Zf 8hp70 mated to sbc

I just finished swapping a 8 speed auto from a dodge ram into my 67 chevelle.
I'm posting this only to offer anyone interested in doing this any help / advice based on what I did to make it work.
it's really not too bad, I decided to rip the existing controller out of the tranny and used an external one.
other than that I used an ati adapter plate and 153 tooth gm flex plate to mate it up.
I am currently manually shifting using two buttons, shift up and shift down. I'll be adding auto mode someday however manual mode is really what I was after,
I actually only lock up the converter after 8th so it feels like a 9 speed.
it's basically the same as the hellcat tranny, I shift in under 200 ms and it barks the tires in every gear.
there's probably better trannys to use but I've tried 2sp, 3sp,4sp od, and a t56. This 8 spd kills them all :)
Again, I'm only posting to help others interested in doing this, it took me a lot of searching to find the info so I'd be happy to help anyone save some time do this.
A

I am interested in learning more about how you made it work. What external controller did you use? Thanks, Pat

I'm interested in learning more,too.

Would love more info and pictures. How big is this beast?

Andrew

What was the reason for the idea of an 8 speed ....and why not use a gm 8speed ? ...just curious, please don't think I'm being rude

hey guys, sorry i didn't respond sooner.
anyway, ive been running the same trans for about three years now, I bought a used one out of a 2014 ram truck with the hemi. I initially installed it in my 67 chevelle behind a 30ish hp sbc. Since then I put in a 5.3 ls with big turbo (of course). After 3 tries at the texas mile and blowing up 2 ls motors I finally killed this poor transmission although it really wasn't it's fault, I programmed a trans brake into it and the ls with turbo blew through it and torched a clutch. I never even tried a trans brake before, drag racing isn't my thing .
Anyway I'm putting it all back together now so I can take pics, I'll post over the next few days. I had adapter plate made from an online machine shop and I'm now using tci flexplate and stock ls starter. I built a controller using an online board manufacturer (maybe $75 total invested). I had to pull the valve body out, remove the stock controller, then wire the solenoids to the main connector so i could control each solenoid individually. you could do this and use most any controller however they are expensive in my opinion.
so cost is about $800 for used 8hp70 out of a 2014 -up dodge ram hemi
adapter is about $250 online (i can send you the cad if you want it)
i'm using the '53 tci flexplate which was overkill however i blamed the last ls blowup on the $45 amazon plate i was using. turns out i stuck a piston
about $100 in controller / wiring
and i bought a driveshaft from the driveshaft shop. they already have an adapter to get from the stock ram flange to a cv joint then a 1310 on the other end.

I honestly don't think you find a better trans for driving, its the same trans bmw (google 8p45r) uses in their race car only they run without a converter. that's my next project btw.
with the sbc at The Texas Mile i was shifting at 7k without lifting with 4.11 gears and it went over 150mph. it shifts in 150 ms, with a controller you can shift anyway you want as each shift is a clutch to clutch shift so you release one clutch and engage another. I first hit the engage clutch full pressure, wait 50 ms, then release the other clutch. it would bark the hoosier r4's all the way into 5th. honestly i'm afraid to try it with the ls, it makes 750rwhp. the one thing I don't like about it is the torque converter, no one offers anything for this trans. that's why I'm going to try direct drive and launch off of the beefiest clutch in the trans. it actually has a clutch pack designed for this, it's the same clutch that the bmw race car uses to launch.
well, I'll post some pics soon. I'm not trying to sell this thing to anyone but I can honestly say that it's by far the best trans I've ever seen, especially considering how cheap they are and the bone yards are filling up. ok, last story.. So the original trans was in it going into March with a fresh 6.0. I put it on the dyno 2 days before the mile and was working on the tune, i was in 5th gear with converter locked at about 2300 rpm, i stabbed it and when the turbo spooled up it blew through what was left of the clutch i hurt with trans braking. so i put it on the trailer and took it to the mile, hoping i could run without using that clutch. after trying everything we could thing of someone ran to a local bone yard and grabbed a complete trans for $800. by morning we were ready to make a run.
I originally went with this trans because i was underpowered but wanted overdrive, i had the original glide but wanted overdrive. after shopping around I just didn't like the options. I happened to ride in a new ram with the hemi and 8 speed when they came out and thought man it would be great to have this in my car. after researching the crap out of it I just decided i had to have one. he only 'technical' part i'd say is getting a controller connected, i'm a software guy so i didn't mind taking the time to figure it out. I will say that I almost pulled this trans out in favor or a manual 6 speed when i put the 6.0 in but I've grown fond of this 8 speed and didn't want to hang a pedal for a clutch. If you read up on the 8hp70 you'll see it's a cool design and very efficient. plus it only weights 200 lb.
rant off, pics to follow soon

