Kinda left this thread hanging. Here is whats happened in the last month+:

The last week of may, I got the transmission mounted and verified that the car would actually start and go through the gears, I had to remove the cutouts from my exhaust as they no longer fit. So i took the midpipes to the muffler shop and paid them $30 to patch up the holes.

Then I got it driveable, but had a few issues: 1) reverse takes exactly 7 count to engage. Park to reverse or neutral to reverse, move gear selector, count to 7. 2) Torque converter stopped locking up.

Fast forward about a week:

The torque converter issue was simply low fluid level. I put the car back on jack stands again and checked it and was able to add another 1/2 quart or so.

However, the reverse issue required that I pull the transmission again. I am getting pretty good at dropping the drivetrain. I had the car on jack stands in 15 minutes, had the drivetrain on the ground 1 hour later, and the transmission separated, drained, and loaded in my truck in another 30 minutes.

Local transmission guy figured out the issue. There were several with this transmission that I bought second hand but was supposedly just refreshed, the main issues being that one of the ball checks was in the wrong place and that the input drum had no seal. The steels on the reverse clutches were worn (but it had new frictions???). All of that was contributing to fluid leaking by and it took time to build enough pressure for reverse to actually lock in.

Put everything back together this weekend and mounted it up. Filled it with fluid, checked it after going through the gears several times on jack stands, allowing time for fluid to work through everything. I also verified that the transbrake works (on jack stands, too scared to actually use it on pavement).

I then drove it around the neighborhood and then down the highway for a few miles. Everything appears to be running well.

Right now it's back on jack stands cause I want to check the fluid level one more time. These things are so finnicky about fluid level.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: This thing hauls! It just squats and goes. I cant believe how much momentum was lost shifting gears, now its (near) seamless. Just normal driving is so much quicker to highway speed than it was with a manual. Anything more than half throttle is instant tire spin, however. I was able to hook up on one concrete road 2nd through 3rd gear (to about 110), and it was damn fast. Looking forward to going full throttle soon!

TEASER VIDS:





Coming up: finish street tune and then get a track tune done here locally. Track tune is required to nail the shift points since most street runs will be spinning. Then drive the piss out of it and see how long this 4L60e holds up.

Latest Update: So the last month or so I have been fighting a few issues with the cooling lines. i ran braided tubing and it failed almost immediately. Twice.

The first time, I was going down the interstate, cruise set at 80 mph and out of nowhere the thickest cloud of smoke appears in the rear view mirror. Yanked it off the side of the interstate and got it in the median. After tow home and some inspection, it appears the tubing had gotten some slack in it, and started rubbing against the headers. Turns out that hot headers and braided tubing dont mix too well, and the result is spraying transmission fluid all over hot headers - SMOKE. Luckily, it didnt burn to the ground.

So i fixed that issue and rerouted the tubing slightly and went out again. I notice a trail of fluid behind me as I'm pulling back in and sure enough, the tubing is leaking again. Turns out it was leaking from one of the Summit AN hose ends. I have read lots of issues with Summit AN fittings (chinese crap). Dont buy the cheapest, folks.

So I decided to hell with the braided tubing and I ran hard tubing from the ****** to the cooler and back.

I havent had any fluid issues since then.

A few days of street driving and beating the piss out of it to make sure it was good.

So yesterday I was able to get to the track and do my track tuning. Track night was bittersweet, I made some test passes to shake the car down and figure out shift points. I wasnt exacty pushing it hard off the line, leaving off idle. The car was getting faster after each pass, however, on the 4th pass, I lost fuel and went WAY lean after the 1/8th mile. Out of time for the night, so brought it home.

Today I put it back on jack stands and started troubleshooting. My first thought was the boost a pump. But I tested it and so far its good. I jumpered the Hobbes switch (boost pressure switch) and it immediately was putting 18V to the fuel pump. So i think the BAP is good.

So I went to the Alky Control methanol injection. When i touched the signal wire from the MAP to the Alky Control module, it came loose. I repaired the wire tap and soldered it all back together. I hope that fixes the problem, more testing to follow.

TLDR - the transmission is doing great! This thing flat out hauls!

Here's some videos of the night:

My best pass (10.45@135.6)



Heres a fun one: I got paired up next to an alcohol dragster. He ran a 6.50 after letting off at the 1000'. I ran a 10.59 after letting off at the 1000'. I was entranced at the starting line to say the least.



Here was my last pass, i tested the 2 step for the first time and had it set really low (like 2000 rpms). Need to bump it up. This is also where I lost fuel and went super lean on the top end.