Ask any transmission builder...They will agree. "The Money Always Stops at the Firewall!" As a rule of thumb you can plan to spend at least 8% of the cost of your engine on a good transmission that is up to the task for your application.
Here is a little background on why I went in search of the proper automatic transmission to replace my toploader.
I began my 2008 NMRA season in Milan Michigan, with my fastest time to date being a 10.52@133mph . My engine and drivetrain combination is a SBF 408 Windsor with Cleveland heads, spraying 180 shot of Nitrous. Toploader 4-speed, 9" Ford rearend with 433 gears 31x14 Hoosier slicks. I managed to run test and tune, and qualifying rounds without fail on Day 1. However, I suffered major inconsistency issues.
Moving into Day 2, I was ready for 1st round eliminations. I rolled into the water box and executed my burnout. I then rolled in and staged. I brought the engine up to 5000rpm and side stepped the clutch. In that instance a huge bang resonated from the rear of the vehicle. Not realizing what had happened, I hit the gas again, shooting me towards the starting tree. I coasted off to the side of the track, knowing that I had broke something.
Further inspection in the pits revealed a broken 31 spline Moser axle. Once I returned home, I removed the damaged axles ordered and installed some 33 spline axles. I took the Ranchero to a local cruise-in and noticed a bad vibration in the drivetrain. At this point I thought maybe I had bent the driveshaft as well, but I hadn't checked it. I got back home and removed the driveshaft.
As I was pulling the slip yoke out of the transmission, a sick feeling overcame me as I reached up to turn the output shaft on the toploader only find that I had bent that as well! I was now in search of another toploader. I found a good rebuilt trans on ebay with a good seller and excellent feedback. I purchased it, and would have ample time to have it installed for the next event in Joliet, IL. Four days before the Joliet event, I found out that UPS had lost the transmission! I was as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs! I did end up finding a toploader locally which was a relief. I got the trans installed and tortured it a little before heading to Joliet.
I headed out for Joliet with great expectations. I arrived on Thursday all prepared for a good weekend. I proceed to the staging lanes for my first test & tune run. I set my 2-step for 4500rpm for launch, just a little hesitant of what would happen. The truck would not leave good, so my thought was if it breaks...it breaks and I would have to make it launch to be competitive. I returned to the staging lanes for another attempt. I rolled in to stage, set the 2-step, and sidestepped the clutch. BANG !!! The Ranchero rolled ever so slowly as the motor bounced off the rev limiter.
I was towed to the pits where I discovered I had broken the output shaft clean off of the transmission, leaving half of it inside the slip yoke. All the effort I had went through to get to this event only to break on my second test & tune pass was VERY depressing. I was ready to just load up and go home. I then calmed down and started talking sensibly with my wife and the guys I was pitted with. They all said they already have your money, and it's non-refundable, so you might as well stay the weekend and enjoy watching some racing.
I'm glad I stayed the weekend, because after many discussions, I finally made the wise decision to go to automatic. I learned alot that weekend...
1. A good way to decide what trans you need is to figure roughly 8% of the cost of your engine is what you should be spending on a transmission up to the task.
2. I'm no Ronnie Soxx and will never be as consistent as I would be with an automatic.
3. Manual transmissions are more prone to breakage than an automatic. So, leaving Joilet, my mind had been made up to go to an automatic transmission. For breaking on the first day of the event, I really felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders! I think it was just coming to the realization I needed to go automatic that relieved me.
After many Toploader failures, and catastrophic drivetrain failures I decided to switch to an automatic transmission. I picked up a C4 core. I then consulted my Transmission specialist. We completely disassembled the C4 core. I acquired all necessary TCIŽ automatic transmission components to build a healthy, race ready C4. Parts list of all components are as follows:
TCI - PART LIST:PN# 529615 -Flywheel SBF 157 Tooth Neutral balance 10.5 $130.74
PN# 952501 -Trans mount high performance $ 47.87
PN# 743811 -C4 locking dipstick $49.75
PN# 801001 -Trans temp gauge 2 5/8" $91.88
PN# 418000 -Lightning Stick shifter rev manual $239.65
PN# 513000 -C4 SFI Bellhousing 157/164 $521.42
PN# 475402 -5500 Stall Converter $1100.00
PN# 521500 -Valve body reverse manual W/Trans brake $485.56
PN# 523005 -C4 High Performance servo assembly $91.50
PN# 523855 -C4 Low gear drum w/ sleeve $87.69
PN# 549700 -C4 Hardened 26 spline input shaft $222.80
PN# 518000 -C4 Cast aluminum pan 1-extra quart $150.48
PN# 525000 -Low drag 6 pinion planetary $410.16
PN# 529515 -Master OH clutch kit. $267.15
PN# 525600 -Kevlar intermediate Band $28.14
PN# 525505 -Kevlar Reverse Band $20.68
*After disassembly of the core, the case was degreased, cleaned and all passages are cleared using compressed air.
