[DOC]

Finally got the motor together and trans rebuilt with the new TSP converter that was spec'd out by Cliff. I wanted a continental but they went out of business before I could order one. Cliff recommended this one so I took the leap at it. I must set the preface this is a street car only that is driven like a normal car and some spirited driving. That means not easy....

Combo,: 78 T/A, 462 with ported 6x by CVMS, Ported iron take by SD performance, QJ by Cliff.. KRE 230 HR: 230/236, 516 / 527 w/ 1.52 rocker. 3.23 rear gear, turbo 350.

Converter is a 10" converter but physically measure 9 1/2".

Idles nicely in gear at 750RPM's. RPM's drop about 125-150 from park to gear. Moves easily with little gas. moves in gear at idle. Takes off normal like a stock converter in stop and go traffic. going down the road steady at any speed there is no sensation of idle creep or rpm slippage. Give it a slight stab from about 1500 rpms it will flash to about 2300-2500 and pull hard. give it a moderate stab from stop or going 45 mph it will flash to about 3100 and pull very hard. Have not opened the secondaries yet. Motor is till pretty fresh. I feel the shifts and they are firm. After driving around around for about 30 minutes in stop and go traffic, I put the laser gun on the trans pan and the temp was 142 degrees. I am just running a cooler in front of the radiator. nothing is going through the radiator.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the converter. It slid right in.to the trans, bolt holes lined up perfectly in the flywheel. the hardware that came with it threaded perfectly.

Would I buy again? Absolutely!!!

Thanks Cliff Ruggles for the advice and time to recommend and spec this converter out for me.!!

[pastry_chef]

Cost?

[gassman_67]

Originally Posted by pastry_chef

Cost?

do you have a link to their website?

[pastry_chef]

Originally Posted by gassman_67

do you have a link to their website?

trishieldperformance.com

There are many excellent converter companies, for different goals and budget.

[cnc]

I see u mentioned Cliff Spec'd it out Did u order from them or did u order from Cliff
I sent Cliff a PM about a converter recommendation today actually....Im kickin the idea around of goin to a 10 inch...but its gotta act like my continental I currently have with nice and smooth on the street in and outta gear but also want the track time too
interested in Cost as well....

[andy kelleman]

i just put one of these converters i got from cliff
in a 1968 tempest street /strip car picked up 2.5 tenths and 3 mph in 1/4 400 turbo 400 3.73 rear 27" tire cruses at 2800 rpm at 55 mph work real well

[cnc]

Originally Posted by andy kelleman

i just put one of these converters i got from cliff
in a 1968 tempest street /strip car picked up 2.5 tenths and 3 mph in 1/4 400 turbo 400 3.73 rear 27" tire cruses at 2800 rpm at 55 mph work real well

Same size 10" and stall or different

Cost if u don't mind sharing...???

[77 TRASHCAN]

Another example of one of our Pontiac community that's selling a product that does the job, without doubt.
Nothing like buying something off eBay, where the end user finds out if it's good or not...if it's junk, you get the pleasure of trying to get your money back.

[TCSGTO]

Lots of good reviews on the TSP converters in the Buick community. Jim Weise has been building them for a few years now.
Most converters nowadays are built on the 9.5” platform since the supply of true 10” cores that are worthy of a performance build is drying up.

[DOC]

Originally Posted by pastry_chef

Cost?

Cant remember exact price as I bought in March, but I believe but after shipping it was in the 675-700 range.

[DOC]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

Another example of one of our Pontiac community that's selling a product that does the job, without doubt.
Nothing like buying something off eBay, where the end user finds out if it's good or not...if it's junk, you get the pleasure of trying to get your money back.

I have bought too much junk throughout the years trying to buy cheap. for all the times I have had to replace cheap parts with more cheap parts I could have bought the better part once and had professionally installed and still would be ahead. That's why I go to the person/company that specializes in the parts or work I am wanting and get the service I expect for my money spent. .

[DOC]

Originally Posted by cnc

I see u mentioned Cliff Spec'd it out Did u order from them or did u order from Cliff
I sent Cliff a PM about a converter recommendation today actually....Im kickin the idea around of goin to a 10 inch...but its gotta act like my continental I currently have with nice and smooth on the street in and outta gear but also want the track time too
interested in Cost as well....

I dealt with Cliff exclusively. Made the transaction seamless....

[cnc]

Originally Posted by DOC

I dealt with Cliff exclusively. Made the transaction seamless....

Good to hear....

[pastry_chef]

Originally Posted by DOC

675-700 range.

Thanks,

PTC is around $150 less.
Also used by many of the biggest names in Pontiac.
Hundreds of positive feedback on forums everywhere.

[ponjohn]

Originally Posted by andy kelleman

i just put one of these converters i got from cliff
in a 1968 tempest street /strip car picked up 2.5 tenths and 3 mph in 1/4 400 turbo 400 3.73 rear 27" tire cruses at 2800 rpm at 55 mph work real well

What performance level?

[dataway]

Can I have my original GTO, T400 converter rebuilt somewhere ... standard OEM performance level? Typical cost?

[Cliff R]

Thanks guys for posting the results. We have been getting EXCELLENT feedback from the TSP converters, tested them here as well and very happy with the results. They are 9.5" units and very strong converters. Each one is custom built exactly for the application using billet covers and bulletproof internals, . We spend a good deal of time with the customer and with Jim at TSP getting all the details to build the converter.

The biggest surprise with these units is when you open the box and see how small they are. When we purchased the first one here I called Jim immediately thinking he had sent the wrong converter to us. He said, "ya, I get those calls all the time, just put it in and let me know how it works, no worries." We did just that and the difference was amazing. The application was a 1970 Stage 1 Buick with the 455, TH400 and 3.55 rear gears. The engine was "fresh" but had a bit too much cam in it for the converter it was using, so rpm's dropped too much when placed in gear and it was a "slug" until you got the engine past 3000rpm or so. It wouldn't even spin the tires on a full throttle start or really leave hard enough despite good traction to be the least bit impressive anyplace. It did come to life nicely and from 3500rpms to the shift point would literally tear your head off!

I was expecting the new converter would be a bit "loose" for normal driving but to my surprise it was very tight, and even with a lot of throttle applied at lower rpm's in high gear you had difficulty pushing the engine much past 2200-2300rpm's. It was very well coupled otherwise and locked nearly solid above the stall speed. It "flashed" to about 3500rpm's but difficult to say exactly as it the tires refused to hold. Night and day difference in vehicle performance.

I've tested truckloads of converters over the years, even some pretty high dollar units from the big names, and no others besides the Continental units have been as well coupled for "normal" driving and still work as well when hit with full power. From what I've seen with this sort of thing over the years is that none of the companies selling converters has any trouble getting PLENTY of stall speed in them. The problems are always WAY too loose for normal driving and these high torque Pontiac engines easily "push" thru them at lower rpm's which doesn't apply full power to the pavement. These big engines also never reach rpms to fully lock up a relatively loose converter, so you loose out in a lot of areas even when they flash pretty high and get the vehicle moving well from a standing start.

The worst part of all of this is that many folks using relatively "loose" converters don't know how much vehicle performance they are really giving up until they get a good one....FWIW.........Cliff