Re: [AMC-List] 1971 Turbo Gremlin

[adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sandwich Maker)]

" From: "Clarence Milstead" <cmilstead@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
" 
" I have a couple of questions that I need help/advice on. I see people
" talking about a "nailhead" hydramatic transmission for earlier model cars,
" will this transmission fit my 1971 bell housing and if it will where is the
" best place to get one? I'd like one with OD if possible. Since I installed
" the 3.55 gears I'm getting some spring wrap-up on a fast start. Will just
" adding another leaf to the springs solve the problem? Thanks.

this tranny is a th400 first used with the early-'60s buick 'nailhead'
[hence the name] v8s.  they had a very deep flywheel recess, so the
converter housing on the tranny case was comparatively shallow.  thus
it is possible to make adapter rings to mount the nailhead case to
different bolt patterns, and this is what jeep, jaguar, rolls royce,
ferrari, and apparently landrover did.

jeep used them from '65 to about '73 or so, when they switched to a
custom amc-pattern case.  they had adapter rings for the kaiser
'tornado' ohc 230, the '64-'71 232, the nash 327, the buick 350 [yes -
i've seen one], and the late amc v8/6 pattern.

no, it won't bolt to your bellhousing.  with the right adapter ring it
will bolt to your block.  advance adapters also has a plate that puts
a standard gm th400 onto an amc v8 block.

no, it doesn't have an o/d - though there are aftermkt o/d for the
th400.

ferrari and rolls have used the th400-based 4L80 4sp, but i don't know
if it has a 'nailhead' front or not.  landrover used until recently a
nailhead-case something-or-other, but whether it's still the old th400
or a more recent 4sp remains to be discovered.
--
the original hydramatic is a comparatively primitive 4sp auto from the
'40s, maybe '30s.  [for instance, it has a 'fluid coupling' instead of
a proper torque converter]  almost everyone used them, but production
ended when the factory burned down about '53 iirc.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                       and think what none thought
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