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Ben Calimer MT82 installed

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Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I just got my Ben Calimer rebuilt MT82 installed with a Spec 1 and Aluminum flywheel. Here are my first impressions.

Getting into the car and feeling the shifter was like getting into someone elses car. Far crisper and solid then I remember! My friend who did the install is a aircraft mechanic and maybe his reinstalling of the MGW and Blowfish bracket has some thing to do with it!

I took it easy because of the new clutch but the in general the shifting was much better then before and no hesitation going into 3rd or 5th under medium load. The old box needed a gentle push to the side to go into 3rd even under light load. Down shifting with rev matching was easier as the engine revved quicker then before, I guess due to the lighter flywheel.

I have a time trail on the 11th so I will find out how its like under track conditions. But so far its quite a marked improvement!
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
This is my fourth MT82 try.......... It has to work!! I wish I had done the Clutch and Blowfish bracket together long time ago
 
675
253
Please keep us updated, Mad Hatter! Very interested in your impressions considering my shifting issues (see "Losing my mind" thread).
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
DEye said:
Do you have any information on what was done, replaced syncros but with what newer/better ?
Different cut gears ??

Thanks
Don
I went pretty much on reputation. He sounded like a good guy and shops like Liberty Gears dont seem to use or respond to emails. When I asked Ben what he does in the rebuild, he said the following

" Bronze shift pads billet shift stop welded forks smoothing of the sliders and a few other little tricks to make them shift better. That combo along with a good twin disc clutch seems to work wonders"

You can find him on facebook under Ben Calimer.
 

DEye

You can't get there from here...
Flyboygsxr said:
May I ask what he charges for the full package? Trans rebuild plus the clutch and flywheel?
Any difference if he starts with an *unhappy* trans vs. an intact unit.

I imagine most of the cost is labour dis/re assembly the work on the shift forks etc..
A small cost for parts.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I bought a complete rebuilt transmission for US$1700 plus 150 shipping to Miami, It does not make sense for me to ship all the way to and back to the US for a exchange refund. Ben said its rare for him to have a tranny for sale as he usually does rebuilds, I was lucky.. The Spec1 I got from LMR, the flywheel and ARP bolts etc I got from Steve at Blowfish racing.

I guess most of the trannies he gets are in "Unhappy" condition. So far I am very happy! But have to wait till the track this Sunday to see for real.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Just a quick update before race day. Got some street driving in and I think this might be the best shifting tranny I have ever driven. So much better then it was before, even brand new. Actually feels like bolt action shifting. Very happy so far. Hope the track time proves too be as successful!!
 
Hey there guys this is Ben. I offer 2 different builds. One which I call a level 1 that includes bronze shift pads welded forks billet shift stop smoothed sliders and hubs and a few other tricks I do that I won't disclose. It is 800 for a perfect working trans or plus parts of its damaged. Normally it's not to much extra only a couple hundred bucks. The level 2 I do includes all of level 1 plus cryo treatment and rem polishing. It costs 1800 total plus parts. The level 2 has held up well in cars close to 1000 hp. I can do custom work also as in lightening of the gears and shafts for reduced drag and freeing up some horsepower and ceramic bearings.
 
Hi Ben, thanks for joining us. Several BMO members have installed your modified trans with good results.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Just got back from a track day and wanted to share my impressions of Ben Calimers MT82 rebuild. This is after my experience with three T82 trannies, I never believed that I would ever kill three transmissions in one car, but thats whay happened. Today I feel like my Boss came alive, All the shifts were bang on, I tried to keep all the shifting to just under the 7500 redline and not once did the shifter balk on me. Even better is that the sense of confidence it gave me made my shifting faster then ever. I was using 295/30-18 Dunlop semi slicks so I had to use 5th gear a lot due to the smaller diameter, but no problem. A ZL1's from my team asked me what I had done to the engine! Its the first time I had ever left him behind on the straights... All because I could shift so much faster. The cars shifting sounded like a motorbike!

After the race I passed my car to my instructor and he was impressed by how the tranny felt and and how easy it was to shift even with out the clutch.... Not that I would try that. I am not sure how much is the spec clutch and aluminium flywheel, or the Lund Tune and Calimer rebuild. But the over all package has to be one of my most successful upgrades. I think rebuild was the core improvement.

I only came in 5th out of 35 cars but I was the only top 5 car that did not arrive on a trailer and can still can be counted as street legal.

Big thumbs up to Ben Calimer!
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
Ben:

Where is your shop? Do you have contact information and what is your website address? I'm thinking about installing a Twin Disc Clutch and for $800 USD, I'll send you my MT 82 transmission for the Stage 1 upgrade.

Thanks so much,
Dave,
302 Hi Pro
 
I currently don't have a website I'm working on that I stay pretty busy from the Facebook coyote forums sometimes averaging 5 transmissions a week. I'm located in Pennsylvania and shipping isn't a problem. I can send you shipping instructions to send your transmission fedex ground.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PdkqpHVJvDY&feature=youtu.be

This is the current trans in my car. Fully lightened gear set and shafts cryo treatment and rem polishing of all internals including blocker rings and ceramic bearings. MGW race spec shifter McLeod RST twin disk clutch. Car is on a 28x10.5 Mickey Thompson slick.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
1,022
99
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Texas
So are you massaging the transmission we send to you or is it just a 1:1 swap with another you already have built? Can you break down everything you do so we know what we are paying for? Maybe a personal message if you don't want to make it public on the forum? Thanks

Adam

PS...do you know on average what the shipping costs are?
 

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