Good morning,
My swap is a 5.3 into my dodge magnum and its going to be carbureted.
Im running a Turbo 400 behind it and i was planning on putting in a BTR SKU CD13001 Low Lift Truck Cam. That cam says i need a 2800 converter and i was planning on Summit Racing Sum–G2698 Torque Converter 2800-3200.
Would these both be good for each other in my application and good for a daily?

Thanks

 

Hi Dan, why the turbo 400?

 

I don't want to do stand alone comp for the trans...getting away from comps. i was thinking 350 or 400

 

The turbo 350 will be plenty strong enough and is smaller/lighter and ribs less power than a 400

 

i havent bought it yet. the company i buying from has both. 350 is cheaper..maybe ill go with that. I was never set on it.

 

I've got a bone stock 5.3 with high miles in an s-10. It has a stock 4l60e in it and I put a circle D 3200 stall in it and man, talk about more fun to drive. It doesn't act any differently around town but mash the gas and wakes up. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Just buy a quality convertor and you'll be set.

 

awesome. i was just worried 2800 would be too much around town and if the wife drove her. but what im hearing here and through others 2800-3200 stall would be fine

 

Manufacturer stall ratings aren't actual stall ratings. You would be best calling a converter company and giving them the exact setup before you pick a converter.
The 2800 stall B&M I got from JEGS stalled to 5600 behind my 4.8.

 

A built 4L60 / 700R4 would be perfect for you. I would contact ProBuilt Transmissions if you decide to go with a new/fresh tranny.

KW

 

So, I can give you my experience with similar parts. I have a 1971 GMC Jimmy, It's about the same weight as your Magnum (actually the Magnum may weigh a touch more). I have a 6.0 with H/C/I/E, and a 4L65e. My Cam is a PCM of NC attitude V2, which is a 223/231, pretty similar to the 224/230 on that BTR cam. I talked with the guys at yank about the combo, and they recommended a 3200 stall. I am running a Pro-Truck 3200.

Your transmission and rear axle ratios come into play here also, for the 'driving experience'.

I am running 33" tires, and initially 3.73 axle gears. It felt a little soft, but I didn't mind it at all. It was a higher stall than stock, after all. You just give it a little more gas. I don't not mean AT ALL that it doesn't move until it gets up to stall speed. It creeps along at idle with the foot off the gas just fine.

Later, I installed 4.56 gears, and this tightened things up, where under normal driving, it feels no different than any of my other vehicles. But when I get on the gas, then it jumps up progressively to that 3000 rpm range, I love how it drives. So gearing matters, both in your 1st gear, and your axle gears.

Now, so going back to your Magnum... you combo will come into play. What rear axle gears do you have?
2.7 V6 = 3.90
3.5 V6 = 3.64
5.7 V8 = 2.82
SRT8 = 3.06

I believe Magnums have 28" tall tires.

So, if you have a TH400, and 3.90 gears, you'd be around 3000-3100rpm @ 60MPH (assuming a little slip in a non lockup converter). That will be about 4000 rpm @ 80MPH

With 3.64 gears, you'd be around 2800-2900rpm @ 60MPH, and maybe 3800rpm @ 80MPH

And the first gear isn't so gear, so your converter will feel on the loose side. Factoring in tire size and gear size, this would be the equivalent of ~ 2.80 to 3.0 rear axle gears in an F-body with a 4L60e. It'd be just fine on the track, but neither end is optimal for street use. If you have V8 gears, it's going to be a pooch off the line (equivalent to an F-body with 2.18 axle gears and more weight.. better buy a big trans cooler!!)

I doubt you would feel too much difference a 2800 and a 3200 converter. You likely will feel better with a good high quality 3200rpm converter, over a 2800 cheap one.

If it's a daily, I'd really try to go the opposite route, and keep fuel injection and use a 4L60e based trans. The 3.06 first gear will help a lot, and with V6 gearing, especially from the 2.7s, it'd be a near ideal combo, IMO, if the engine isn't anything crazy. You might consider a properly built 700R4 or 200R4 over the 3 speeds, if you want to eliminate computers.

If it's used for daily driving, what kind of distances, speeds, etc will you be driving?

 

The Mag is the 3.5L, so it has the 3.64 rear.
this isn't for racing...but I do like to go fast...quickly..
I was thinking of running Summit Racing® Pro LS Vortec Truck Swap Camshafts SUM-8712. I could run that with a converter of 2000-2300, or even stock, and I could keep the stock valve train.

 

I had a th350 and 3.90 rear gear and it was 3100 rpm at 55mph on a 29" tire with the cheap B&M Torque Master 3000 stall. It sucked to go any farther than around town.

Build your car your way but I would keep the fuel injection if it was more of a daily. Its 5 wires to hook up and you dont have to dick around with the MSD box and the wiring for that. Just buy a good 4L60 and drive on. There are folks all over the country that'll cut down your harness for $300+/- with a $100 flash so you would still have FI for less than a carb intake. Plus, could you use your factory fuel pump from the Magnum to run the LS engine? But, like I said, you do you.

 

set on running carb. I have it and the intake. I prefer carbs over FI. I need to choose between 350, 400, or 700r4. I may go with summit stage 1 cam and stock converter. as for the fuel pump. Im just going to run an aftermarket electric.