trimatic or powerglide

[Squirralien]

I am building a warm Holden red 6 and the tri-matic I got for it is buggered,, the guy at the trans place said a power glide would be good but to hard to find, so I am wondering what the general thoughts are, is the power glide worth hunting down or is the tri-matic a better trans, I don't understand the pro's and con's between the two, power-glide / tri-matic
Any opinions would be great and also if you know where there is a suitable power-glide I would be interested to know incase it's the way to go,,,,

thank you in advance to anyone responding and even just for having a read,,,

[Harv]

Squirralien,

If it was mine, I'd go the trimatic.

The traumatic will give you another gear... a little easier on the engine. It appears to be an easier box to get hold of and get bits for from wreckers - was run in Conformadores and You-and-I's long after the 'glide was history. A worked over traumatic will handle as much grunt as a warm red will put out (I flogged the hell out of one behind a 308 Calais for a long time... even took a dual-axle caravan half way around the continent ). A stove-hot red may push the limits of a well-worked traumatic though. The 'glide is a tougher (and from memory much heavier, even in aluminium format) box though, and a worked 'glide is damn near unbreakable (think 9 second strip monsters).

Cheers,
Harv.

[Squirralien]

Thanks Harv,, no this is just a cruiser no drag racing no car abuse at all apart from taking it away from original but will be driven by my wife all the time which if you knew her may not be a good example because she likes her cars hot but seriously it will be just driven in car club cruises and just driven nicely around but of coarse exercise a bit of a leg stretch every now and then up a hill,, thanks for your response I have since been talking to a few others who have also said trimatic so I will stick to that I think,,,

[jack_fc]

Steve, I'm with Harv...
I've done over 20,000 kms with a Traumatic behind a modified 202 with absolutely no probs. This 202/traumatic is good for mid 14s and is occasionally driven hard. Box has oilcooler fitted, extra clutch packs, shift kit and 2800 stall, B+M pro ratchet shifter; still behaves nicely when driven sedately and left in 'D'.
If you opt for a hi-stall convertor, make sure you pick one that matches your cam specs; but anything much over 2800 is probably not going to be 'nice' for everyday driving...
Depending on your 'warm' cam specs, you may find around 2200 a good match that is very 'streetable' while still responding well when you foot it a bit...

cheers, jack

[stinky]

+1
as with any trans, just make sure you keep it cool, the cooler the better actually. I had the trans guy fit a plug into the oil pan and run a Trans Temp guage.
My FE runs a separate trans cooler (not through the radiator at all) that is mounted under the rear seats.

[Devilrod]

+2

My old FC ran a 3000 stall and trimatic great fun in traffic on a daily basis . It took the abuse really well and is still going strong from what I hear. Currently run one with a stock motor and no issues. Just run a trans cooler its the key to a longer life.

[Squirralien]

Thanks guys for your responses,,
the cam is xu-1 specs basically and I was going to try it first with a standard torque converter due to a tighter then tight budget so I am hoping it will drive ok but maybe someone can tell me what to expect or if its just out of the question for a standard t/converter, I prefer to get info from experienced enthusiasts rather than professionals as I am sure they will say that I have to have a hi stall converter regardless,, maybe i do but I guess they are another $500 and well its nothing in the long run but I have a deadline to have it finished and money just isn't growing on my tree, I did hear that a gemini torque converter would be up around a 1800 to 2200 hi stall, has anyone every tried this and maybe that would be a cheap alternative for me to try out,,
I think its set and done to stick to the tri-matic the general opinion is tri-matic unless its a drag car from your responses and others I have spoken to while waiting for opinions here,,, thank you all again its been a huge help,,

[Cal]

I once blew 4 Trimatics in a bit over a year, though I was driving like an idiot. Someone suggested adding an oil coller, and from the time I did this the box lasted for years.

I don't see the fascination of a 2 speed Powerglide, unless you've got a big torquey V8 in front of it.

[Devilrod]

Haven't tried the Gemini convertor but my old FC had an xu-1 grind cam and I felt once I'd changed from 3:08 diff gears to 3:55 it could have done with being another 500rpm higher. really came to life after 3500....

Standard convertors and big cams aren't a good combination.

[jack_fc]

Standard convertors and big cams aren't a good combination.

a big "x 2" from me...

my cam is similar to XU-1 grind and the 2800 hi-stall fitted is more a compromise for street driving; 3000 or higher would be better for strip work.

I think you will be very disappointed if you run a standard convertor with an XU-1 cam...

[Mick]

was gunna say XU1 grind would be a bit big for standard converter, i have used the gemini converter i also think camira are the same but check don't take my word
i had it behind a fairly hot 6 it worked well but you still get a bit of slip up top as they aren't really designed as a propper high stall converter i knew a guy that had a gemini converter in a 308 powered 12 second lc torana

[Squirralien]

Ok so a Gemini converter would be ok and I can change it for a proper hi stall a little later,, hopefully driven like it will be it should be ok for a while,, just need to save money while I can to get it finished on time,, ill cross my fingers

[EK JAY]

i run a 2 speed power glide in my ek behind a standard 186 with x2 headers
and have no drama's with it it will do 90km an hour in Lo then pop it up to D and cruize
on
i do have a worked 202 with trimatic for the fb wagon so i will see how that go's
in comparisson but have no complaints with the 2 speed power glide so far

[Squirralien]

How long before you have the trimatic running, I would love to hear your thoughts on the difference and your preference