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    Results 1 to 14 of 14
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Posts
      36

      Bowler vs. Hurst vs. American Powertrain?

      Looking for a swap kit for a Chevelle -- any recommendations of one company over another? I'm coming from a 700R4.
      1970 Chevelle - CA car, 45k orig miles
      427 Shafiroff, T56 magnum, 12 bolt 3.90
      Rick's restomod tank, ZL1 pump

    2. #2
      Join Date
      Aug 2015
      Location
      NJ
      Posts
      282
      Country Flag: United States
      Hanlon Motorsports - Bob Hanlon is super knowledgeable and a superb guy to deal with. Tremec themselves sent me to him because their own tech dept couldn't answer my questions.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Jul 2013
      Location
      Gilbert, AZ
      Posts
      934
      Country Flag: United States
      I went with Hurst Drivelines with their Black Friday sale. I like that they had a 24 month warranty after the 6 month Tremec warranty, so 2.5 years warranty. But I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, especially if you can wait for a sale of some sort.
      Josh Campbell- Pushing the limits of my HOA since 2011
      71 Firebird- 455, Ridetech front suspension. https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...04#post1124504
      67 Camaro RS/SS clone, Speedtech front suspension, coilovers, soon to get LT1/T56.
      82 Z28- cheapie beater, soon to get a 406.
      66 Mustang coupe- 393, T-5, sold. https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...-Coupe-GT393-C

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Aug 2005
      Location
      Hamilton, NJ
      Posts
      4,291
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by pittpens24 View Post
      Hanlon Motorsports - Bob Hanlon is super knowledgeable and a superb guy to deal with. Tremec themselves sent me to him because their own tech dept couldn't answer my questions.
      Bob is great. He rebuilt/upgraded my T56 last year. Not sure he deals with complete kits, maybe though.
      Scott from NJ.

      Vent Windows Forever! ...

      Feather-light suspension, Konis just couldn't hold
      I'm so glad I took a look inside your showroom doors

    5. #5
      Join Date
      May 2014
      Location
      Stanislaus County Ca.
      Posts
      176
      Country Flag: United States
      I think they're all pretty much the same kit parts,the cross members can be quite a bit different,shifter options may be a little different but that's about it.

      I don't know your location, but sometimes the sales Tax depending on the location of the vendor can be a deciding factor. I order outside of Ca. to avoid any tax.

      I ordered my transmission and shifter from one vendor, cross member from another, bell housing and clutch from another, and had the driveshaft built locally after I installed and measured what I wanted.

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Posts
      36
      Thanks for all the feedback -- great point about CA sales tax! Sounds like waiting for a sale and getting the driveshaft locally would be well worth it.

      Thanks all
      1970 Chevelle - CA car, 45k orig miles
      427 Shafiroff, T56 magnum, 12 bolt 3.90
      Rick's restomod tank, ZL1 pump

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Feb 2016
      Location
      Texas
      Posts
      93
      Country Flag: United States
      If you're buying a complete kit including the driveshaft, consider getting the DS made locally or at least specify high quality, name brand yokes. The DS I received as part of my install kit had some no name import weld yoke and it did not even hold the U-joint bearing cup properly and the DS wasn't balanced correctly. The U-joint bearing cup spun in the yoke because the tolerances were so bad the yoke was too large and the cup did not spin on the bearings.

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      Fredericksburg, VA.
      Posts
      3,155
      Country Flag: United States
      I assume you are looking at a 5 or 6 speed manual kit but you didn't specify. I purchased my T56 Magnum from American Powertrain and frankly I was less than impressed with their after sales support. When I had a question I actually got more help right here on PT.
      Steve Hayes
      "Dust Off"
      68 Camaro

      Given sufficient initial acceleration, even pigs can fly!

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Sep 2006
      Location
      Indiana
      Posts
      2,668
      Country Flag: United States
      I'm pretty happy with the T56, clutch, bell, etc that I got from Bowler and the after sale support has been excellent.

      Herb

      1966 El Camino LS408/T56Magnum
      1966 Chevelle 509/T56Magnum
      1963 C10 454/4L80

      PHR CHP CHP youtube



    10. #10
      Join Date
      Nov 2011
      Location
      Cookeville, TN
      Posts
      110
      Country Flag: United States
      Hey Steve
      So Sorry you had trouble with our tech support. We have had some issues with that no doubt. And we are working on fixing our reputation for tech. We have had a major change in management, company policy and quality for the better. If anybody here has had any issues in the past please let me know at [email protected]. I will be happy to give you guys a discount on any of our kits going forward. There is a lot of great overdrive companies out there and we are just happy to be of service. Again if anybody has any issues please reach out to me.

      And Steve please shoot me an email about your issues and I want to help make this right for you.

      Thanks!
      Matt G


      Quote Originally Posted by TheJDMan View Post
      I assume you are looking at a 5 or 6 speed manual kit but you didn't specify. I purchased my T56 Magnum from American Powertrain and frankly I was less than impressed with their after sales support. When I had a question I actually got more help right here on PT.
      Support
      American Powertrain
      Modern drive train technology for muscle cars
      Get your Shift Together
      americanpowertrain.com
      America's #1 TREMEC Dealer

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Posts
      36
      Thanks, I'll email you offline but have had trouble getting a detailed quote.
      1970 Chevelle - CA car, 45k orig miles
      427 Shafiroff, T56 magnum, 12 bolt 3.90
      Rick's restomod tank, ZL1 pump

    12. #12
      @downl50

      Give us a call at Hurst Driveline if you are still sourcing or figuring things out or just want a quote. We can definitely help you out and give you couple options and prices on a kit.

      Hurst Ignacio
      Hurst Driveline Conversions
      Complete 5 & 6-speed Tremec Overdrive Transmission Conversion Kits
      www.hurst-drivelines.com
      Phone: 707.544.4761
      Email: [email protected]



    13. #13
      Join Date
      Jan 2014
      Location
      Portsmouth NH
      Posts
      247
      Country Flag: United States
      I had a great experience with Hurst Drive Trains for my T56 Magnum kit for my 69 Camaro. Everything fit correctly and when I had a few questions during the install they provided the support I needed. In fact I had a tail shaft seal problem and they helped me to contact Tremec for the replacement seal which was replaced at no cost.
      1969 Camaro (Small Tyre Restomod/mild Protour) 245/40/18 F, 275/35/18 R, stock frame, full Ridetech suspension, LS engine, T56 Mag, Wilwood Brakes. A driver car.

    14. #14
      Join Date
      Oct 2005
      Posts
      123
      Bowler hands down! I bought my t56 magnum from Mark/Craig at Bowler and 5 years ago their customer service is just as great as it was day one. I just recently spruced it up with a stage two upgrade, and holy crap this trans is amazing! Go with Bowler, you won't regret it!





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