Let me just add this into the mix.....the torque of your motor will make a difference in your stall.....going by what someone elses motor does compared to yours is like apples and oranges. All you can hope for is a in-the-ballpark that way. The more toque down low the more 'creep' you'll have.
SM, we've been saying this for years, but most people just don't want to hear it. A 400 is going to get higher stall speed numbers out of a converter than a 283, but not as much as a 454.
Chris, when you're pricing torque converters and see big differences in price, you're looking at the difference between a manufacturer who is using a good sprag and one who is not. In a street T-Bucket, you can generally get away with a cheaper sprag. Please note I did say "generally". Take your T to the race track and the cheap sprag suddenly became an endangered species. Bolt a set of slicks on it and the cheap sprag is living on borrowed time. So keep that in mind. If you ever intend to go to the racetrack with a set of tires that will let you get hold of the ground, kiss the cheaper torque converters good-bye. If you don't believe me, call Coan Transmissions, ask to speak to Dave or Jason and have them explain it to you. I know people like to conserve funds, but you always need to know what you're buying, because you're going to get what you're paying for. The $7, buy one, get one at 50% off, torque converters are not a good idea. They are cheap converters built for people who likely will never be able to afford a good set of slicks and will never hurt the converters. Buy a cheap converter and remember to never spin the tires through to hook under load. Always step off the gas before the tires try to hook, or you will massacre a cheap sprag.
As for who makes a good converter and who makes a bad one, tell me who makes the converter you pull out of a manufacturer's shipping box and we can talk. There was a time when I wouldn't have given a TCI converter a second thought, I would have bolted it in there and run it. Because their converters were being built in Steve Griner's shop and having grown up with Steve, I know his complete obsession with perfection. Steve did all of our stuff for the A/ED, back in the 70's and early 80's. We had an internal brake T-400 for years before anyone else could figure out how to build one. We n-e-v-e-r hurt one of his converters. He was changing window designs to help us overcome tire shake, long before Marv Ripes ever caught onto the trick. I've no idea where the TCI converters are being built today, so all I can say is they are as good as the TCI warranty policy can possibly make them.
