A833 transmission

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gwandro

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Looking into an gm a833 4x4 transmission but I’m not sure if it’s a good to run with 350. I’m reading that under a little more power they tend to not be that great of a transmission. Would it be better to go with something like an nv3500 or 4500? What would also be a good price range of the a833 with the bell housing, transfer case and crossmember?
 

Grit dog

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I’d say A833s and nv3500s are pretty scarce. And 4500s are not cheap either.
Never had a 833 but sounds cool.
3500 getrag gets a bad rap but they were bulletproof for me. A lot of miles.
But I’d rather have a 4500 if putting some decent power in front of it.
 

TotalyHucked

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Yeah it's the same trans that the Hemi's used, just with different ratios. The ratios are pretty terrible IMO, I'd much rather have an NV3500 or 4500 personally
 

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Our R&D director has one in his '67 Plymouth Satellite with a 360 in front of it. It's a dog, even he complains about the ratios. I'd really hate to think how bad it'd be in a 4x4 with bigger/heavier tires
 

legopnuematic

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One thing to note is the 833 used in square bodies is the overdrive variant, with a 3.09 first.

The old Mopars pre 1975 are a direct drive (the overdrive units used 3rd for overdrive, so the one shift lever is flipped to make the pattern correct), with 3.09, 2.66/2.65, or 2.44 first ratio, depending on application and year.
 

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I drove my A833 equipped square daily for 30 years. Commuting, trailering and light hauling.

It would have been nice to have a little steeper first gear.

K
 

bucket

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One thing to note is the 833 used in square bodies is the overdrive variant, with a 3.09 first.

The old Mopars pre 1975 are a direct drive (the overdrive units used 3rd for overdrive, so the one shift lever is flipped to make the pattern correct), with 3.09, 2.66/2.65, or 2.44 first ratio, depending on application and year.

From what I remember, the GM version had ratios similar to a 700r4 auto. It always seemed like a great all-around combo to me, especially behind an engine with a broad power band. I'll install mine someday.
 

legopnuematic

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From what I remember, the GM version had ratios similar to a 700r4 auto. It always seemed like a great all-around combo to me, especially behind an engine with a broad power band. I'll install mine someday.
It would appear so on the ratios.
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I'd think with 3.73-4.10 gear ratio and 31-33" tires it would make a nice combination.

Being they are really car, not truck transmissions, they should be (with a good shifter) able to bang gears pretty good. A lot better than a sm465 would lol.
 

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There are options now days for a Ar5 out of a 2007'ish colorado in swaps if you are interested in a 2wd flavor. It's not advertised as super strong but it mounts with an adapter plate to a 4l60E bellhousing and for LS swap guys uses a LS vette flywheel with the stock colorado clutch that is a hydraulic clutch. Not sure what flywheel you would actually need for a small block but shouldn't be too far off course to figure out. Guys use it in their drift setups and usually have problems with third gear blowing but that is going to be a hard gear for most transmissions to hold on to if you are doing drift burnouts at high rpm's while maintaining your angle of attack throug a corner with smoke pouring off the rear tires. I'm doing the swap in my 64C10 with the LS swap but pretty sure there is a solution for a small block setup. I am not there yet but probably finished with it by spring or summer for the next rounds of power tour or hot rod tour in Tx. You might google around AR5 behind SBC and see what the results are.
 

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