18 Spline A833 Rebuild / Upgrade.

[mrhemi]

I have a 18 spline A833 that is in need of refurbishment. It is a spare for me and I have advertised the VIN to see if it could be reunited with its original car, no luck. So now I am looking at refurbishment for a spare or future project.

What I would like to know, is of any member's experience with the Passon 4spd. overdrive conversion for an 18 spline. This trans has been scavenged for pieces over the years so needs a bit beyond bearings and synchros. The Passon overdrive kit, while pricey, would supply a lot of the missing components.

Is there merit to pursuing this for a future big block project?

Cheers.

 

[NJRR]

How much would the parts be to rebuild it? Passon sells that unit rebuilt for $3200. He would probably buy the parts you have to offset the cost.

 

[biomedtechguy]

It would basically give you the capability to have either:
A very low wear, low RPM, decent mileage transmission
Or
With a higher numerical Ring and Pinion gearset, a kick *** 3 speed manual transmission with an overdrive to make highway cruising acceptable.
In my case, I have the Passon a855 5 speed, and I swapped in a set of 4.10 gears in my Dana 60 to replace the 3.54.
Now I run 2,750 RPMs at 70 w/the acceleration advantage of the 4.10 vs 3,500 RPMs in 4th with the 3.54.
If I was into cross country cruises I may have kept the 3.54, but I am thrilled with the 750 RPM savings I have now, and the Holy $hit! acceleration of the 4.10.