Tflite]
#2641198
04/04/19 03:01 PM
04/04/19 03:01 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 289
St.Pete,Florida
lancer493
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 289
St.Pete,Florida
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Ran a B&M Clutchflite for several years in the mid 70's.A manual clutch and scattershield replaced the torque converter,for those too young to remember them.(poor man's Lenco at the time). Idid use a blanket also,but had know idea what a handgrenade I was sitting next to. The high gear clutch drum was a hemi unit, bigger and heavier than the units used today.(same factory material-bigger bomb).Being only about 24yrs old at the time,trans was always "freshened up" with good appearing, used stock parts.Traditional backyard rebuilds.
The car was a big block Nova,running 9.80's @140. It weighed 3220lbs with me in it.After 75 passes it had to come apart. When I called Vinny at Vitar transmissions,he said it was never intended for cars at that weight. He laughed when I told him it had 75 passes without adjusting 2nd gear band. Said that should have been done every 5-10 passes.
Trans was hard to keep from leaking.From what I've learned now,I am so lucky it never blew up. It had a 50lb flywheel , 5.57 gears, launched at over 7500rpm and crossed at 8500rpm. Young and ignorant! Current T-flite has all the good internals,flexplate sheild and blanket. When I look down at my feet, I realize just how "LUCKY" I was! But I do admit how fun that car was to drive! - Bill
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: lancer493]
#2641210
04/04/19 03:16 PM
04/04/19 03:16 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
Master
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Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
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Ran a B&M Clutchflite for several years in the mid 70's.A manual clutch and scattershield replaced the torque converter,for those too young to remember them.(poor man's Lenco at the time). Idid use a blanket also,but had know idea what a handgrenade I was sitting next to. The high gear clutch drum was a hemi unit, bigger and heavier than the units used today.(same factory material-bigger bomb).Being only about 24yrs old at the time,trans was always "freshened up" with good appearing, used stock parts.Traditional backyard rebuilds.
The car was a big block Nova,running 9.80's @140. It weighed 3220lbs with me in it.After 75 passes it had to come apart. When I called Vinny at Vitar transmissions,he said it was never intended for cars at that weight. He laughed when I told him it had 75 passes without adjusting 2nd gear band. Said that should have been done every 5-10 passes.
Trans was hard to keep from leaking.From what I've learned now,I am so lucky it never blew up. It had a 50lb flywheel , 5.57 gears, launched at over 7500rpm and crossed at 8500rpm. Young and ignorant! Current T-flite has all the good internals,flexplate sheild and blanket. When I look down at my feet, I realize just how "LUCKY" I was! But I do admit how fun that car was to drive! - Bill I ran one of those also for about 2 years.. I had nothing but troubles with that whole car so I sold it.. was a 62 Dart with a hemi and that trans
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: lancer493]
#2641217
04/04/19 03:28 PM
04/04/19 03:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,354
Marion, South Carolina [><]
an8sec70cuda
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,354
Marion, South Carolina [><]
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I had one grenade big time in 2008. It lasted 2 years running mid 9s at 3800 lbs before it let go...and it let go in grand fashion. Made a big mess of my floorpan, headers, and all over the track. Loud boom, fireball out from underneath the car and up the windshield, felt like someone hit my right ankle w/ a hammer. It pushed the CSR shield up into the floor, pushed the floorpan up until it stopped against the brake pedal. Dented and cracked one header, tweaked the driveshaft. Crawled under the car and all you could see was the torque converter, assorted clutches and steels hanging off the input shaft, and then the tailshaft housing. The cooling lines were hanging down w/ a small piece of the case that the fitting screwed into still attached.
There was nothing left of the valvebody, pan, or case. Every bolt I took out of the bellhousing, another small piece fell off, lol.
My first pass that night it spun the tires, I let out of it, shifted to 2nd, then got back in it. Like I always do...never getting back on the throttle in 1st after letting out.
Next pass it blew up as soon as I went WOT.
It was a stock drum w/ a bolt in sprag (not that the type of sprag matters).
