Steve Griner 1945-2018

TOM KASCH · 09-11-2019, 09:42 AM

In the fall of 1977 J.L. called me and asked If we would try something new from Giner. So we went & got the 1st turbo 400 trans brake.
Came home & tried it in the snow on the drive way, called & told him it holds, we will go to the Gators. On the 1st try at 4000 rpm's it brobe my stock right axle.
When to a shop & had a spool & axles put in.
The next weekend was the IHRA Winternationals we went 10:98 , but i was afraid to use it like I should have[2500] was about as high I went.

BillRandles · 10-31-2019, 11:57 AM

I met Steve in the spring of 77, he was living in my friends basement in Kokomo. But I didn't really know at the time that this guy was a transmission guru on a different level than anyone I knew. It wasn't till Indy that year he showed up in the campground in his old green Chevy truck. That was his test vehicle you could say. He had a trans brake in it and was showing us how it worked out there in grass launching this old truck. Eventually someone came around and put a stop to it. I got to know him personally several years later. Helped us out alot. Interesting person, smart, lot of common sense. I smile when I think of him. RIP

CMcAllister · 11-03-2019, 02:44 PM

I met him in maybe 1990 at the Mopar show at Columbus. Came up to me cold and started talking about his Torqueflite valve bodies. Ended up putting one in my 904 (pro tree car) and it was better than what I took out as advertised. Over the years I talked to him on the phone at times - felt like a privileged character since he hated a phone - and used his Powerglide unit when we finally went to a 2 speed.

Very interesting person. I view him as the "Don Ness" of transmissions - he dreamed it up, engineered it, built it, made it work, had it copied and never got rich from it. I see a lot of stuff he did still being sold today by other companies.

09-11-2019, 09:42 AM	#1
TOM KASCH VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: TOLEDO,OHIO Posts: 1,735 Likes: 0 Liked 241 Times in 100 Posts	Re: Steve Griner 1945-2018 In the fall of 1977 J.L. called me and asked If we would try something new from Giner. So we went & got the 1st turbo 400 trans brake. Came home & tried it in the snow on the drive way, called & told him it holds, we will go to the Gators. On the 1st try at 4000 rpm's it brobe my stock right axle. When to a shop & had a spool & axles put in. The next weekend was the IHRA Winternationals we went 10:98 , but i was afraid to use it like I should have[2500] was about as high I went.

10-31-2019, 11:57 AM	#2
BillRandles Junior Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Sharpsville IN Posts: 6 Likes: 7 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Steve Griner 1945-2018 I met Steve in the spring of 77, he was living in my friends basement in Kokomo. But I didn't really know at the time that this guy was a transmission guru on a different level than anyone I knew. It wasn't till Indy that year he showed up in the campground in his old green Chevy truck. That was his test vehicle you could say. He had a trans brake in it and was showing us how it worked out there in grass launching this old truck. Eventually someone came around and put a stop to it. I got to know him personally several years later. Helped us out alot. Interesting person, smart, lot of common sense. I smile when I think of him. RIP

11-03-2019, 02:44 PM	#3
CMcAllister Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Fulton County, PA Posts: 615 Likes: 17 Liked 920 Times in 259 Posts	Re: Steve Griner 1945-2018 I met him in maybe 1990 at the Mopar show at Columbus. Came up to me cold and started talking about his Torqueflite valve bodies. Ended up putting one in my 904 (pro tree car) and it was better than what I took out as advertised. Over the years I talked to him on the phone at times - felt like a privileged character since he hated a phone - and used his Powerglide unit when we finally went to a 2 speed. Very interesting person. I view him as the "Don Ness" of transmissions - he dreamed it up, engineered it, built it, made it work, had it copied and never got rich from it. I see a lot of stuff he did still being sold today by other companies.