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Great looking conversion. Will there be a kit available in future or is only an in-house conversion.
I talked to Bendtsens Trans Adapters early this year and was told they hope to have a kit for V8 by end of 2011. Either way hope to do conversion in near future.

I previously talked with the firm you mentioned too, but there was never any certainty about a dependable time-table for producing V8 units, thus I looked elsewhere. As to whether or not Art will consider doing others, I'm not sure. I know he is planning on doing the same conversion to his own '56 400 and thereafter, we shall see.

"Yeah, and not to mention that the T'Ultra is probably only good for about (guessing) 250 ft-lbs."

how the hell is the T-Ultra only good for 250...stock is 355.

Hank

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No matter whose or what calculations are used for the ratings, therein lies the problem with why so many TUs met an early demise.

The geartrain design and clutches were essentially unchanged in 6 years. From introduction on an engine (using Packards numbers) of around 160HP and 275 ft lbs to the indignity and practically overnight jump of having to handle 275 and 355 and the final 310 and 405. If things were babied by some grandmotherly driving to church on Sunday types, then the transmissions never saw much more power than the old S8s would have given them and gave good service. If that grandmother happened to be the little old lady from Pasadena, then it was over very quickly.

A little more information about the hard parts. Transmission is a 4L60e out of a late model chevy 96 or later truck or car. Drive shaft is out of a late model chevy truck and modified to fit the packard differential. Shift linkage is from an late 80's early '90s s10 blazer. All control units are from TCI transmissions.

I have no idea why you would change over.The Ultramatic and Twin Ultramatic is a pretty good transmission. It is far better than GMs Power glide or Chryslers Power flite. I have owned both and the Packard trans is superior.

than a poweglide? At least with the powderglide it starts in low then shifts, not so with the regular ultramatic. Also, the powerglide is decently strong, it's often built and used as a drag race transmission.

No experience with the Chrysler.

I would honestly think, with the amount of power most packards are putting out, and the way most are driven, that any stock gm tranny would hold up superbly. I would prefer a 7004r or a 200-4r as to avoid doing anything with electronics, and control lockup with a vaccuum switch and brake switch disconnect.

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Too bad the 4L60 (no Electronic computer control) did not have a bolt-on bellhousing, as it was not until 1996 that the 4L60E was introduced that the bolt-on bellhousing was also introduced. The bolt-on bellhousing is the whole point of KevinAZ's conversion. Without it, the case has to be machined making it a very different animal.

Thankfully, the TCI (and probably other vendors) electronics kits are straight forward and should pose no more problem than the hybrid driveshaft and modified shift linkage. Just more $.

Craig

Craig writes:
"The bolt-on bellhousing is the whole point of KevinAZ's conversion. Without it, the case has to be machined making it a very different animal"

Yes, Craigs statement is to be taken very seriously. It's the bolt on bellhousing that makes the adaption so desireable. Even tho i am one to always avoid and even scold the use of any kind of e-devices for vehicle applications i believe this particular situation is a valid compromise for the use of electronics. A good compromise until someone comes up with a conversion that has bolt on bellhousing and requires NO e-device. THus far noone has come up with one.

Thus far this is the best conversion WITH AN OVERDRIVE or maybe even without overdrive i've heard of in over 12 years of discussions.

Thanks Keith for the compliment. I knew that my choice would stir a wee bit of controversy BUT in the end it's my car AND I want to drive it without undue worry. My experiences with the 2 ultramatics that were in the car previously convinced me that I was making a prudent decision for my particular situation.

The attached pictures were some of what I encountered with the Ultramatics. BTW....last night I saw a NOS torque converter on ebay selling for 1300 bucks. Repairing them will only get more expensive over time in my opinion.

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