If you get the A500RH, (RH stands for rear wheel drive,hydraulic shift) you only need electronic inputs for overdrive selection and converter lockup,if you have this option. I'm sure your ECU could be programmed for these inputs to make it a really neat swap. If there was a way to fit the a500 with the push button auto I'd be tempted to fit it into my wagon as well
There is also the Laycock overdrive units,they seem to be available at a far cheaper cost to the gearvendors copy and with all the skills on this forum I think it would be a great project. Forgive me for not knowing who's who,but one member has a casting foundry and others have access to machine shops,just thinking out loud.

Thanks all once again. The overdrive unit with a higher rear ratio and a stock 904 lockup would be ideal. The cost of the Gear Vender's unit seemed prohibitive. I will look into the other one you mentioned. Years ago overdrives were not all that uncommon. I wonder who made those and if they are still around?

The word from Lou and others is that the a500 is an HP drag. I know nothing beyond what I have been told. Are there versions that are not so much of a drain on power? And, sorry to seem so dumb here, is the a500 an OD unit? I have paid no attention to them. I will look into those as well. I built an entirely new cross member, and raised the hump up considerably to clear the T-5. It seems the a500 should go in there.

Sam

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Have a browse though eBay for laycock type j units,or Volvo 240 overdrive units. They are basically the same as gearvendors without the price
The A500 trans is the same as a 904 back to the tail housing,then it has the overdrive unit . The A 518 is a 727 overdrive . The A500 apparently sucks less power than my 518, but at the end of the day they would both draw more power then their 3 speed variants. A 225 would probably feel it a tad more perhaps? It's been a while but Im pretty sure I get 22mpg out of my smallblock 349 ci and 518 combo on propane,that's cruising at 110 to 120kph (66 to 72 mph) in a 1970 Valiant,propane typically gets less mileage than normal type fuels so its probably good for say 25 at least for a rough comparison. If you go the A500 route please let me know and I'll jump under my Valiant and take a few shots of my crossmember,basically you will only have the two outer attaching bolts remaining after you've done cutting the crossmember for clearance,you reinforce the area of course,I'll give you a run down of how I did I it if you go that way! Cheers.

Thanks Steve. How do you mate the volvo OD unit to the 904? The photos I have seen show flanges on both ends, but do know if these are the same as the Volvo unit. It is interesting that GV apparently has bought out Laycock, and has done a decent job of cornering the market on this kind of product. You would think someone else would jump in here. There is good money to be made it seems.

You guys are going to think I am nuts, but I am leaning back towards the 200 r4. I went to the cruise in this morning and there a couple of Gm guys there singing the praises of the 200 r4. One of them previously owned a Buick Regal turbo with a 200 r4, which he put 140k miles on with zero problems. So it may not be as easy as a 904, but in the end may have the best combination of tractibility and price. Of course as open minded as I am (wishy washy?), I will likely sway some other way again.

I will study up on the gear ratios to see if there are are options there, and if so what they are.

Sam

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Hi Sam, I know what your going thru...I tortured myself for hours and hours deciding on what combo to build,and I still changed my mind! I went from a hemi 6 / th700 setup to a smallblock with the A518! I will try not to ramble on here but here are a few thought from my experiences.
Firstly,
The Laycock overdrive would need a custom extension housing to attach to the 904, some overdrive units are remotely mounted with driveshafts in and out,I have never seen one,but for my cable shifted 904 wagon Im interested in fitting a laycock to the 904 with a custom extension housing......long term project at the moment,and your quite correct,gearvendors won't sell you housings without using their own OD units....enter some slant six org casting gurus maybe?
Second,
The A500 will bolt in with factory adaptor plate,low mount starter,you will need to take a look at your rear crossmember but you're already close with the T5 in there perhaps? One way to find out and that's when you have it in there! They aren't the last word in transmission tech but do the job just fine with a good rebuild and oil cooler,for a slant they would be just fine.
Third,
The GM trans family,personally,I think they are a good trans,easily capable of handling a slant. I am familiar with the Th 700, we don't have the 200 series in Australia,from what I know anyways. I know that there are guys here working on a conversion and I don't mean to contradict any of their work,this is just my opinion and experiences. Take a look at the 360 degree bell housing design of a Mopar transmission,they also use beefy lower braces to support the bellhousing....why? Well, I assume its because the typical Mopar engine is mounted with its mounts toward the front of the engine,placing a lot more load on the engine/trans junction.Braces don't do much I've heard some say! Well,take them off a hemi 6 engine and just wait for a cracked flex plate or loose bellhousing bolts! When I did the th700 conversion we fabricated a lower bellhousing to attach to the th700 and utilised the factory braces,never any issues,over engineered? To each their own I guess!
Then there is converter selection,for my setup the V6 converter was too small and with the hemi it was too much stall for a mild engine,the V8 converter is amazingly heavy , but in hindsight it was probably a better choice. A supercharged V6 converter ( not available that easily over here) may have been the ideal diameter,I lost interest and got the V8 bug before I developed the conversion to the stage of changing converters,the way I did the bellhousing limited my choice in converter diameters as well,so it wasn't just an easy swap.
Then there is the coupling of the engine and converter,obviously it needs to be accurately aligned in all axis,but I personally am cautious about using adapter rings,manual flywheels,etc etc. The hemi 6 over here was released with a locally built trans,ok for daily duty.guys converted some to torqueflite over the years with a variety of success,many had flex plate cracking probs and problems with vibration and bolts coming loose. I could rave on about why,I'm sure there are many different theories ,but its isn't as easy as just getting it all bolted together.
Then you need to address the shift linkage,I used a cable attached to a column shifter,it was a lot of fiddling to get it right,but can be done. You will also need to address the safety switch and reverse lights. A floor shifter suited to the trans being used is probably feasible,but I wanted to keep it looking stock.
I'm not saying one conversion is better than another,lets face it,we all customise our cars to suit our own needs,but I hope sharing some of my thoughts and experiences will save you some time and help you decide what is your best option.! Enjoy!

Well, the 904 3spd option would certainly be the easier option to install- alot less custom work & downtime. If your 904 is an electric lockup type then it'll have a 1-wire plastic connector poking out of the case just above the pan line on the left side,aft of the NS switch. Some of the AM trans companies make stand-alone controllers for lockup, as well as OD on the "early" hydraulically controlled A500 (somewhere in the 90's they went "fully" electronic & required a pcm).

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

I took the car out for a spin tonight after finding another loose part under the dash. AFter fixing that, the trans is sounding better now. Funny thing. Steve, I thought I knew where I was headed until I read your post. Well, I am in no hurry now. I think this tranny is going to stay together for awhile. I do not like the low 1st, granny gear. Actually at this point putting another T-5 in with a higher first gear would be a reasonable step. But for now, It is a great driver.

I posted on parts wanted to see if anyone has a Wilcap adapter they wish to sell. If not, fine. If they go, then gives me some direction perhaps. I tend to be a belt and suspenders kind of guy, so probably would engineer a good support at the junction between the bell and engine. Thanks again for all the thoughts and comments.

Sam

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Your most welcome,enjoy your ride!

Hang on for another couple weeks folks, I'm in the process of chasing down a 200r guru. When I find him,it's gonna be an apples to oranges comparision,904 vs 200r.

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

Looking forward to that, Mr. 6fan!

Lou

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