(Words and Photos by Scott Liggett) – It’s no secret that we here at BangShift have a soft spot for the few remaining speed shops that dot this country. They remind of us of a time when we were just starting out in the hot rodding hobby. It’s not everyday we get to do a new product preview coming from an independent speed shop. That’s a pretty big deal! We were kind of excited when we heard about a new transmission product which was designed in house at Westside Performance in Los Angeles, CA. Ted Toki, the owner and proprietor of Westside, came up with this ModuSaver as a result of a need while working on a customer’s turbo charged Cadillac. His customer wanted to keep the automatic part of his TH400 trans working on his cruiser, but boost from the turbo was blowing out the modulator on the transmission, thus causing the transmission not to shift correctly. After some research and disappointment with parts that were on the market, Toki came up with the design for this billet ModuSaver.
Taking a step back, Ted Toki grew up in the Los Angeles during the ’60’s, cruising Van Nuys Blvd, and drag racing at places like LA County Raceway, Pomona, and Irwindale. He bought his first straight axle car in 1969. He then opened Westside Performance in 1977 serving West Los Angeles, Venice, Santa Monica, and even Beverly Hills. He put his knowledge and experience to work helping customers get speed parts and even doing installations in the shop in the back of the store. Westside Performance is one of the last surviving independent speed shops in the Los Angeles area.
His shop and his yellow, gasser style ’55 Chevy have been getting press over the last few years in the pages of Car Craft magazine highlighting Toki’s out of the box approach to building engines and his Chevy being used a test mule for inexpensive turbo installs. Ted has owned and raced that ’55 Chevy since the mid 1980’s, using it test out new ideas and parts.
Getting back to the ModuSaver, Toki did some extensive research to find a solution to his customer’s problems. He found that most shops that specialize in turbo charged cars modify Ford and GM automatics to full manual valve bodies. That means the automatic part of the transmission no longer exists and you have to manually shift the transmission up and down continually. That is fine for a race car, or even just a weekend cruiser; but here in Cali, people drive near daily. Having to deal with a manual valve body in the transmission on a daily purpose defeats the purpose of having an automatic transmission. What to do?
Toki did find one company that made a modulator saver, so he ordered one through one of his transmission suppliers. By the time he got it he had spent nearly $60 and got what was essentially a plastic vacuum T, one inch of rubber hose, and a tube with a check ball in it. To say that he was shocked and dismayed by the price for what he received would be an understatement. He was miffed.
Being a true hot rodder, and doing what hot rodders do, Ted decided he could design a modulator saver himself and it would be a quality piece. So, that is what he did. Starting with a block of billet aluminum, Ted had this nifty ModuSaver whittled to precision and good looks. They are made right here in the U.S. of A. There are two holes milled into the block for ease of mounting. Westside had this one engraved with their logo, but they can get them without the logo.
The transmission side port of the ModuSaver has a .035″ opening to limit vacuum and control shifts.
This is the engine side port.
Lastly, the boost relief port with a precision machined check ball and orifice allow air to be released under boost, thus saving the transmission’s modulator. And, saving the transmission in the process.
Installing a ModuSaver is so easy and can be done in minutes. Most of that time will be spent deciding where to mount the unit. Connect the vacuum line to the transmission to the side of the ModuSaver with the small orifice. The larger orifice side connects to the engine’s manifold vacuum port. Just make sure that vacuum port is below or behind the throttle blades. The boost relief port needs to be pointed straight up in order for the check ball to work correctly. There you are done. Now go out and gets some boost going in your engine.
Final pricing had not been set as of writing this, but you can contact Ted Toki and his crew at Westside for more information.
You can contact Westside Performance at:
12223 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 820-4718
I wonder what Squirrel does on his? Grab the vacuum signal above the blower I suppose.
Squirrel uses a modified BDS Boost Diverter Valve. I modified it so that it works similar to the Westside device, but different…my check ball is on the vacuum line from the engine. This line connects to the manifold below the blower. When there is vacuum, the ball can open. When there is boost, it closes. The modulator connects to the other side of the check ball. There is also an orifice teed to the modulator line. This lets it bleed off the vacuum after the check ball closes. Works great, been using this setup for 15 years or so, lots of miles.
I don’t like the idea of blowing air/fuel into the engine bay…..