TH350 in an LT1?

[1badz]

I have a buddy of mine with a built TH350 he wants to trade for my slipping 700R4. Reason he wants it is because he wants an overdrive tranny in his 80' cruiser camaro. Are there any cons in having a TH350 other than being a 3spd w/overdirve (killing economy)? I don't care about the gas, I just want it to be reliable. Are they stout trannies?

[IronOutlaw]

I have a buddy of mine with a built TH350 he wants to trade for my slipping 700R4. Reason he wants it is because he wants an overdrive tranny in his 80' cruiser camaro. Are there any cons in having a TH350 other than being a 3spd w/overdirve (killing economy)? I don't care about the gas, I just want it to be reliable. Are they stout trannies?


It wont be as strong as say a th400 but it would work fine and should be a lot stronger than your current transmission. Only downside i know of would be no overdrive.

[Chopstix]

if your building more of a strip car than a street car I say go for it....

this car is a a buddy of mine...just a litte 383 with a TH350
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuKiVh1WYbc

[KissMyWhtSS]

also lighter than a TH400.

[casper383]

I love my TH350, lighter than a 400, if u build it right they can take alot of shit! I have cut a 1.32 60ft on a 100shot, it has a 4000 stall and a t-brake, if i ever trash this one then i'll prolly step up to the 400!

[Chopstix]

If I trash this one then i'll prolly step up to the 400!

you mean a powerglide don't ya ;)

will settle the car down on the launch and run a little quicker

[1badz]

if your building more of a strip car than a street car I say go for it....

this car is a a buddy of mine...just a litte 383 with a TH350
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuKiVh1WYbc

:drool:

[lt170chevelle]

well the th350 will knock a few tenths off your strip time,from actual and reciprocating weight reduction , but isnt much stronger than the 700r4/4l60. the biggest donfall from the swap will be the rpms you will be spinning on the highway...it will run out of gear quick...

[Stroked96Bowtie]

I run a TH350 in my car...have been 100% happy with it. Im running a 4.10 gear so hwy driving isnt too much fun (3k@55mph). Car always seems to be in the powerband. Its never given me any problems...its built for HP. Had a buddy put his luv truck in the 5s (1/8mi) with a mild built TH350...they hold more power than people give them credit for I think. It all boils down to the builder.

Nice vid Ray...everytime I see a car leave on the brake...makes me wish I had one!

[IronOutlaw]

How is first and second gear in a th350 vs a 4l60e/700r4? Is it greared lower?

[joelster]

I run a th350 in my car, love it! The recipes out there to make them strong are well known. My tranny cost me $695.00. It is a full manual valve body, forward pattern, rated to 700hp. The fitz-all th350-4L60 kit was $125.00. What this kit does is it allows you to bolt your 4L60 tailshaft to the th350 so that the torque arm mount is there, and the speedo reluctor is there, and the factory crossmember bolts right up too. With the forward pattern I was able to use the stock shifter, just had to adjust where it mounted to the pan. I could have went with a reverse pattern but then I would have to push the button for every upshift (no thanks). My converter was a custom nitrous converter (4000 rpm) and was $500.00 . There are millions of th350/400 converters out there. I also had to buy a Lokar flexible dipstick tube which was $75.00. Another plus about a th350, is that if ANYTHING ever happens to it, you can literally take it anywhere to be rebuilt if you are in a pinch. Everyone has a performance shop that can rebuild 350/400's but not 4L60's/700's. I have seen some local shops around here build 4L's and they last maybe a year or so. Much tougher tranny to build strong.

What I spent total:
$695----tranny
$125----adapter kit
$75-----dipstick
$500----converter

total:
$1395, tranny is good to 700hp, converter is good to 800hp

[Neil350]

I have a couple buddies who have ran mid 9s with TH350s with their LS1 F-bodies. If you don't drive the car a lot, mainly for fun and dont take it on really long road trips their fine. I don't plan on rebuilding my 4L60 when it goes, TH350s are cheaper and less of a gamble, built right they'll hold. I havent seen that so much with 4L60s, minus the people who own trans shops and say they hold up.

[LTwonZ]

I'm pleased with my TH350 swap I did about 2 years. Plus you can rebuild them yourself easy.

[Hybrid117]

TH350s are not bad at all. They came stock from the factory in most everything. They can run highway miles but higher gears you get higher RPMs I have it in my vette with 3.55 gears and make highway trips. The good things are that they are VERY easy to rebuild and VERY cheap. They also can take alot of HP. Not as much as the others but for a strip/street build and budget its by far the best tranny to go with.

[Tyler Wheat]

I havent seen that so much with 4L60s, minus the people who own trans shops and say they hold up.

This one has held up for years:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=254558


4L60E in Ed Wright's car (old 383 setup 10.20s NA 9.80s on the juice at this time) The car ended up doing a best of 9.91 NA. Trans was built locally by Ronald Lee. It's all in the builder. You have got to make sure you have someone who knows exactly what they are doing, which Ron does. Can't just trust any shop with an electronic trans. There's alot more people who can build a good TH350 than 700R4 or 4L60E. Almost any old school gearhead can rebuild a TH350. The biggest difference is the price. You got to drop some pretty serious money into a 4L60E compared to a TH350.