How big is it compared to the 4L80E / 6L80E?

I don't have any good videos but here's a few:


video of first time trying it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt8Zwa5WdZo

transbraking with sbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9lEzFv7CwU

dynoing it, i ran 6th gear with converter locked, with pull made about 740rwp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfpPlPLdj6w

and failed attempt at the texas mile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDo18OigXd4

pics
this shows how a ls wheel is too big to fit inside of the bellhousing.
I've been running a 153 tooth plate however i had to modify the starter for it to work.
I'll be using a 1" spacer / adapter next time so the flexplate doesn't have to reach into trans
Attachment 151528

this is the first adapter, it's only 7/16" so the flexplate sticks out past it.
Attachment 151529

I'll be using 2 plates like this, 1/2" each
Attachment 151530

the computer i'm using. if i had to do it again i'd just buy the pcs controller or similar
Attachment 151531

the converter pilot is 1.337", i just cut one out of aluminum. I'm make a steel one next time
Attachment 151532

this kinda shows it's size, i did have to open up the tunnel a little and will open it up more for the driveshaft going forward
Attachment 151533

way late with answer but at the time i couldn't find a gm 8 speed to try. they are still expensive and hard to come by compared to the 8hp which thanks to dodge rams can be found everywhere. so 8hp is lighter, smaller, cheaper

I like the native CV driveshaft. Does the kitty littler make a Dodge transmission work better? ;-)

Andrew

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andrewb70

I like the native CV driveshaft. Does the kitty littler make a Dodge transmission work better? ;-)

Andrew

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Seens like ever since I bolted the turbo on the Dodge got scared :) the hellcat in it met it's match lol

Are you located in Texas?

New to the site,
Ive been watching this thread for some time. I am building a truck with zf 8hp70 and would love to see an update on this and talk to cmcnitt

CMCNITT could you tell me where you got the controller from. I am trying do something similar and having a hell of a time getting anything to work. How are you shifting PRND and how is manual working. I have just joined the site and sorry if I overlooked something.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tunahemi

CMCNITT could you tell me where you got the controller from. I am trying do something similar and having a hell of a time getting anything to work. How are you shifting PRND and how is manual working. I have just joined the site and sorry if I overlooked something.

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I sent you a pm

CMCNITT could you pm me i have some ideas/Questions about this transmission and the elimination of the converter.

Can you do the same thing with the Hellcat 8hp90? I’m building a 41 Willy’s with a hellcat motor and not having much luck finding a trans to put behind it. There are no stand alone computers for the 8hp90 that I’m aware of and I thought the 8hp70 wouldn’t hold up to the horsepower. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

What controler is it and how you switching PRND?
When lockup is on?

From my research I know its teensy 3.6 or 3.5 fitted on board with optoisolated trasistors. CMCNITT can you share code for teensy?

Hi I realize this post is a little older but I’m interested in getting information on controller for the 8 speed automatic. I am building a 68 dodge crewcab and have a 2016 5.7 Hemi and 8 speed automatic. Thanks