Valiantjim
03-23-2008, 12:55 AM
After picking up a clean 99 RT Club Cab, red with 72K miles, I was glad to find this forum. Forums are a great innovation for the car hobby...I've been playing for 35 years but only got started online when I bought a 2004 GTO and then continued with my C5 Vette. The MOPAR faithful will be delighted to know I sold the Vette to buy the truck. The whole story revolves around my early A-body Valiant/Barracuda obsession that goes back to the early seventies. I've had dozens of them, including a 65 Barracuda A-Sedan SCCA Trans Am racer I converted to barely street legal status in the mid 70's. The Dak was purchased to serve as tow vehicle and parts runner for my latest project, a 66 Barracuda Trans Am replica track car.
So here's the question session, and please don't slay me for starting conversations over that may have been going on for the last 10 years...I've already played with the Search function. I live in Colorado at about 6000 ft altitude. You're probably aware that altitude sucks power at 3% per 1000 ft, so I've already lost 18% of what sea level folks enjoy. The plan is to drop in a 4" cast crank kit to salvage some bottom end torque that's needed for towing. Will the factory electronics support the change without going all haywire on me? I've already got the simple 180 thermostat, K&N filter and Jet2 going on and that's perked things up a bit. I figured the more aggressive module was fine here at altitude with the minor mods cause thin air supports ignition timing that would drive sea level tunes into detonation.
Second question: These electronic 518 trannies, what do they need to handle the increased torque and towing loads? This one already bothers me with its sliding lazy shifts...I swear I can feel the bands melting into the fluid just driving around. How did the motoring public get convinced that "smooth" shifts were a good thing?
Thanks in advance...
So here's the question session, and please don't slay me for starting conversations over that may have been going on for the last 10 years...I've already played with the Search function. I live in Colorado at about 6000 ft altitude. You're probably aware that altitude sucks power at 3% per 1000 ft, so I've already lost 18% of what sea level folks enjoy. The plan is to drop in a 4" cast crank kit to salvage some bottom end torque that's needed for towing. Will the factory electronics support the change without going all haywire on me? I've already got the simple 180 thermostat, K&N filter and Jet2 going on and that's perked things up a bit. I figured the more aggressive module was fine here at altitude with the minor mods cause thin air supports ignition timing that would drive sea level tunes into detonation.
Second question: These electronic 518 trannies, what do they need to handle the increased torque and towing loads? This one already bothers me with its sliding lazy shifts...I swear I can feel the bands melting into the fluid just driving around. How did the motoring public get convinced that "smooth" shifts were a good thing?
Thanks in advance...