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Thread: 1955 Chevy Bracket Car

  1. #11
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    Thanks for the pics, I'll try to get some of mine up to show you what I'm dealing with but it looks a lot like that.

  2. #12
    Registered Member chasracer's Avatar
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    Sounds good - maybe between the two of us and a bunch of others we can get this site really active again!
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  3. #13
    Registered Member chasracer's Avatar
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    Well, just another half-raining day around here - got a couple of storms out there and we're getting a little bit of the moisture off of them. I was planning on working on the driver side rocker panel again but I have this one little problem. I tend to get bored with stuff and sometimes I get on a roll with something else and want to continue that work for a bit. I also have one customer car in the lot that I need to drop an alternator, front brakes and some front hubs on and I am still waiting on some of the parts to show up.

    My '55 Bracket Car has a plan - mostly in my head but there is a plan. Power will be a nicely warmed over 496 BBC with some aluminum heads, either a 4150 or 4500 intake, solid roller cam, good crank, rods and a new set of small dome pistons I picked up. I'm probably going to get the heads and intake cut so that I can up the compression numbers on it and it will be getting a diet of methanol. I plan on putting the chassis together so that I can bounce between using a TH350 or Powerglide depending on my whims of the moment. All it really takes is just making the frame saddles for the trans crossmember a little bit wider and drilling a couple of extra holes.

    On our '89 Camaro we had started out with a 355 engine and a TH350 transmission - well a couple of those really. We ended up switching over to a Powerglide combination to calm the car down and get some additional consistency out of it. With the TH350 in it, we were always climbing the ring gear on the launch. I rebuilt the first TH350 and like an idiot sold it off years ago but I have kept the second one. This one was modified with an aftermarket bell housing, transbrake and a few other internal goodies to keep it alive. Just for fun, I have another first gear set that I'm going to finally use and I think with my 9" rear packing either a 3.73 or 3.91 (honestly can't remember whats in that box) and the stouter 1st gear, we should have a good launch along with being able to mile per hour on the other end pretty good.

    So, I just finished up another TH350 the other day for one of my 4x4 friends and delivered that to him Tuesday morning. Which means I'm in transmission building mode right now and I figured I might as well knock out the TH350 for the '55 while I'm here. I'm not going to go into a step by step deal on building one of these - there's already a ton of videos, books and step by step articles on building them. I will however point out a few things that might help you if you decide to build your own or rebuild the one you have. If you look around a bit, I'm seeing these transmissions listed for $1200-$1600 or more. That's crazy to me as these transmissions are extremely simple to build, you don't need a lot of specialized tools and replacement pieces are still reasonable. A gasket/seal kit runs about $30. A basic clutch and steel kit is $75-$100 and usually includes the front and rear bushings. Besides a case of transmission fluid, there's not much else you really need other than a filter kit. You can also install one of the shift kits if you're inclined and a Transgo number is about $65 now. You might have need of an additional bushing replaced here and there depending on it's condition but for the most part a transmission shop would knock those out for you for very little money.

    One of the first things to be done is draining the fluid out and paying attention to it. This transmission had been sitting for a number of years in the storage shed but I had put it inside a large trash bag so that kept a lot of junk away from it. The first thing I noticed when I pulled the plug was the amount of metal collected by the magnet. Nothing huge but just a reminder to check surfaces closely - most of it is probably just from the steels themselves sliding a bit on the drum surfaces. With the oil out, I removed the front pump - I use a couple of bolts and washers threaded into the pump and give them a good yank - after a few times, the pump usually pops out. I then removed the reverse clutch pack and then the forward or input drum. This is the one that I will start on. I have a preference to take apart each assembly, clean it, inspect it, make any modifications and then re-assemble it. I then set it to the side and grab the next assembly. I have - just like that 4x4 trans - built them from boxes of parts that were brought to me.

    IMG_1283.JPEG
    IMG_1277.JPEG
    Last edited by chasracer; 09-09-2021 at 01:33 PM.
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  4. #14
    Registered Member busterwivell's Avatar
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    Very talented.......

  5. #15
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    Just curious I have always run TH400s in cars I raced, why a TH350. I guess I do have a 350 with a 5000 stall on the shop floor.

