Seem like alot of Racers are going to the PowerGlides Now Days in Heavy Cars. It use to be 3000 Pounds and under. That is not the case any longer. I have been looking into these my self. I have scaled a T-400 with Converter 180 Pound's A stock Glide with converter 130 . That some weight savings. Read a Page that says 18hp to run a glide and 44hp to run a T-400. I read a nother Tech Page that talks about First geat set's the 1.82 is good to 500 hp that's the Limit. These where in mostly 6 cylinder Car and some V8 cars. The 1.76 Geared Trans is the one everyone wants lot stronger. The 1.82 has 28 tooth count Sun gear where the 1.76 has 34 tooth count Sun gear. People like the Transmissions because it take's the hit out of the Launch over a 3 speed Trans. I have heard from lots of Racers PowerGlide is Faster. That they would never go back to a 3 speed Trans. Here are something to be asked can 3000 to 3600 pound Buick use a PowerGlide. Can the motor Take the Extra Load with one Shift. The RPM is something to Look at to. You will be into High Gear alot sooner. The Glide uses a different input Spline for those of you that don't no. So you can't just install your Glide and use your old 3 speed converter. You can Purchase a Aftermarket Input that they call a Turbo spline and then you can use your 3 speed Converter with the Glide. I would like to hear Buick Racers Feed Back.Has the Glide Picked up yourET and How much more RPM did you have to Turn over Your 3 speed Trans. There are some Racer that i no have went from 3 speed to a Glide and and have used the Same Converter and the Converter would stall Higher with the Glide. Let hear some feed Back
ive learned alot about powerglides over the years . built a number of them . there are alot of aftermarket parts around , practicly build one from all new parts . no reason why ya cant build one to hold up ,many stock parts have faults . i wouldnt like the street drivability , esp behind a bbb . such a high first and another gear would be nice .i have one in my imca monte where i built it for use in high gear . ive seen alot of circle track powerglides . and the worst ive seen with simple upgrades is cracked cases and output bearing/tail shaft issues , yet , these were with stock parts . many aftermkt parts out there . as i remember reading once 400 turbo use 38 -42 horsepower to operate a 350 turbo around 28-32 and powerglides 18-22 . so in all theory , lighter , simple ,is faster .
, i dont have a buick engine ,but i do use glides in my 3900lbs car, the one i have ,has a 1.76 gear set,and an ultra bell bellhousing, it is 8 yrs old was in my 3975lb wagon , for 3+ years with leaving on the brake everytime[10.47 avrg.] and driving it during the week, its in the Buick now i drove it about 500 miles at the end of the year when we completed car, and took it to Atco, and ran ,10.70,s with 3.90 gear and 30" tires, and gets 13 mile per gallon ,and in all these years in heavy cars its been checked out once and needed nothing :3gears:w eve been using glides for over 20 yrs in my customers heavy cars,and thier lite ones too in faster lighter cars they will usually pick up a tenth to a tenth and a half,and if done right will last quite a while :grin: bob
So what do you have for Engine how many inches? what are you 60's? Do you think your Car would slow down with a T-400 OR A T-350 What do you leave at on the Brake now how much Converter and what size how high do you shift at.
we tried changing to a 350 in the wagon it only changed 1 one hudreth in et ,that had a 10-1 454 in it,my car we have not tried the 350 yet,as i would than also have to change the rear gear to make up for the big change in first gear,2.52 in the 350,with the big crank it would be way to much, the convertor is about 3200,the engine is a 604 ,9-1 hrdraulic camed slug,i shift at around 5200,the 60' just flat punching it was about 1.44,on the radials,didnt really get to use the brake this time, i forgot i ran a 67 camaro F stocker back in the mid 90,s and that was a 327/275 horse car and it ran 11.40 on the 12.10 index and it also had a glide, and we have a car,that runs 440 in the 1/8 and it has a glide,they are a very adaptable/capable unit the 60' is not the only number we worry about its more the et and the overall consistancey we are more concerned with ,essp on a small tire car we do use 350,s on the ls1 street car conversions,for the 10 sec cars and than go back to glides for the faster ones, turbo 400 do have other gears sets also to kill that first gear,i think they still make a 2.10 gear set,[expensive] but if you drive the car alot you may prefer the 3 speed,me im fine with my glide, hell GM put them in about a zillion street cars big and small, bob
Don't mean to butt it, but I've been thinking about a powerglide also. Car is an '82 Regal, @3000 lbs. Engine will be a @525-550 HP engine. Car has 3.73 rearend and 30" rear tires. I was going to put a th400 with a transbrake in. Hoping for mid-10's with the car. I was told that a 'glide would probably only be beneficial for cars going in the 9's and faster. I know the th400 is pretty much indestructible for about $1,000. It seems like a lot of tranny builders want about $2500 to build a powerglide to handle my power/torque level. Just don't know what to do. Car is a track only car.
There is a interesting discussion here 2 speed vs 3 speed regarding high torque motors and powerglide.
