auto trans install in V-drive

[Jim W]

Hello,
How hard is it to do?
Who sells the parts?
18' Hallett BBC Casselle drive.
the lake I am on is crowded and I think having reverse would be real nice.
Thanks in advance, Jim

[schiada96]

It's not that hard to do. I'd use a powerglide in that app. First gear woud be of almost no use but a T400 would be heavy plus it would be way longer. You can get a coupler from Art Carr, TCI or Hughes.There are any number of ways to get power from the engine to the trans. Park is great for removing props. Plus you won't need an anchor.

[Itsahobby]

Just a heads up, reverse is worthless in a vdrive. The only thing I use mine for is stoping/slowing down, when I come in to hot at the docks. It's not going to back up like an I/O, vdrives have a mind of their own when backing up.
Hobby
Hello,
How hard is it to do?
Who sells the parts?
18' Hallett BBC Casselle drive.
the lake I am on is crowded and I think having reverse would be real nice.
Thanks in advance, Jim

[GofastRacer]

And if it's a flat, going in reverse is a quick way of sinking!. :2purples:

[ACCEPTENCE]

Now I'm confused!!!
Reverse or no reverse???

[lucky]

this whole thread is going the wrong way - I alwayz thougt R ment race

[Jordy]

R for Reverse Right. ;)

[emjay]

In my Casale I have the 3-dog gear that allows
in-&-out shifting without shutting off the motor.
By "popping" it in & out of gear a few times, (idleing)
I can literally "spin" the boat on a dime. Great on a busy day!
A trans though would be ideal to maximize your powerband.
If you use reverse though be careful. On a busy lake, other
boaters near docks etc. may not expect your type of boat
to be able to "back up". :argue: Also as GOFASTRACER mentioned,
it's very easy to "swamp" an 18 ft boat with a lower freeboard.
How about investing in matching chrome plated paddles! You can
be the talk of the lake. :jawdrop:
Can't afford 'em? Climb on the front deck & like I tell my girlfriend...
"Kick your legs baby... Kick your legs!!!" :D

[Jim W]

thanks emjay,
I had not thought of swamping the boat but good point.
I have never had a boat with no reverse and am just a little leary of docking with "no brakes" So even though I knew with a 2 blade prop reverse would be iffy, it would be nice. I do have lots of time with inboards so I am used to no steering when backing up. Tell me more about the 3 dog ear setup you have??
As far as the girlfriend on the front of the boat?
Would it be more efficient for her to be kicking on her stomach or on her back?????? :) Mine wears a thong which cuts down on friction------ at least when she is kicking!!! Like a pic????
Who supplies the converter less trans???

[emjay]

. Tell me more about the 3 dog ear setup you have??
As far as the girlfriend on the front of the boat?
Would it be more efficient for her to be kicking on her stomach or on her back?????? :) Mine wears a thong which cuts down on friction------ at least when she is kicking!!! Like a pic????
http://www.v-drives.com/
Follow the link on the left side for the Casale page.
Scroll on down & you can see it with a whirl-a-way
or without. The normal 2 dog gear has only 2 "nubs"
which won't engage the v-drive without stopping the motor.
It "can" be done but it tears up the gear & sounds like
you're slamming & grinding.
The 3 dog gear has 3 "nubs" which engage much more
smoothly at idle RPMs. A quick, slight "tap" on the throttle,
(raising maybe 200-500 RPMs) and as the motor unloads you can
drop her right into gear. Then at idle up to 1200 RPMs (or more)
you can pull it right out of gear. (just not under load)
A little practice and you can "walk" it in & out of gear easily
around docks and others.
I recommend talking to Casale direct. 562-906-4825
Installing one is a little tricky. If they do it you can also
have them check out your drive if it hasn't been inspected
for a few years. :idea:
As for the GF... If I'm too close to other boaters at the dock,
I have her climb on the bow, and plunk her legs up to her shins
in the water & she knows... "Kick your legs baby... kick your legs!"
(With OT's I'm careful not to fire up aimed at someone) :sqeyes:
As for your pic... EVERYONE here wants to see her!!! :D
Good Luck

[76BARRON]

YES! a pic would be nice :D

[DeltaSigBoater]

It will back up like any other inboard. It will pull to the right no matter where the rudder is.
That is only if the prop is left rotation. If the prop is right rotation then it will back to the left.