CHIP
'70 hemicuda, 575" Hemi, 727, Dana 60
'69 road runner, 440-6, 18 spline 4 speed, Dana 60
'71 Demon, 340, low gear 904, 8.75
'73 Chrysler New Yorker, 440, 727, 8.75
'90 Chevy 454SS Silverado, 476" BBC, TH400, 14 bolt
'06 GMC 2500HD LBZ Duramax
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: dvw]
#2641227
04/04/19 04:20 PM
04/04/19 04:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,439
Val-haul-ass... eventually
BradH
Taking time off to work on my car
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Taking time off to work on my car
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,439
Val-haul-ass... eventually
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Me? No. Seen it happen to others? Yes, one time down at VMP. It was not pretty for either the car or the driver. And then I spent the $$$ to put better parts in mine so that hopefully I stay in the "No" vote category. 
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: an8sec70cuda]
#2641231
04/04/19 04:31 PM
04/04/19 04:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,495
Shelby mi.
JAKE68
pro stock
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pro stock
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,495
Shelby mi.
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First full pass when I put a hemi in my car. We were at a msca event in Canada and broke a ring gear and exploded trans. parts went all the way to grand stands. took an hour clean up the mess then the tow truck when putting the car on blew a hyd. line and dumped fluid again on track and it took another hour to clean up. the other racers where not happy!!! when I went to work on he car later I took the rest of trans out of car without a wrench.
JAKES AUTOMOTIVE
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: lancer493]
#2641254
04/04/19 05:35 PM
04/04/19 05:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 25,747
Rio Linda, CA
John_Kunkel
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 25,747
Rio Linda, CA
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Ran a B&M Clutchflite for several years in the mid 70's.A manual clutch and scattershield replaced the torque converter,for those too young to remember them.(poor man's Lenco at the time). Idid use a blanket also,but had know idea what a handgrenade I was sitting next to. The high gear clutch drum was a hemi unit, bigger and heavier than the units used today.(same factory material-bigger bomb). You just told my life story which merely illustrates the difference between doing it wrong and getting away with it and doing it right. Never blew one but should have.
The INTERNET, the MISinformation superhighway
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#2641268
04/04/19 06:28 PM
04/04/19 06:28 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,158
PA.
pittsburghracer
"Little"John
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"Little"John
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,158
PA.
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A good Friend of mine blew his chevy powered front-engine dragster at norwalk and a piece of it hit a guy in the forehead while sitting in the stands. Not a bad cut but a bleeder and when the guy sitting in front of him turned around he passed out. Shortly after that track personnel came walking around having us sign a track insurance rider. When that thing blew the separated case spun around and luckily an ear caught a moly frame tube (and bent it) as it was going to keep spinning between his legs. The transmission blanket looked like ground up fiberglass and it shredded his Morse cables. I heard that years later a lawsuit was filed.
1970 Duster
Edelbrock headed 408
5.984@112.52
422 Indy headed small block
5.982@112.56 mph
9.42@138.27
Livin and lovin life one day at a time
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: dvw]
#2641363
04/04/19 10:31 PM
04/04/19 10:31 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,150
Fancy Farm Ky
wyoming
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,150
Fancy Farm Ky
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I blew one in Vegas at Mopars at the Strip, Id have to look up some invoices to tell you what year for sure but it was the second one, left the line during time trials, broke an 83/4 rear end, tranny blew immediately, bent up the floor boards, bruised my feet, glad the tranny blanket contained most of the force, cost me some bucks. Bought a Dana, rebuilt tranny with aluminium drum, no issues since.
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Re: 727 explosion poll
[Re: wyoming]
#2641391
04/04/19 11:54 PM
04/04/19 11:54 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 12,587
Great Neck,LI,new york
hemi-itis
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 12,587
Great Neck,LI,new york
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Never blew one up as hard as I tried but have smoked a few................  Whatever I broke was upgraded of course!
HEMI-ITIS has no cure.
My condition is fully BLOWN!!
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