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Manual valve body opinions

451Coronet

451Coronet

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Sooo finally got my 400 stroker (451) ready to install and im considering swapping to a full manual valvebody......reeeally wanted a 4spd but can't afford that lol just wanting some opinions on what they're like to live with, particular brand I should consider, fwd or reverse pattern, etc. Never had experience with one but like the idea of manually shifting my 'Net. Just looking for thoughts opinions ideas etc

Current set up (not all back together yet) is 400 w/ steel 3.75" stroke crank running about 9.5:1 rebuilt 452 heads (no port work), .484/284 cam, 3.91 sure grip rear and currently looking into a 2800-3200 stall converter (though im not sure that would make a difference in a manual VB)

Thanks
 
Having a mvb does not negate the need for a converter. 28 to 32 would be a good one for your cam and gear combo. I had no problems with a mvb on the street. Cheetah both times and one was used in my 69 satty daily driver with an auto shifter on the column. If you really wanna go balls out make it a clutchflite with the mvb. Then you can really pretend you have a 4 speed
 
Some people don't like them on the street. I have no issue with mine. Shifting it without a clutch is second nature. Mine is a reverse pattern manual vb and I never even think about it on the street. At the track, you can't beat it.
Just one man's opinion.
 
I've had one in my Fury since the mid 80's. No issues on the street. Mine is Reverse pattern, as that was the rule before mandatory reverse lock out. I went with it for two reasons. One, quicker ET's and two, eliminate the need for kick-down linkage on a tunnel ram. One of the reasons it is not recommended for daily street use is that down shifting is NOT recommended as it is very hard on the transmission.
 
Cheetah, and it's fine on the street if you have a built trans or NEVER downshift. Downshifting is fine with a strong trans depending on the mvb.
 
Had a MP valve body conversion in mid-70's on 383 727. No one every said anything about not downshifting. Reverse shift pattern and stock floor shifter. Only issues were ice buildup on linkage and shifter plate broke once.
 
I am just repeating what was on the papers that came with my Cheetah Manual Valve Body, it said not to down shift. Kind of a pain to do anyway with a ratchet shifter. Anyways, I love the MVB. I will be putting one in my 65 Belvedere this spring.
 
Generally, they don't want you to downshift because you always have someone that want to try it doing 80+ mph! That is not safe for life and health but this is the first time I've ever heard it's bad for the trans.....unless you do it at 80+ mph.

No port work at all? Not even a valve pocket clean up (ie pocket job)? Just doing that alone is something you can feel in the butt. The factory undercut (pockets) sucks big time!
 
TurbAction Pro-Street Cheetah MVB

I have used the Turbo-Action Pro-street Cheetah{rear band apply} forward pattern, Manual Valve body only #17675, style for a couple street/strip cars now, the rear band apply aids in downshifting from 3rd to especially the 2nd & 1st gears even, at reasonable speeds/rpms for downshifting into corners or street driving conditions, autocross etc., you can do good burnouts, bite & not blow the trans to hell & even do dry hops, even downshifting & not grenade-ing {over spinning the sprag, it can run/spins at well over 12,000 otherwise} the overrunning clutch/sprag, that non-rear band apply style valve bodies can/will do {have been well known to do}, I do have a bolt in sprag too, for added safety {I have a friend that runs one with out a bolt in/or pinned sprag, in a low 11 second pretty fast car, he hasn't had any problems yet}.... No kick down linkage required... works great I have another one I'm going to use in my current project too, They're not the ultimate fastest shifts, {milliseconds slower, than the hi-$$$ units, you wouldn't know/feel the differences, unless your running in the low 9's or 8's @ 150+} but the rear band apply style valve-bodies are completely street-able.... Good luck with your build... I also suggest buying the HP-book1399 "Torqueflite A-727 Transmission Handbook" by Carl H. Monroe, for how to rebuild, race or modify Chrysler's A-727 Torqueflite applications & modification, a wealth of knowledge in that book, well worth the small cost...
 
Last edited:
call john over at cope racing transmissions.he can answer any question you have.he is great.buy all my trans stuff from him.
 
Budnicks said:
I have used the Turbo-Action Pro-street {rear band apply} forward pattern, Manual Valve body only #17675, style for a couple street/strip cars now,
Click to expand...

That's the one I've been thinking of getting for my Satellite so I can try my tunnel ram and not have to mess with a kickdown cable. I called a tech guy at Turbo Action and he said that one would be worth a tenth compared to using my Transgo shift kit.
 
Awesome!! Appreciate all the feedback....im sold, sounds too fun to pass up lol

I have considered trying to clean up the heads myself but have heard/read horror stories of trashing a good set of heads.
 
I have a tci trans with the rev pattern, manual valve body, big stall and have no problems on the street. The downshift thing, I match the speed of the engine with the speed of the car and I have no problems for 9 years now. No regrets.
 
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