[Jet City]

Everytime this subject comes up I read how using reverse in a flattie will just sink the boat, I wonder how many comment on this have actually driven a flattie with reverse? At any rate, mine has a THM400 and reverse works great for me (just use some common sense), comes in really handy around the docks, as does 1st gear. As someone else stated 1st gear is useless on take-off (way too low), just start in 2nd and bang 3rd right after you floor it. I know the THM400 is big and heavy, I know I'm giving up performance and balance to have it, but i feel its worthwhile since my flattie is just a play boat.

[Jim W]

Hmmmmm,
Since the usual automotive trans are heavy, I wonder if a Bert style trans used by the DIRT and pavement modifides would work??
I know they would hold something like 800-1000 HP and they are light (50LBS?) and very short (16'' unit length?).
They use a hyd. clutch with a pedal to engage low and reverse. With the race cars you depress, yes, depress the clutch pedal to squeeze the clutch packs inside the trans for 1st and rev. then let off the pedal and shift to direct once moving forward. A new Bert set up is something like $1,200.00 which I would think is less than an auto trans all done up.
Something i think I will look into. Let me see if Bert has a web site, they must.
Be good, Jim

[coolchange]

I'm in the process of putting a powerglide on my Pontiac flat. Getting the tailshaft eliminator thats pretty cheap ($100?) Trying to find someone to cut my stock outputshaft and spline it as I don't need a $800 drum and shaft for 900hp. I may make my torque convertor eliminator or see what they cost for a Poncho first. You dont need to ease a boat into gear like a car and I think a Powerglide has about the same parasitic loss as a 4 speed. If your a seasoned flat driver with seasoned skiers its part of the art of a flat but its sure nice to bring the rope around to a novice and hit neutral then maybe a quick blip in reverse to get stopped.

[InKahntrol]

I've found that most people who talk smack about transmissions in V-drives have never owned one. My last boat, an 18' Nordic flat, had a 600hp 468 with an A1 Racing Transmissions TH400 with manual valve body and reverse shift pattern. It worked great. First gear is pretty much useless, but reverse was AWESOME when I needed to pull into a tight slip or up to a dock. I used to laugh watching other flatty guys shutting their motors off and pulling out the paddle.
You can't go very fast in Reverse, but that goes for cars too. Just learn that the boat always goes right in reverse, and you can slip it into just about any spot. If you turn the wheel all the way to the left and shift back and forth between Reverse and First, you can make the boat pivot in its own axis, which is also nice for Marinas.
My boat had 15% gears an an 11.5x15 two blade stellings prop, and it would pull out in second gear if I wanted to, but it shot to redline so fast I usually just pulled out in third. For those who say trannys don't work in fast boats... my dad has a factory lightweight Barron Sprint with an ex Dan Gurney T70 race car motor in it, and he installed an A1 short snout TH400. This allowed him to use 37% gears with an 11.5x15 prop. It pulls out like a fuel altered in second gear, pulls straight to redline, then he shifts into third. The boat has done 133mph on GPS.
I'm a huge fan of transmissions and v-drives, but there are a few things I've learned the hard way. The first is to get a good shifter. In my old boat I had one of those B&M deals that ratchet, and if you can't immediately tell what gear you're in things can get pretty hairy pretty fast in a tight area like the Channel in LHC. My new boat has a gated Winters Shifter, which looks sort of like a Mercedes Benz shifter... makes it much easier to always know where you are.
Also, its really important to keep the transmission cool, since cruising in a boat puts a lot more load on everything than rolling down the highway in a car. Get a GOOD transmission cooler, and plumb it into the water pump fed system. My last boat had a seperate pickup that went through the hull, into the trans cooler, into the v-drive, then out the boat again. It worked fine whle cruising, but idling in the channel sometimes the trans would get so hot it would smoke the paint. My dad's flat and my cruiser now have the water go through the pump, in and out of the motor, then into the oil cooler, then into the trans cooler. That way it maintains a pretty even temp all the time.
Shops like Art Carr and A1 Racing Transmissions can set you up with everything you need, including a trans, coupler (instead of a converter), shifter, etc. A manual valve body is mandatory, and I like using a reverse shift pattern because that way if you shift at speed you're going away from neutral and reverse. Good luck!
Dan

[CALIFORNIA PERFORMANCE]

WHERE IS THE PIC :shift:

[Jim W]

California perf, my computer has stopped seeing that I have put in my cameras "smart card" and thats where I have a nice postable pic of my G/F. Let me get that figured out.
Inkahntrol,
Never drove a fuel altered but I shoed a AA/A and BB/A for years.
Be good, Jim