GM rwd owners/ mechanics step inside...
- Thread starter Bob Kazamakis
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well now you kinda gotta give more info... weight, rear gearing, camshaft, powerband? desired converter stall....
anyways frankly for that amount your looking at your 350 a 400 or a bop 2004r
the 4l60e/80e get expensive realll quick just the stand alone TCU is hundreds of $
with fuel prices and a low gearing (higher numericaly) your best with the 2004r 1500 can build a pretty stout unit for hard/soft parts, esp if labor isnt factored in.
if mpg isnt a big issue 400 all the way, stock components and the 69 and older drum and sprag will be stout and save you from buying high perf hard parts, throw in frictions and a full manual valvebody or braked body and go to town with the ratchet shifter (this is what i did for the nova).
if you need the $ elseware and want something that will last a bit till you find a bop 2004r or 400 slap the 350 together and run it.
anyways frankly for that amount your looking at your 350 a 400 or a bop 2004r
the 4l60e/80e get expensive realll quick just the stand alone TCU is hundreds of $
with fuel prices and a low gearing (higher numericaly) your best with the 2004r 1500 can build a pretty stout unit for hard/soft parts, esp if labor isnt factored in.
if mpg isnt a big issue 400 all the way, stock components and the 69 and older drum and sprag will be stout and save you from buying high perf hard parts, throw in frictions and a full manual valvebody or braked body and go to town with the ratchet shifter (this is what i did for the nova).
if you need the $ elseware and want something that will last a bit till you find a bop 2004r or 400 slap the 350 together and run it.
well car at the moment probably weighs in the 3800-3900lbs area but i may go with alot of glass up front; hood, fenders, bumpers and trunk lid. i'll also be ditching the power steering and going with a close ratio manual box.
Gears i plan on probably 3:42-3:55 gears depending on rearend. i'lll probably go with a corporate 10 bolt.
i'm unsure on the Cam or stall speed. i was going to pick cam based on the rest of my combo and then choose the stall to go with my total combo. I've heard good things on this cam though. TA 210S-HL solid lift cam .567/565 @ 50 110* lobe separation
for now i plan on some TA SP1 single plane manifold, TA aluminum stage 2 heads and headers to go with it. pistons right now with stock heads are net a compression of 10.25 to 1.
I've seen similar builds go north of 500hp so who knows exactly. torque should be up there though well over 500; probably closer to 600ft-lbs.
The car will see street use as in driving to the track and cruise nights so OD would be nice. I've heard of people not needing a stand alone unit for the 4L60's and 80's with the use of a full manual valve body.
Gears i plan on probably 3:42-3:55 gears depending on rearend. i'lll probably go with a corporate 10 bolt.
i'm unsure on the Cam or stall speed. i was going to pick cam based on the rest of my combo and then choose the stall to go with my total combo. I've heard good things on this cam though. TA 210S-HL solid lift cam .567/565 @ 50 110* lobe separation
for now i plan on some TA SP1 single plane manifold, TA aluminum stage 2 heads and headers to go with it. pistons right now with stock heads are net a compression of 10.25 to 1.
I've seen similar builds go north of 500hp so who knows exactly. torque should be up there though well over 500; probably closer to 600ft-lbs.
The car will see street use as in driving to the track and cruise nights so OD would be nice. I've heard of people not needing a stand alone unit for the 4L60's and 80's with the use of a full manual valve body.
TH350 is more efficient than the 400, and can be made to handle the power with no issues. I like the gear spread in the 350 better too.
They are SUPER easy to work on yourself. I used to be able to rebuild one in my sleep. You will need a performance sprag and add extra clutches to it for 400+ HP. Beyond that there are other goodies you can swap in to beef it up. IIRC, I used to get rebuild kits for them for under $60 from Dupage transmissions. I used my bathtub as a parts washer once to clean mine! Rebuilt it in my beddroom...lol.
They are SUPER easy to work on yourself. I used to be able to rebuild one in my sleep. You will need a performance sprag and add extra clutches to it for 400+ HP. Beyond that there are other goodies you can swap in to beef it up. IIRC, I used to get rebuild kits for them for under $60 from Dupage transmissions. I used my bathtub as a parts washer once to clean mine! Rebuilt it in my beddroom...lol.
haha...the wife may get angry with it in the bathtub! i've read rebuild manuals and watched a few videos online and it seems simple enough for the pump, clutches and gears. the valve body stuff looks a bit confusing but i know there are some good books out there.
i was leaning towards just keeping the 350 as it would be the cheapest route because the car is already setup for it and its in my posession.
the other option i like is possibly the 4L80E because it has OD, supposedly you dont need a stand alone if you run a full manual valve body (was going to regardless of tranny) and its built to move 2ton plus trucks around. plus an adaptor plate is like $60. i would just have to worry about linkage and tailshaft/driveshaft issues. my ratchet shifter is adaptable to a 4-speed without problems.
you think the 350 would stand up to some big block buick torque for a few years without a hick-up i would like to do it right one time.
finding a decent TH400 is slightly difficult though FatTony found me one on craigslist.
you dont think the 4L80E is a viable option? the car isnt going to be a trailer bitch, so i still like the idea of OD.
car probably wont see faster then 11's.
I concur, Ive blown up a few th350's that were built and built right, never even had the th400 flinch and it was bone stock 1972
not really, half the tranny shops around here prolly have them in back on shelves, waiting to be picked up but were abandoned. They usually sell em cheap
was he willing to sell that thing alone without the engine? seemed like he wanted to sell them together
oh and how much would the upgraded parts cost for the TH350? if its reasonable i would just do that, considering you already have the trans. and it would take the power its putting out right now. One step closer to getting it back on the road
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the biggest issue with finding them is only a handful of people deal with BOP stuff. though everything internally is the same, the case is different. So finding a shop that has a BOP bolt patterned TH400 is sounding like quite the hunt.
I have a BOP TH400... but its behind the 389 in the Cat.
I'm not 100% sure on prices but a rebuild kit is $150 with upgraded clutches. New converter $500ish because i doubt my 3500stall is any good now because of all the clutch material in the fluid. no clue on an input shaft. i've seen manual valve bodies for $200-$300.
so $800-$900 depending on the converter i guess.
ideally if i were to get a TH400 i would attempt to find a switch/pitch one. good gas mileage and huge stall all in one!
you havnt found the BOP bellhousing adapters yet?
Speed Services stocks em. They are in chicago.
Rock and Roll automotive in cville has em.
If you can find Paul Castle, he has a crap load of BOP shit.
they sell for like $60 but i figure why bother when it comes in a BOP setup. i may just start shopping around for parts and stick with the 350 for now.
like Ron said, they arent that hard to work on.
they arent hard to work on but finding stock BOP bellhousings is hard. I know where 1 sits in roselle and thats the only one Ive heard of in almost 10 years
i think the route i'm going to take is just rebuilding the 350. its the cheapest route and i'm always broke. i plan on lightening the car a few hundred pounds which should help out too.
i need a place to store the car at my house so i can work on it.
anybody wanna build me a 3 car garage for a 2000 GTP?
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