Top Loader Limits

[machoneman]

Most of those back in the day 427s weren’t pushing over 600 hp and the tq like your 511. So they could thrash those toploaders and get away with it. You can beat on yours all day on the street with spinning tires, should not be a worry. But if you are gonna put slicks on it and try to get into the 10s with it at the track third gear will consider pushing on the counter shaft with unpleasant results.
This does not always happen but is a proven weak point at your power level.
Jerico or a collared G Force will take much of that worry away. However, driving a Jerico on the street is not for the faint hearted. They are rude. The solution that some guys employ with street cars is a Jerico for the track and a toploader or something like that new TREMEC for the street.
Those TREMECs have a high torque rating but I don’t know anything about their track strength.

As you and others noted, the deciding factor for any stick trans is the use of slicks. Agreed that spinning street tries won't hurt any tranny but once slicks go on, especially in high hp cars, the equation changes.

Long ago, a group of BBC Chevy drag-only racers started switching over to the heavy duty Chrysler tranny (forget the model number right now) and their issues with blown up ST-10's and M-22's went away...for awhile at least. Still, long before true drag racing transmissions became available, they ended up breaking this transmission as well. Years later at a Union Grove, WI  meet-up, some of these fellows told me they switched to auto transmissions and the breakage ended. 

[cjshaker]

Years later at a Union Grove, WI  meet-up, some of these fellows told me they switched to auto transmissions and the breakage ended.

Spend a week on Drag Week and you'll see that autos can and will definitely break. The Powerglide has the best reputation if built properly, otherwise it takes a pretty high dollar trans to survive the bigger power cars, just like you'd spend on a Lenco or Liberty.

[Falcon67]

>ET Streets are nothing more than a slick with a few grooves cut in them to make them DOT legal.
Same - I run Hoosier 275-60x15 DRs and after a few passes they 60' same as MT or Hoosier 28-10x15 slicks.  And they hook sometimes better.  At the last TnT with a bunch fo street cars and nasty diesel trucks tearing up the track, 5 passes 1.66 60' every pass, both lanes.  Very consistent tires.

> The Powerglide has the best reputation if built properly, otherwise it takes a pretty high dollar trans to survive the bigger power cars, just like you'd spend on a Lenco or Liberty.
Yep.  Most of the PGs running at the track are aftermarket case and $3500~4500 a pop.  Not counting the $1200 converters.  And the fast cars/dragsters usually carry two of everything.  It's normal at the fall bracket finals to be in one of the stacker trailers swapping or repairing someone trans. 

[Barry_R]

Face plated BI/BO toploader in 3600 pound car with 31x10.5W ET Streets and roughly 700 HP.  Ran into the 10s with full exhaust.  I did kill an output shaft at one point.

[cjshaker]

Face plated BI/BO toploader in 3600 pound car with 31x10.5W ET Streets and roughly 700 HP.  Ran into the 10s with full exhaust.  I did kill an output shaft at one point.

Barry, just curious if the output shaft failure happened before you got your clutch dialed in? There's certainly a learning curve there where parts can take a beating until you get it dialed in.

One big advantage to a Jerico or G-Force is the amount of gearing choices. That can really help with starting line ratio and the launch. With a toploader, you have 2 choices, or more accurately one, because the close ratio is not really a good choice for drag racing.

[Barry_R]

Not sure when it failed - it was an odd break as Randy referenced.  Not broke in two, but split so it would move under load and kept me from getting high gear.

I went through the normal learning curve when I installed a stick after decades with the C6.  Started out with street trim stuff - a Kee BI/BO 2.78 deal.  Went to a Soft-Loc.  Then had Liberty face plate it when I could not consistently snag gears at 7500.  Tweaked the shift hardware and detents around and had Tim Hyatt do a far better upgrade deal on the clutch.  After some success it started being difficult again going into high and a teardown at Liberty found the crack, which I could not see.  Once replaced it worked pretty well until I removed it this past winter.

I sold or bartered all the race car stuff and just drove the car for the first time Sunday with a street oriented driveline.  It now has a T-56 and a dual disc, along with a Detroit Locker instead of the spool.  I also traded out the aluminum Kirkey seats for some Corbeau chairs with padding and adjustability, and installed a front sway bar.  And of course after pulling its fangs I get invited to the Roadkill Nights event on Woodward this weekend.  At least I should get a couple nice photos....

I need to get back to moving stuff - - a shop is a surprisingly difficult thing to pick up and carry...

[Stangman]

Good luck at the woodward ave street race Barry that sounds great. I have a buddy going also but hes driving a Chevy with an LS. Send us pictures please

[gt350hr]

    Doug , Ford actually made other ratio top loaders. They were NOT released for production and were coined "white stripe" boxes. They were very rare. "Some" are still out there and I have a full list of the ratios at home.
     Randy

[machoneman]

Years later at a Union Grove, WI  meet-up, some of these fellows told me they switched to auto transmissions and the breakage ended.

Spend a week on Drag Week and you'll see that autos can and will definitely break. The Powerglide has the best reputation if built properly, otherwise it takes a pretty high dollar trans to survive the bigger power cars, just like you'd spend on a Lenco or Liberty.

Yes. but we all know of the fellas in the sandbox, barehanded, breaking that bowling ball!

Seriously, back then circa mid-late 70's and 80's, 550-600 hp BBC's in Novas and Camaros running mid-low 10's and very rarely broke any Glide. Racers only, say 10"-12" slicks, say 3,200-3,600 lb weights.

But yes, as hp went up over time (and e.t.'s dropped) the OEM Glides had to give way to true race parts to keep up.