I do get into custom convertors when needed,and there is an aditional charge for that
Those are only needed for higher HP engines and supercharged engines
Std package comes with stock style convertor

The starter does have custom parts made by me but the electronics and anything wear out can be found

In other words if I die you guys aren't lost in the cold

Im not gonna give all my secrets,after all if Im not the main supplier,I wont be able to forge on with devolopment of new engine and drivetrain parts for our most loved vintage engine

Tony

 

This thread made my day! I really like the manual bellhousing. I'm thinking 4 speed, since I just bought a Muncie. I'm going to give Tony a call!

 

Has anyone else done this conversion? If so lets hear from you.

Pat

 

Btt

 

I got Tony's TH400 kit as well and did basically the same thing as Pat for my 63 Starfire. A very nice kit. Had to clear the pump to get the bellhousing to fit. I needed a mini starter and had to shim it a bit. I also fabbed a rear trans crossmember, made me feel a little better about the trans. I retained the console shifter's linkage, which was a little involved getting it to work. A cable would have been better in hindsight. Also modified the shifter for th400 NSS switch and backuplight switch. And the indicator dial had a graphics shop engrave the th400 pattern, looks stock if you didn't know. The shitty pics (sorry) are made during build process, things like motor mounts and shifter bezel were improved after so it looks better now than when the pics were taken. (I am not so good at documenting my work). It was a little more work than expected, but lotsa fun to do. I would like to say thanks Koolcat Pat for your pics it helped me bigtime.
Mark.

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Wow! After reading this thread a few times, I am starting to this that this may be the way to go for me eventually. I don't have any fabrication skills though

 

WOW!! I have been poking around on this forum trying to get ideas for my 64 Starfire and now I'm convinced. I had pretty much tossed the 700R4 idea because I don't want to cut up the car if I don't have to. Yesterday my neighbor offers me a fresh TH350 and then I read this, Tony, you can be expecting a call from me soon.

I'd seen other TH400 conversion threads but this one really cleared up any lingering doubts. Between Pat's words and pics and especially Tony speaking up I'm sold.

To you Pat, I get that pics are hard to take sometimes but for those of us who have spent hours under the car staring and thinking "what the hell am I going to do here" yours have come in very handy. Not to side step this either, that car looks fantastic!

 

Thanks Tony I should be able to contact you in the next couple weeks. If I could get a time not to call after it would be great. The week of the 12th I am on vacation other wise I could call after work on my cell but that is about 4:30pm. I have a rebuilt TH400 The guy does them in Boyne City, MI and that is all he does. When you call him and set up a delivery time he has the kit set out ready to go. He'll call you when done or if it is too bad to rebuild and he could not guarantee his work. He does a lot of city work on transmissions and a few friends recommended his work.

 

There are some good educational threads out there my friend bought a complete dvd set on car restoration over 120hrs long in coverage.

 

take the time to map out measure and make sure that you have something to use as a template for metal cutting and at least someone to do the welding needed to seal up the cuts panel seal that the body shops use might be another option. That is some tough stuff.

 

In the last photo is that the cooler lines in the blue braid.

 

yes, they are the trans cooling lines. Easier to run with everything in.

 

Just a update on my conversion from Ross Racing Engines. It's been almost 7 years and everything still works great. The only thing I had to do was replace the speedo bullet because of a leak. Bought a billet one from Gear Vendors and is dry now.
Thanks again Tony.
Pat

 

Wow 7 years already!!! Thats awesome Pat

 

Does the TH400 from Ross racing bolt right up to your 394? Do they have a manual trans that will bolt up to the 394? I have visions of a '64 Ninety Eight convertible with a four or five on the floor. Thanks.

 

Also here an update from a Ross adapter user in 63 Starfire for 3 to 4 years. And many miles with similar result: No issues, a perfect product. Tony really was one of the best to deal with.

 

Wow I now see my old post above, it's been 5 years already... Time surely goes by fast

 

So can you fill me in with exactly what Ross Racing did for your 63 Starfire? I have a '64 Olds 98 Custom Sports Coupe. I'd like to keep the 394 engine but change transmissions sometime down the road if I don't sell the car. It's currently up for sale in the Classifieds.


If I get a '64 98 Convertible, I'd like to put a four or five speed stick on the floor.

 

I think Tony has a t5 conversion? http://rossracingengines.com/c/5/old...early-catalog/

best to call him...

 

some people still have questions on this so I am bringing this back to the top.

 

thank you for bring it back , your post and explanation is the best I'v seen so far , if I have to do the swap I'll be able to understand more when I call Ross Racing , thanks again so much , the hardest part from here is finding the money , lol

 

after talking to Tony ( ross racing ) yesterday seems his swap would be the best for me , like his gos in with out body work and doesn't need added crossmember for trans mount . it's not cheap but paying 5000 to rebuild a slim jim every time it go's bad plus parts are getting harder to find , had to have mine rebuilt twice in 6 years , I would like to thank sue for putting me onto him ,

 

well tierd of messing with the slim jim been in shop for almost 4 months and can't find why it still slips in high gear desided to go with Ross Racing swap kit with TH 350 instead of TH400 because 350 is a little smaller and gives me a little more room to work with ,so here's hoping I can get it in by next year , all the shops around me are so busy with work hard to tell when they can get to it , seems every body around me can't find new help , want to thank CQQLKAT for getting me intouch with Tony from Ross Racing , guess i'll have a 62 slim jim with many new parts in to sell if anybody is interested

 

hate to say it but here it is march and still have not got my trans swap from Ross Racing , when they tell you weeks it turns into months ,

 

Not to knock Tony, but the concise around here is he takes FOREVER to get anything out of his shop. Did he ask for money up front?...Tedd

 

yes half , was a lot more cost then I thought it would be , not sure it is worth the money to do the swap , if I didn't put half down I would not do it , I had ask for a refund ,he said he was to far along making the trans ,so asked me for another week which turned into a month , when I first put the money down he told me 4 to 5 weeks that was back on Nov 12th , Might be me but I have never had to wait that lone for a part , maybe things have change that much today , he called today so I will pick it up tomorrow ,

 

just an update the price for his swap has gone up over the years , I payed 5270 for his complete swap with new starter , now not sure how long it will take trans shop to get it installed .

 

Hey ripper how did the swap turn out?
I'm not ready yet but I'm getting all the info I can so when I am ready hopefully it will be a smooth(ish) process.

Thanks

 

it was not as easy as KQQCAT said it was because theres a big difference between a 61 and 62 olds . I just could not find anyone to fix or tell me why the slim jim after being rebuilt twice would slip in high gear , the car is no good to me if I can't drive it so i did the swap , was lucky to have a great mechanic that figured it out and did the swap , I went with the chevy 350 thinking there would be more room around the trans to work with , the car runs great now , the swap was not cheap , still looking for pictures of cross member and trans mounts we made ,

 

 

Thanks for the reply ripper!

Mine is a 62 also.
My trans works fine but it is still a slim Jim.
The swap is on the list but it may have just moved down a notch or 2.

Thanks again