Well i think a Glide would work but how much More RPM would you have to shift at to Pickup or would you have to regear the Car. I will shoot these out A 3650 pound car stock geared T-400 with the 2.48 First. 3.89 gears leaving on the brake at 4,300 shifting 2-3 at 6,000. If you make no other changes to the car other than putting in a Powerglide with a 1.76 gear set and still using your T-400 converter leaving the same and shift the same will the 60s pick up or slow down?. Will you have to leave higher ? or shift higher? Also i can see the Converter slipping more in front of the glide and not Locking up as fast as it did when it was in front of the T-400. Just my thought we do not have Big RPM windows like others I think leaving at 4,300 to 5,000 and shifting at 6,000-6,800 shifting into D can the motor come back up to RPM fast a nuff from the shift? Will it be faster with out having to putting more Gear in the rear of it. The T-400 gearsets are Big Dollars $1200-$1500 for a 2.10 gearset. $4400 for a Rossler T-400. I would Thank you could build a Powerglide for Half that or Less. But will it pick up with out having to Spinning the Engine High.
a glide with a good brake,ultra bell, and manual shift is about 1700-18$$, just like the one in my car, you will have to change rear gear[the fact that its a track car only,this will help you],depending on engine torque curve,and it will make the car more consistant, :3gears:
again, depending on your setup now you may have to change gear,you want to find out what will happen,take your car to the track flat punch it for a few passes and use 3 gears,,if all is consistant , than flat punch the car once leaving in second,you,ll see there wont be that big a difference,now the only thing that will change if you went to a glide after that test, is it will leave a little harder with the glide as it mutiplies torque more, and it will have a lower first gear than the 1.48 turbo second gear[if the car is spinning alot with the 400, you will see the car will go faster leaving in second,do not do this to often as it is not good for the unit,but you,ll only have to try it once to see the difference,esspecially if tires are spinning]than after you have gotten glide /conv combo for your car i would still try it with out a gear change because certain engines with alot of torque like/should be under load, and car should be more consistant,even if its a little slower most guys run a bracket race not a heads up race, :Comp: this is hard to explain on computer,it would take 15 min on the phone, :3gears: bob
No BOP Pattern Powerglides HI Guys, I don't think any PG's came with a BOP pattern case, so an adapter of some sort is going to be needed. Might be an issue with some sanctioning bodies? Not sure about ultra bells, but would imagine the cost would be high. Powerglides really came into their own as bracket racing transmissions, consistant as all get out. Tons and tons of aftermarket parts to make 'em strong, too. A friend ran a Bracket BBC 502 Vega with a glide, it was about the only thing that never broke on him and it was a slightly modified stocker. Sorry, no experience with 4400 lbs cars although the powerglide did find itself behind BBC's in some mid 60's Chevy mid and full size cars, possibly even Corvettes. HTH, Tim :Comp:
PG vs THM's Jeff, I have been looking for an artical in my old Hot Rod magazines, which of course I can't find! They did a comparison of the Glide, the THM 350 and 400. They focused on the amount of HP consumed by the transmission, and the glide was significantly less than both the 350 and 400. More horsepower available to the rear wheels should make the car faster if you can get hooked up. FWIW Tim
Back in the day. We started out dirt track racing using a Power Glide. On a 3/8" mile high banked track we ran that sucker in low gear for three full seasons with no problems. I cant recall the rear end gear(s) we were using but the final ratio was between 5:90 and 6:20. Changed the fluid very often and had a tiny little air cooler mounted on the firewall... Everybody thought we were running it with no torque converter. I was told it had less HP drag than a straight shift with a conventional clutch/flywheel and less than a TH400 or a TH350. Bert
powerglide yes there are a few buick olds pontiac powerglides out there, i checked it out they do exist, iam getting one for my race car. the gm powerglide for chevy can be used, they cut off the bell housing and bolt on a jw bell, problem is that there is alot of bolt hole slop , cause they bolt the the jw bell on the pump. so iam getting the bop powerglide for my car, yes its about $1000 more but why take chances. jeff as far as your car i would definatley go with a pg with the bop case. it will take it. just my opinion!
I decided to run a PG. The BOP PG housing are hard to find. I am going with a Chevy PG and cutting the Bellhousing and Install a JW belling Housing. I have talked to some Friends and many other Raceer about the Mods to the Glide. To make it Live they talk about the High Gear Drum adding Clutches. I have the Powerglide HP Handbook that Carl H Munroe from TSR Racing Products but out very good book for a do it yourselfer. They talk about cutting the Clutch Drum and adding clutchs. The drum i have only has 4 clutchs. They say for every clutch add is a nother 20% more holding Power. They also talk about Replacing the clutch drum with a Aftermarket because the stock one is a week Piece. Up grade to a low Sun gear as well. Using Thicker wider Alto Band. Just some things i have read. Any up grade's that any one has seen or heard of. Put them up on this post.