 Here is a comparison of stock parts and TCIŽ parts. Stock parts are
on the upper row, with the coordinating performance TCIŽ parts being
on the bottom row. Featuring the hardened input shaft, and 6 pinion
planetary, reinforced forward drum, and torrington bearings. |
 Assembling the intermediate servo. Servo spring, piston, servo seal
kit, then TCIŽ servo cover. Then 4 bolts holding down the cover
were torqued to 25lbs. |
 Installing bearings, springs and band. |
 All bearings and springs are in place. |
 Output Shaft, Band and Planetary Gear. Also, The TCIŽ 6 pinion
planetary replaced the stock 3 pinion planetary. |
 While the rest of the assembly took place, all bands and clutch
discs were soaked in trans fluid prior to installation. The clutch
discs were submerge until all air bubbles dissipated. This was
done to get a head start on the lubrication process and prevent
glazing of bands and disc's on initial operation. |
 Assembly of pump. There is no upgrade for the pump. Just pulled it
apart to make sure it would be operational and installed the new
O-rings and re-installed pump. |
 Lubricated and put on O- rings and bolted the pump back on the
body to complete installation of the pump. |
 Installed retaining ring in forward drum. Note the torrington bearing
on the bench. This C4 was fully rollerized to reduce parasitic drag
and increase the life span of the transmission. Although in racing
conditions, you will probably have it freshened up the transmission
before you wear the bearings out. |
 Clutch packs installed in drums and retaining clip, snapped in place
and checked for clearance. Then stacked into input shell. |
 Input shell was then dropped into place. |
 Front brake band inserted and installed. |
 Forward brake Band shown around input shell. |
 Install new tail housing bushing and seal. |
 We supported the tail housing until all bolts were started up to
support the tail housing to avoid tail shaft from damaging rear seal
on the output shaft. Governor was omitted from the build. along
with modulator valve. |
 I am not using a speedometer, so an expansion Plug was used to
cap off the speedometer cable opening. |
 Paint was applied with stock parts on it, which were later removed.
But they did serve the purpose. |
 Installed the Bell housing. The bellhousing is SFI certified, very
nice piece. Started all bolts and tightened and torqued down to
25lbs in a crisscross pattern to insure proper seat. |
 Installed line fittings and then flip trans upside down. |
 Trans Brake Solenoid was put in. The solenoid comes with a red
anodized retainer that holds the solenoid in place with one bolt. |
 Manual control lever(Gear selector) |
 Shifter cable mount was put on. |
 Next the Valve body was dropped in and bolted in place.
Valve body was plug N play. |
 Filter was installed. We had to do some massaging
on the filter to fit it in. |
 The extra capacity pan was drilled and tapped to accept the fitting
for the temperature gauge. I opted to take pan temperature. There
are inline fittings to take temperature of the fluid entering the transmission. |
 Fluid pan installed along with a new gasket. |
 The 8" 5500 stall Torque Converter slid on next. Not shown, but a
good idea is to attach a wrench (box end) to the lower starter bolt
hole and the other end up against the converter to hold it in place
while transporting and during install. |
 Dip stick was installed just as a finishing touch to complete the
TCIŽ C4 Transmission capable of excess Of 600HP! |
Just remember that a big horsepower motor doesn't do any good if you can't get the power to the ground. TCIŽ had the parts I needed to build the transmission for my application.
The trans was built and installed. I decided to test & tune the new set-up at a local 1/8 track to get an idea of how it was going to react. I made 5 motor passes and was able to drive it back on the trailer! Talk about consistent!!! All 5 passes were within 3 hundredths of each other. And get this...4 of the 5 passes, the mph was exactly 92.02 mph! WOW!
I have since have taken the ranchero off the street. Now that I'm off the street/strip fence, and TOTALLY on the strip side I can set it up. The upper half of the engine will be redone for drag racing. New cam etc. I have put her on a diet. Fiberglass bumpers, removal of inner wheel houses. seats etc. Only street features that remain are headlights and tail lights. Cam upgrade and 250 shot plus the diet, should put me high 9's.
The latter part of 2008 I was pulling 1.3 60fts, 6.3 1/8 mile times and very low 10's in the quarter. This decision was one of the best ones I have made in a while. I really believe I would have tore up a Jerico too! The only other option on the 4-speed set-up was Lenco or Liberty. Entry level on those trannys are BIG $$$ ! What sucks is with all that I had spent over the years trying to keep a 4-speed in the truck...I could have bought a Liberty! Bottom line, selecting the proper transmission for your application is crucial. This upgraded TCIŽ C4 will handle an excess of 600 HP. But take in to consideration that in a racing environment even the transmission becomes a regular maintenance item. Some of us have to learn things the hard way. By some of us I mean ME! Special thanks goes out to Stanley Poff from TCIŽ. He was instrumental in helping me select the right components to build a C4 transmission that would handle the Horsepower.
Sources:
TCIŽ Automotive
151 Industrial Drive
Ashland, MS 38603
Toll Free: 888-776-9824
TCIŽ - Performance Transmissions and Torque Converters 
C-4 Transmission Build-Up Using TCI Components 
Linear Mode
