Re: twin-ultamatic

Posted by BH On 2009/6/9 9:22:28

To All:

The Ultra-Torque conversion discussed at the the AACA Forum involved a fella who had habit of ignoring good advice and asking the same question repeatedly until he got the answer he wanted to hear. When it came to his questions about swapping trannies (and wanting an eazy-breezy off-the-shelf conversion), the Ultra-Torque came up. I finally relented and gave him the addy for the Ultra-Torque supplier - hoping that would be the end of it. Turns out, his buddies chipped in and bought him a 727 core for Xmas. He allegedly had it rebuilt and installed, with the UltraTorque kit, by a tranny shop, but had a lot of trouble with it as delivered. Ultimately, he blew a seal, burned up the tranny, and then sold the car. It turned up on eBay a couple of times, in the hands of a seller in TX, IIRC.

Now, if someone had a Packard straight eight with an Ultramatic prior to Gear Start (and wants an automatic upshift from low to high), I could see some benefit of going to all the trouble of rebuilding and installing a 727 - provided they meticulously quality-check the UltraTorque components. Yet, when it comes to the Gear Start or Twin Ultra, I'd rather go to all the trouble to properly rebuild one of those than swap it out for some other technology. Swapping to the factory-available three-speed manual gearbox with overdrive is always an option - provided you can come up with all the pieces.

However, if someone had a compelling need for overdrive, I'd be thinking about a conversion that utilized a GM 700R4 or 4L60 (but not the electronically-controlled 4L60E). I don't have the part number handy, but there is a GM relay that can be wired in (in place of the normal computer controls) to manage the torque converter clutch. Unfortunately, it sounds like there isn't a readily available adaptation for the GM unit to a Packard engine.

Chrysler was pretty late out of the gate with an overdrive automatic, and their first was in a transaxle only. Dubbed the "Ultradrive", the Packard gods must not have been happy about their use of "Ultra" as those units had a lot of problems. Meanwhile, RWD Dodge trucks continued to use evolving versions of Torqueflite. Their first example with O-D was the A518, but I'd heard those didn't hold up very well, either. The A518 was soon replaced by a heavier-duty version - the A618. A 47RH is a hydraulically-controlled version of of the A618. I wonder if that could be used with the UltraTorque.

That's just my $0.02 on the subject - presented as food for thought. I'm no expert transmisson rebuilder or engineer - just a seasoned GM parts man and Packard V8 owner.