<VV> Turbo 350 Hydromatic was Slated for Corvair Application

[Tony Underwood]

At 08:18 PM 9/11/2007, Mikeamauro at aol.com wrote:
>Following is a link to a Wikipedia entry, which makes an argument the 350
>tranny, had the Corvair line continued into the 70s, would have made its way
>into the Corvair.
>
>  "...One important difference in the THM 350 compared to the THM 400  is
>there is no fixed center support midway through the gear train, 
>this  important
>difference in layout permitted THM 350 to be adapted to the 
>Corvair  where the
>drive and driven ends are the same. This feature was not exploited 
>but  Corvair
>may have eventually used the THM 350 had it remained in  production..."
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-Hydramatic
>
>Has anyone explored the possibility of using a 350 tranny in a Corvair
>application. Is the direction of rotation correct. Size issues?

Well...  supposedly a prototype of this transmission was originally 
fitted to "Pinky", the 1960 convertible companion to the 1960 
Super-Monza currently in the CPF museum.  According to someone on 
this list, that transmission/transaxle still exists although "Pinky" 
itself was scrapped long ago.    I'd sure like to get a look at that 
transmission...

The TH-350 would likely work the same way the Powerglide works, 
obviously no rotation issues if it's fed the same way the 'Vair 
Powerglide is fed, via a hollow mainshaft etc.

I would wager that the TH-350 could be made to work if modified in a 
similar manner as the BW T5 gearbox that's been fitted to Corvairs.




>Other  hurtles to
>overcome?

Mount issues, likely no big deal if someone were willing to do the 
machine work on the mainshaft, cut-spline etc... so modifying the 
case to mount the transmission would be no more difficult than the 
mods needed to mate the mechanicals to the 'Vair converter.

I'm kinda surprised nobody has done this yet, following some of the 
other mods I've seen cooked up for Corvairs, such as the 
above-mentioned T5 gearbox.   .


>Later 350s came with a lock up converter... that would  be nice, as
>would the extra gear.
>
>I'm not just dreaming here; I've been know to invest considerable  dollars
>into my Vairs to effect useful modernization and improve reliability;  I'm
>hoping for serious answers from those knowledgeable in this area 
>of  discussion.
>What are the chances a 350 hydro could be made to work in a  late model?


See previous commentary... and by all means ask experts in the field.


"Always listen to experts.  First they'll tell you how and why it 
won't work, and then they'll show you how to do it."     -- RAH

You have made a very good point about investments for 
improvements.    Corvairs are beginning to approach the status of 
validity and rationale for such investments such as the T5 and a 
modified adapted TH-350, when only a few years ago such a project 
would have fallen mostly upon deaf ears.

I'd dare say that a nicely modified TH-350 could be worthy of 
competition efforts, with that extra gear to work with... 
particularly with that steeper Low gear up front.




tony..