  6. #16
    Registered Member chasracer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by markm View Post
    Just curious I have always run TH400s in cars I raced, why a TH350. I guess I do have a 350 with a 5000 stall on the shop floor.
    I used to race the TH400s years ago but it really all started with the 3rd Gen Camaro. I didn't have a TH400 at the time and with this car being built more along the lines of a super stocker, we figured the TH350 would be a better fit. There's also information out there that says the TH400 consumes more power however in this day and age of mega horsepower engines that's probably not a big concern. With the right aftermarket parts a TH350 can survive but about 250-300 passes seems to be the freshen-up window. At that point even with maintenance fluid changes we started seeing more clutch material accumulating in the pan. Mind you we are talking about a trans-brake application here too. We finally decided to bite the bullet and switch to a 'Glide - it hurt the 60 foot but it calmed the car down a bunch and we started winning rounds and a few races.

    This was back when the car had the TH350 in it at Richmond Dragway:

    Camaro_2_2009.jpg

    This is a .003 tree hit with me in the car at Bristol Dragway with the Powerglide:

    camaro.jpg

    Back when I was running the TH400s, I had a 3000# '66 Chevelle with a 331 small block in it. The gear multiplication even helped to get the front tires on that thing off the ground - a little bit - but the last one I built, I think I raced it at least 3 years and then sold it to a guy that continued racing it. They are durable transmissions and except for upgrading the sprag in them, you don't really need to do anything else.
    Last edited by chasracer; 09-09-2021 at 03:07 PM.
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  7. #17
    Registered Member chasracer's Avatar
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    Pardon the My Dust

    IMG_1275.JPEG

    I have that trans pulled completely apart now and most of it in the soak tank for the night so I thought I would shift gears back and do some more metal work on the '55 tomorrow. The driver's side outer rocker panel is focus and it looks like I need to do a bit more carving on the old metal before it's ready for the new stuff. Another part of my confusion but I think I have the idea right is to attach the new rocker panel at the hinge panel first (tacked of course) then look at fitting the replacement sheet metal in place before working the rear of the rocker panel into place. I think that sequence makes the most sense right now.

    IMG_1276.JPEG

    If I can get all of this in place tomorrow and tacked for the most part - I think that'll be pretty good for the day.
    Remember the "13"


  8. #18
    Registered Member chasracer's Avatar
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    @
    busterwivell

    Thank you sir but I look at it more as simple economics - I don't have a lot of money. My Dad always said I had champagne taste and a beer budget!
    Remember the "13"


  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by chasracer View Post
    I used to race the TH400s years ago but it really all started with the 3rd Gen Camaro. I didn't have a TH400 at the time and with this car being built more along the lines of a super stocker, we figured the TH350 would be a better fit. There's also information out there that says the TH400 consumes more power however in this day and age of mega horsepower engines that's probably not a big concern. With the right aftermarket parts a TH350 can survive but about 250-300 passes seems to be the freshen-up window. At that point even with maintenance fluid changes we started seeing more clutch material accumulating in the pan. Mind you we are talking about a trans-brake application here too. We finally decided to bite the bullet and switch to a 'Glide - it hurt the 60 foot but it calmed the car down a bunch and we started winning rounds and a few races.

    This was back when the car had the TH350 in it at Richmond Dragway:

    Camaro_2_2009.jpg

    This is a .003 tree hit with me in the car at Bristol Dragway with the Powerglide:

    camaro.jpg

    Back when I was running the TH400s, I had a 3000# '66 Chevelle with a 331 small block in it. The gear multiplication even helped to get the front tires on that thing off the ground - a little bit - but the last one I built, I think I raced it at least 3 years and then sold it to a guy that continued racing it. They are durable transmissions and except for upgrading the sprag in them, you don't really need to do anything else.
    You are correct about the TH400s, it used to piss the Slowpar guys off when I said the tranny in my 10 second Camaro would be happy in my truck pulling the car to track with a convertor change. They used to spend a fortune on their Dorkflights.

  10. #20
    Registered Member busterwivell's Avatar
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    My Dad was impressed with what I did with my first house (after my divorce). He asked where I learned to do all the stuff to make it livable. I told him necessity was the mother of invention, and when I couldn't afford to hire anything done, I learned how to do it myself.
    Of course, this is the same Dad who said I would one day wash the paint off my car (I have). He didn't believe in washing cars, he thought that's what rain was for, and an oil change was adding a quart when the light flickered.
    Love you Dad, but I disagree.

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