Building a good 998tf

I'm in Houston
I'm searching for someone who can build me a stout 998 torque flight
For my gremlin

Pick one from a late Concord and pull the torque converter off and determine if it's lockup/non-lockup. The factory 4WD model from my 83 wagon is lockup even though technically they're not supposed to be in anything other than 84+ releases, so check. Make sure there are no hairline cracks, leaks or roasted valve body pieces and that the valve body tube isn't hemorrhaging like mad. If the clutches are good, you can do a full teardown and overhaul knowing this was in good shape when you started.

Get a full rebuild kit or a paper kit and steels. Get a replacement dish for the front drum. Those things tends to deform and crack so much I don't know why we haven't moved on to anything better but get it locally or through Vista Parts, especially if you see a deep groove in the teardown. Get a set of alto red clutches from Raybestos or a friction+steel module if you got the paper kit. The whole issue isn't really the frictions but having them grip good quality steels. In my experience I'm always tossing the old steels as they're always warped, polished or dry roasted.




SPEC YOUR CURRENT PLATES BEFORE ORDERING REPLACEMENTS AND MODULES.

Get a new band for your low/reverse drum. Get the rigid solid one if possible. These transmissions have more variations than the Fords, so even I forget what decides this if anything. Get a deep dish oil pan if you can. I think the Chrysler dealership still sells them, surprisingly. Pick a shift kit. Transgo sells plenty. Go with their TF-3 kit if you can and do EVERYTHING to raise line pressure. If you want super fast full manual control, you're looking at that and maybe some mods I do with drums and sprags. I had to go with TF-2 on my last rebuild because I have a lockup converter. Speaking of that, go with something ideal. Count your splines, search the TF series by lockup/non-lockup and converter bolt circle. Go with as small a diameter as possible and go with a high stall. For me that means anything above idle but for racing I think 2400-2800 would be fine. Maybe a Boss Hog unit. Use a HD cooler for this transmission, NOT the stock internal cooler plumbed through your factory radiator. Make it last a minimum of 100 passes before your next teardown.

Establishing contacts through your local AMC club is IMO one of the first things.

Where familiarity breeds contempt, unfamiliarity may also breed over-exaggerated fear of learning how to rebuild these AM automatics yourself.

https://www.performanceamstyle.com/about.html?sessid=db7eed25e0c314b4578b4e358b73de3e&divi=amc

...right there in Houston, the man who inspired me to begin doing my own many years ago...