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I was having long delayed shifts, hunting for which gear to be in and noticeable slipping as I was accelerating. The car always seemed to have the slipping while hard accelerating issue since I bought it with 12k miles. Since it worked fine otherwise, I just overlooked the problem. I maintained it with fluid changes at 30k miles.

If I kept the original engine in place, this might not have become a major issue so soon. The DOHC seemed to cause the slipping while accelerating to become much worse.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[IMG]http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/ /><o:p></o:p>
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While meeting up with MM.net member MM-BKK to record his exhaust video, I noticed how well his car drove and specifically how well it shifted. Around the same time, I came across other peoples trans swap threads. This caused me to consider that my current drivability problems could very well be with my trans, and not the engine or the tune from Dennis.
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I had my choices of vendors narrowed down to four, Darrin being one of them. Glad to have chosen him as he explained a few of the differences of his build vs. others. I would not have been happy with the other vendor's builds. If you need a trans, I would recommend that you get in contact with Darrin!
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After a few phone calls & PM’s, Darrin provided me with the best 4r70w that he builds.
I was concerned that I might not really need to do this repair, but the car definately needed it. The trans fluid was a reddish brown color when it was drained. This is only after about 4k miles on new fluid!<o:p></o:p>

It is installed now & I only drove it about 20 miles so far in mixed city/highway driving.<o:p></o:p>
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Well, it shifts pretty quickly, more like a switches gears with almost no perceivable delay. The shifts are in an instant and I love it!
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Nowhere near as hard shifting as I thought that it would be. Very sedate shifting as a matter of fact. Now, this is with mild acceleration as I was driving in commuter traffic on a mixed city & highway road in the rain. Even the downshift was milder than what I was expecting. It is definitely there, but in my view, very mild at 30 to 20 mph when it occurs. <o:p></o:p>
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Darrin settled my concerns by explaining about the milder shifts won't hurt a thing. It’s just not banging the finish pressure on the shift. The fact that the shift is instant is what is important. If you want to firm it up then go at that with line pressure in the tune.<o:p></o:p>
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Darrin did some things that might make this transmission shift fairly mild at part throttle and on the coast downs because he noticed that I seemed to have concerns over this. So this is good news that it is behaving like he built it to. <o:p></o:p>
I would like to comment that Darrin indeed does listen when you speak with him!
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Don’t know if this is because I wanted to feel this way, but the butt meter says that the car accelerates faster now. I’m thinking that the trans was slipping quite a bit more than what I had previously perceived.

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There seems to be "slipping" as it engages the OD, the dreaded "flare" that we read about occasionally. It sounds like the engine revs just a little higher for a very short time before engaging while shifting into the OD. Darrin explained that this is just how it is with these trans. He could have reduced the flare a little at the risk of breaking things, just not worth it. He assured me that this is normal and shouldn’t damage anything.<o:p></o:p>

I won't change a thing since this set up won't hurt anything. This should keep that passenger seat quiet (my wife).<o:p></o:p>
She already dislikes how “noisy” the car is now since being altered with the DOHC engine. Imagine how mad she might become if the trans would bang while shifting also!
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I still need to go full throttle, without my wife of course, and let you know how it feels then. I’m waiting on a few parts that I want to install before I go back on the road with it.

Darrin, please feel free to comment on any corrections if you see any need for it.
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