904 vs glide

I'm currently running a 904 with a break and 8" ultimate converter, tranny works well but keeping the front end down is a challenge, the car is light and 96 " wheel base, I'm putting even more power to the car this winter and I am planning in putting in a powerglide to try and tame down the launch, I've seen a lot of post comparing 727 to glides but not 904 to glide, just seeing what other peoples opinions are, am I making a big mistake???

You could maybe change the 904 so it has the same first gear as whatever the glide you chose to run would have and still keep all three speeds. Win-win, imho.

Why can't you tune the chassis to keep the front end down? That seems a better fix than taking gear away. Unless you are over 1000 HP.

Whats the chassis in it.. you could put a
4 link in it... very simple to put in and
it gives you all the adjustment you will
need.. the pic I have here in my sig is
for show and tell.. looks cool way up but
thats not the normal way it launches...
this other pic is the normal launch

No idea what your combo is, but we've been through this. The 2.45 904 was quick in 60', when it hooked. 2 or 3 good runs, and then turning the tires when the track got marginal, was not a recipe for success. Went to a 1.76 2 speed and turned the car into a turd. Made the suspension as aggressive as I could and it still wouldn't move. A 1.96 gear set and the car was mint. 60s came right back to where the 904 had been, but it was not such a slave to the track conditions.

If the SLR is out of whack, all the chassis tuning in the world will not make it as good as it can be. A 4 link gives you a bigger window over ladder bars if you have too much gear. Cubic inches, stroke, suspension type, weight and percentages, what kind of racing you're doing, and a hundred other things enter in to it. There are gear sets available for the 904 but they aren't cheap. Neither are the good Glide gear sets. But a light car (<2500# or so) with enough power to get into the low nines and a short wheelbase will be easier to get right with the 2 speed.

Thanks, I think I will go with the lower gear set and the glide, maybe a low 1.90

Another alternative with no results reported yet:
Powerglide with Gear Vendors as the tailshaft.
Ratios:
1st 1.82:1
1st + OD 1.42:1 (recovers 78%)
2nd 1.00:1 (recovers 71%)
O/D .778:1 (recovers 78%)
Overall range (1st to high gear) 2.34:1 (slightly taller than 904)
Use it with higher numerical axle: your desired ratio X 1.42 to get the same ratio in O/D

Advantages: very strong small package, 4 speeds with very tight RPM drops, easy to get spares.

10sec.dart
Do you just like tinkering with the little Arrow, or how did the other changes work out?

Did the 8 inch 5500 stall improve the car over the old converter?
Did you actually change the wheelie bars to solid uppers?
What gear did you take out of the car when you went to 4.89s?

You ask a bunch of questions, then leave us hanging on the results. How did your season actually go?

Yes your right I'm not very good with updates, so I did go with the solid upper bars, I like it a lot better, I did go with the 5500 stall converter and actually lost about a tenth , and about 5 mph in the quarter, but my lights were nice and consistent and the car was to, all in all the car is working good, now I can't leave anything alone, I'm going w9's this winter and a bigger cam, and changing to a glide, I'm hoping with going to the glide with the extra power it's going to have I won't be fighting the wheelie like before, my brother has the glide and we are going to trade transmissions, but Iam going to put the lower first gear in it, I put the 4.89s in for a heads up deal that got rained out, so I never did get to make a pass with them, so I put the 4.44 back in for quarter mile

Have you thought about a 3 speed Pro Flyte with a 2.20 or higher 1st gear ? If not that might be your best choice Contact Dave Smith at Pro Trans, 661-940-7400

you can always leave in 2nd gear ,also do you have travel limiters on the from,whats your rear end ratio,rear tire size,i would do everything i can first to tune the chassis

Face it..... go glide. All the cool kids do it!

You can go pretty fast with a marginal chassis when using a Glide. But it takes horsepower. out west we typically race on very crappy tracks.. it requires quite a bit of front-end travel to go A to B.. what is the intended application

Sounds like you just want to change it.. you
can adjust it out with good shocks.. loosen
up your rear shocks some... and tighten up
the fronts.. you might have to put some
travel limiters on the fronts.. what shocks
are on it right now
EDIT
junk shocks will NOT do the job

If I were running a light weight car, even medium powered it would have a glide in it. Like the 9" it is well supported by the aftermarket.

I didnt need a glide... I can control what ever
height I want to leave at with the 4 link.. I sold
the glide to a guy that I built a chassis for..
he is running a BB in it.. the 727 that I put in
never gave me any issue

Really nothing to do with fashion. It's all about SLR. A 904 would work fine if you get 1st gear right. And if it has a real tight powerband and benefits from less RPM drop on the gear change, it would work better. Pro Trans sells gear sets with a much larger selection of ratios than is available for Glides, so you can get 1st gear exactly where you want it. Sort of like the difference between a 9" and a D60.

I like the 904. Unlike the 727, I think it's just as fast as a Glide when properly done. But durability, aftermarket cases and parts support, converter selection, cost until you get into a real high end unit, all favor the 2 speed.

I'm not a cool kid.... I'm putting a 904 in mine

my Glide is 12 lb heavier than my 904.. it's in and ATI super case.. if anybody wanted to know....

Did you like the change from the 904 to the glide?

I finally upgraded to a ATI powerglide case and love it. I can officially build one from a bare case to complete in a few hours time. And i'm old, slow, and take power naps. I will be buying another case over the Winter for my 1.58 gear-set for the heads up car.



Untitled by John Cadamore, on Flickr


Untitled by John Cadamore, on Flickr



Untitled by John Cadamore, on Flickr

The real secret in in the power nap.

You gotta love a good nap. Lol

The car is a tube Chris Alston tube chassis 78 plymouth arrow, weighs 2560 with me in it, full drag car, already has 4 link , this winter I'm building a 365 ci w9 small block for next season, that's the whole point I was going to the glide, the car is pretty wild off the line with the edelbrock sb and 904,

I'm having trouble with having a 4 link and (I hope) double adjustable shocks on both ends and not being able to tune the car up.

You make great power no doubt, but you aren't running as much first gear as Pro Stock and they can control the front end.

My last race car was about the same weight with a 4 link and made 700 HP and a stick. I had over a 15:1 first gear. I could stick it on the bumper or make it roll the front tires out of the beam.

FWIW I had to use a much longer IC than most said I would. I was 107 inches out and 6 up to make it work.