700 passes on stock input and output shafts. Sons turbo car runs stockers as well. Both have over 850hp
Doug

Rear drum is only used in reverse and 1st gear braking. There shouldnt be an issue with those parts unless it was a plow truck.
Doug

I ended up buying a selection of parts from A&A. I got one of the billet steel drums, a 5 pinion steel front planet setup, an aluminum park gear with a governor delete, a lightweight sun shell and an ultimate sprag. I have enough parts on hand to build a second trans so I've decided I'm just going to put all the good parts in a '78 truck case that I had sitting on the shelf and then just swap transmissions. That will give me a spare for the shelf in case I need it down the road. After doing some thread repair I've decided that I'm going to switch to studs rather than bolts for the assembly. I designed a bolt on plug for the speedo but then decided to just use the old 1 49/64 plug trick instead.

Appears you’re already done, but I think you would have/still can, benefit from the modification that dvw’s son did to his. He used the park hub as an output shaft tone wheel for speed input. Drill and thread the housing. You of all people should be able to put that to good use.

I have a driveshaft speed sensor mounted on the pinion yoke.

Replaced the I/P and O/P shaft when the ring and pinion failed. JFI the upgraded O/P shafts don't have the worm splines machined in for a speedo drive.

I too used a freeze plug for the speedometer gear hole but made a small retainer tab to make sure it doesn’t come out. Mine has never moved but I just wanted a little insurance that it couldn’t come out.

I've seen the plug come out of a speedometer hole more than once...Not sure if any sealant was used or not, but I'd make sure there's a clip or something just as extra insurance.

I wouldn't use a freeze plug to block off the speedometer adapter hole, I have seen those come out before causing a huge fluid leak. These are available in the transmission for sale section, they fit great and can't fall out.

Very close in design to the plug used on the factory SS Hemi cars back in the day.

I like the threaded hole to ease removal though.

I had a design for a plug like that but then decided to go with a simple retainer on top of the cup plug. Either way should prevent an issue.

I’m sure Mr. Anecdotal will comment, but, it’s no different than installing a block core plug. I don’t get the concern. Peen the center and don’t worry about it.

What'd your retainer end up looking like?

Just out of interest, did/can you weigh the 5 pinion planetary against any others?

I didn't put it on the scale. It was heavier but not super heavy. Maybe 5 lbs while the factory aluminum 4 pinion one that I had in there was 3.5 lbs or something like that. So it does add weight to the assembly but it can be offset with a lightweight sun shell or the aluminum park gear or something else.

I have a few different input shafts to choose from so I'm trying to decide which is the best to use. Are the later generation with the three sealing rings better than the earlier two ring style? I'm not sure I understand the oiling difference. The early ones have a hole in the shaft but the later one doesn't. So there must have been a change along the way but I haven't found any reference yet to what else changed.

You cannot interchange the input shaft unless you keep the matching reaction shaft support.

I have mating parts, just wondering if one is better than the other. I assume the late model 3 ring must have been enough of an improvement for the factory guys to switch. But it doesn't seem to be a big deal for the aftermarket. Looks like the most popular aftermarket input shaft is the two ring style although A&A does sell a super duty input shaft that is for the three ring config. Maybe it is a better design but most people don't have the matching parts?

On the 3-ring input, the middle and rear ring (actually on the clutch retainer) feed the rear clutch, the middle and front ring are for the lockup converter. No advantage to use it on a non-lockup trans.

Okay, that makes sense. I have parts from a 1978 big block 727 (non-lockup) on hand as well as parts from a lock-up 727. The input shaft on the non-lockup is solid between the middle and front ring while on the lockup input shaft there is a hole there. The input shaft from the non-lockup '78 trans is in nice shape so I was planning on using it along with the late model pump and reaction shaft.

Is there a difference between the pump and reaction shaft in the lockup vs. the non-lockup 727 or can I use either on? I looked them over and didn't see a difference but there must be some sort of additional fluid passage in the lockup one that I missed.