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| Almost as important as the aftermarket case to the performance of the five-second ‘glide is the fluid pump. Mike’s Monster ‘Glide uses a “G rotor” pump built by the TCI company and modified by Mike with steel gears, a modified drum and a forged steel stator tube. |
Despite that success there are racers who want to go quicker and faster still. They wanted a ‘glide that would survive behind an engine that makes 2,000 horsepower and still have the dependability and simplicity that the unit is known for.
Mike kept racing his blown Hemi-powered alky dragster and going quicker and quicker in his quest to make that elusive five-second pass. He then built a trans he named the “Monster ‘Glide” for the dragster. He kept turning the screws on his engine combination, getting parts and some help from Austin Coil and Jim Oddy. He eventually put a screw blower on his Hemi and by 2006 the dragster regularly marched in the 6.05-second range.
By this time Mike knew the new transmission would have to be stronger than any other he had previously built, so he basically redesigned the Powerglide. It looks about the same from a distance but in effect, the Monster Glide was a completely new transmission.
The most significant differences in the Monster is that it uses a modified G-rotor pump with G-rotor gears and a custom-made gearset made specifically for the Monster ‘Glide. The planetary gear and flange is a cut from one piece of billet steel, not welded nor pressed. Other billet pieces include a two-ring servo, filter adaptor, and roller bearing governor support. Mike’s Monster ‘Glide pretty much represents the ultimate evolution of the 50-year-old Powerglide.
The payoff for Mike was that early this year, just over 20 years after he recorded a 6.97 driving a Powerglide dragster, he ran a 5.97 in his own alky dragster that was equipped with an off-the-shelf Mike’s Transmission Monster ‘Glide. Mike puts no restriction on the user. If you want to take it apart and fix it or reverse engineer it and you’re willing the buy a trans to do that, go ahead. Finally, Mike’s trans costs about $2,000 less than similar iterations.
SOURCE: Mike’s Transmission, 42541 N. 6th St. East #11, Lancaster, CA 93535, 661-723-0061, www.mikestransmission.com