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Transmissions
Pontiac V8 Transmissions
Pick the Path First — Transmissions for Pontiac V8s
Choosing a transmission for a Pontiac is really choosing what the rest of the driveline has to become. An automatic brings a flexplate, a torque converter and a stall decision with it. A manual brings a bellhousing, a flywheel, a clutch, a pilot bearing and linkage or a hydraulic actuator. Neither is harder, but they are different jobs.
Butler carries TCI and CPT automatics including TH400 and overdrive units, Tremec TKX and T56 Magnum bare transmissions, and complete Tremec kits from American Powertrain and SST built for specific Pontiac chassis.
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More About Transmissions
1. Automatic or manual, and what each one drags along
The transmission is rarely the expensive part of the decision. What it requires is.
| An automatic needs | a flexplate that matches your engine's balance, a torque converter matched to the cam and the rear gear, a crossmember and mount, and on an overdrive unit, a throttle valve cable or an electronic controller and a speedometer solution. |
| A manual needs | a BOP bellhousing, a flywheel that matches your engine's balance, a clutch with the right spline count and diameter, a pilot bearing, and either mechanical Z-bar linkage or a hydraulic clutch actuator system. |
| Both need | a driveshaft of the correct length with the right yoke. Almost no swap reuses the original shaft unchanged, and driveshafts are not included in these kits. |
2. The four shelves in this section
| Automatic Transmissions | TCI TH400 units for the Pontiac BOP pattern, competition TH400s with manual valve bodies and trans brakes, electronic 4L80E-based overdrives, and complete overdrive kits from CPT and SST. |
| Tremec Bare Transmissions from Butler Performance | the TKX five-speed and the T56 Magnum six-speed as transmissions only, for builders who already have the rest of the driveline sorted. |
| Tremec Manual Transmission Kits by American Powertrain | ProFit TKX kits built for specific A-body and F-body years, with shifter, yoke, speedometer solution, mount and tunnel patch. |
| Tremec Manual Transmission Kits by SST | PerfectFit TKX kits in both manual-to-TKX and automatic-to-TKX versions across A-body, F-body, X-body and B-body chassis. |
3. Overdrive is usually why people are here
The honest reason most Pontiac owners change transmissions is highway rpm. SST states that converting to a Tremec TKX brings low rpm cruising, reduced engine wear, cooler operating temperatures and reduced noise, vibration and harshness. On the automatic side, the SST A41 is described as offering a 30 percent reduction in cruising rpm over a TH350, TH400 or Powerglide. If you have steep gears and a 455, that is the difference between a car you drive and a car you trailer.
Automatic Transmissions Tremec Manual Transmission Kits by SST
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.