Here at FTI, we are always striving to set new standards in the performance transmission industry. With newly incorporated and innovative design strategies taking place, we are proud to announce the release of our all new FTI light weight Powerglide direct replacement drum and drum kit. This new design fits perfectly in place of a factory Powerglide drum while carrying a larger 8-friction clutch pack. Not only does FTI’s new direct drum allow builders to no longer rely on the factory drums they have been forced to work with, it also offers a 17% reduction in rotating weight over the factory drum, equating to over 4 pounds in dead weight. Improving the direct drum even further, FTI was able to match the pre-existing strength and integrity that so many have come to trust in our drums. Furthermore, FTI has made all of these changes and improvements at no expense to you! This new design will be taking the place of the existing design and will retain the existing part #F2529.
Building on top of the improvements listed above, not only did we improve the drum, we have also made changes to the billet steel clutch hub within. With so many different performance clutch hubs out there today, we wanted to make sure clutch hub fitment and sizing were perfect, eliminating any potential issues with mismatched parts such as premature failure due to a clutch “falling off the edge of the hub” when running 8 clutch configurations. Solving problems such as this one, we have incorporated several design changes, including the pressure angles and length of the hub. FTI also corrected the head thickness to ensure proper clutch hub endplay within the drum. This new design will be superseding FTI’s existing billet clutch hub part #F2543.
When it comes to the 1,000+HP race cars common today, it’s hard to make sense of cutting a 40-year-old cast aluminum part for use in a modern high-performance transmission, especially with the current technology we hold at our finger tips. Well, FTI has the cure to this ever-troublesome deed of modifying and cutting these 40-year-old factory pistons. While not new to the market, FTI’s billet aluminum piston is manufactured in house, offers a direct drop-in replacement to the factory piston, and is already sized and ready to accept an eight-clutch configuration. Part #F2523P8.
Offering the ultimate direct drum package, FTI has assembled all of these innovative pieces into an all-in one, ready to install package complete with .060” red race material clutches and new performance steels. Each assembled drum is hand built, hydraulically checked, and clearanced before ever leaving FTI, making this drum ready for installation the minute you receive it. Topping off the kit, each drum includes a new heavy-duty spring retainer, heavy-duty retainer snap ring, HD flange plate retainer, new performance springs inside the redesigned FTI light weight direct drum, FTI billet piston, and a new FTI billet steel clutch hub. For the 8 clutch complete drum see part #F2530.