SOme may have known I lost my Hughes TH400 after 3 1/2 years of flawless performance. I replaced it with an ATI Competition TH400 with full manual Valve Body due to quick availability. I would have gone with another Hughes again if I could have gotten it quick enough.

I have raced with the ATI once so far and it performed perfectly. Well enough to take over first place in points again in my street legal class.

I am a little concerned about the 1-2 shift being too firm, but do not know in a trans builders opinion as to really gauge what is "Too Firm".

Originally posted by mc71454:
Well enough to take over first place in points again in my street legal class.graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Good news, Tom.
Just curious...any difference in et/mph between the two trannys?

Thanks Bill,

No difference noticed yet. But I changed a couple things last race.

Instead of adding 200 pounds to the trunk I am using a secondary link bar on the carb that is bent to keep my secondaries from opening all the way (15 degrees from perpendicular). I also had 65 pounds in the trunk. Real bad air and 11.05's at 121 which is what I would have expected with the other trans.

The true comparisons will be when I open her up for full race at a Sunday Event.

Does it have any lag going into 3rd? I would shift mine manually then a second later it would shift...that might have been what cooked the 3rd gear clutches in mine.

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
Does it have any lag going into 3rd? I would shift mine manually then a second later it would shift...that might have been what cooked the 3rd gear clutches in mine. No lag at all, very quick, but not as hard as the 1-2.

Originally posted by mc71454:
Instead of adding 200 pounds to the trunk ...had 65 pounds in the trunk. Chris couldn't make it, huh? What'd ya' use...one of the kids? ;) tongue.gif

Tom,
The 1-2 shift can be FIRM, but it cannot have a BANG.

If it shifts from 1-2 at lighter throttle firm but not jerk the car around hard, then at WOT it hits pretty good it will probably be fine.

Problem with most manual valve bodies is that there is no modulator, so line pressure is at max all the time, so the lower rpm shifts are going to stil be abrupt.
They also usually delete engine braking, so no intermediate band is installed, which does put more strain on the sprag.

You get to where you can "feel" if it is a good crisp shift, or if it is a brutal parts breaking shift. A good 1-2 shift is almost like you can feel the band release and the intermediates grab simultaneously with no bind-up or cut-loose.

Bind up is when the band releases too slow, and the intermediates apply too fast and it makes a BRUTAL 1-2 shift. Even at part throttle.
A cut-loose, is where the band releases and then it may flare before the int clutches engage.
I seriously doubt you'll ever have a cut-loose situation with any aftermarket VB or kit.
A bind up can happen.

hard to explain but you can "feel" the difference after riding in an improperly calibrated setup, then one that is right.

However,
it being an ATI trans it is probably scienced out pretty good.

Thanks Jake,

I now have a Hughes TH400 I need to be rebuilt for my spare..any suggestions????

Get the Ron Sessions HP Books "How to rebuild and Modify your TH400".

You can get whatever parts you need from www.bulkpart.com (http://www.bulkpart.com) for very reasonable prices, or I'm sure Steve would be glad to help you.

I would also order a Tech Manual from bulkpart as it really helps to have 2 references sometimes.

Really nothing extravagant in a TH400, you can disassemble on completely in ~20 minutes with mostly regular hand tools.

IIRC you seemed to have lost 2nd gear, liekly the sprag.

You'll probably need an early style or late model 4L80-E direct drum to fix it..

I have lots of suggestions for you once you get ready to dig into it.

If it performed well for you and you liked it, I would re-use the VB as is with a cleaning, and just overhaul the internals.

graemlins/thumbsup.gif Will do..Gotta learn to rebuild these things sooner or later.

i rarely ever feel my 1-2 shift under normal driving, but i have a lot of converter. before the full manual body and big converter was put in the 1/2 shift was quite jolting at times. 3rd hits sort of hard under normal driving. my 1-2 shift is delayed at the track for some reason, may be a normal tbh350 deal, not sure. Dave

I've had 2 ATI transmissions, and both had that real hard 1-2 shift. The 2-3 is a little softer and not quite as quick as the 1-2 shift. Overall I've been pretty happy with them.

Originally posted by Rigrock:
I've had 2 ATI transmissions, and both had that real hard 1-2 shift. The 2-3 is a little softer and not quite as quick as the 1-2 shift. Overall I've been pretty happy with them. That describes mine exactly..Thanks for the good report on the ATI.