My .02

[joelster]

This one has held up for years:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=254558


4L60E in Ed Wright's car (old 383 setup 10.20s NA 9.80s on the juice at this time) The car ended up doing a best of 9.91 NA. Trans was built locally by Ronald Lee. It's all in the builder. You have got to make sure you have someone who knows exactly what they are doing, which Ron does. Can't just trust any shop with and electronic. There's alot more people who can build a good TH350 than 700R4 or 4L60E. Almost any old school gearhead can rebuild a TH350. The biggest difference is the price. You got to drop some pretty serious money into a 4L60E compared to a TH350.

My .02

Dead on.

It is POSSIBLE to build a 4L60E very strong, but very few shops know how to do it, and it is not cheap.

[MeanGreen94Z]

i swapped to a T350 made a custom console cover and it fit GREAT, had a tunnel mount TA so i didnt buy the kit, it was a TCI 450hp tranny i paid 400 for with converter and it knocked on the door of 6's on spray back when i had 125 on it. but with gas killing my track fundage and explosion of the 10 bolt i put a t56 in it. then lo and behold when i put the Mcleod clutch in after the ram took a dump i broke the Posi in the 12 bolt so i boight a 9" and sold the 12.... boy i have wasted a Shat ton on this car... also when i did the swap i wored the PCM to a wheel sensor and tuned the PCM to run speed off that so i retained cruise and all lol

[1badz]

i swapped to a T350 made a custom console cover and it fit GREAT, had a tunnel mount TA so i didnt buy the kit, it was a TCI 450hp tranny i paid 400 for with converter and it knocked on the door of 6's on spray back when i had 125 on it. but with gas killing my track fundage and explosion of the 10 bolt i put a t56 in it. then lo and behold when i put the Mcleod clutch in after the ram took a dump i broke the Posi in the 12 bolt so i boight a 9" and sold the 12.... boy i have wasted a Shat ton on this car... also when i did the swap i wored the PCM to a wheel sensor and tuned the PCM to run speed off that so i retained cruise and all lol

lmao nice.. so all in all would you recommend the TH350? Also, what exactly would I need to make this work? I got the flexplate and torque converter taken care of. What else will I need to make it work?

[IronOutlaw]

lmao nice.. so all in all would you recommend the TH350? Also, what exactly would I need to make this work? I got the flexplate and torque converter taken care of. What else will I need to make it work?

I dont want to hijack your thread but i found a th350 for real cheap near me and would also like to know everything needed to make this work.

[Tyler Wheat]

I think they should really just bolt-in. Probably would get a shifter, flywheel, and torque converter. I think the trans crossmember works, too. 700R4 to a TH350 is a pretty simple swap from what I've heard, but I'm not the best one to talk to about this. I helped swap from a TH-350 to a T56 in a truck, so its not exactly the same.

Naturally, you will need a little more stuff to swap from a T56 to an auto. Little more work there.

Be glad you have a Chevy and not a Ford. So much more interchangeable parts with GM. :hail:

[Stroked96Bowtie]

lmao nice.. so all in all would you recommend the TH350? Also, what exactly would I need to make this work? I got the flexplate and torque converter taken care of. What else will I need to make it work?

You need to figure out what you want to do with your TA. Do you want to keep the long style stock TA or go to a chassis mounted TA. If budget is a concern, this is an area you can save a little and use the stock TA. You will need to buy the BMR crossmember that has the mount relocated for both the trans and a provision to keep the stock TA.

I went with the adj CM chassis TA, which was a big cost, nearly as much as I paid for the trans. I know a guy who actually welded some support pieces to the stock TA and got low 1.3x 60s out of it...I told him he was crazy but it worked.

My conversion shopping list:

TH350 Trans
B&M Rachet Shifer
B&M Cable kit
B&M Trans cooler
TCI Flexplate
CM Chassis Mounted TA
BMR TH350 Crossmember
TH350 Dipstick for f-body
I was able to have the convertor I had redone for the TH350 for cheap. It was brand new when I burned up my 60e and PTC Convertors took good care of me. Also a majority of those parts I bought second hand, which also saved me a ton of money.

All-in-all I think I spent somewhere around $1500 for the complete conversion.

Good luck:peace2:

[James Montigny]

Note to self; see Ed's guy about new 4L60 build ...

[casper383]

i have cut a 1.32 short time on a 100 shot with mine, i hope to hit a 1.2x on the 200 soon, that will be a for sure test of strength:devil:

[1badz]

Nice! Yeah I'm going to keep the tranny mounted torque arm for the time being, i believe the crossmember for that is like $240. Im gonna go with a TCI flexplate and a 4000 stall and hope to god it all turns out well :D Also, will the stock driveshaft work with this transmission?

[Tyler Wheat]

Note to self; see Ed's guy about new 4L60 build ...

If you're serious about it, PM me and I'll find his number for you.

[Stroked96Bowtie]

Also, will the stock driveshaft work with this transmission?

Be sure to get a TH350 with a 9in tailshaft, its the longer version. The shorter version is a 6in, the 9in will let you use a stock length driveshaft. The longer tailshaft TH350s came in trucks and I think some impalas. Should be plentiful.

[joelster]

There are 3 different tailshafts for th350's. The guys at my shop used a "medium" tail. I used the stock driveshaft.

[Stroked96Bowtie]

There are 3 different tailshafts for th350's. The guys at my shop used a "medium" tail. I used the stock driveshaft.

That one is new to me...thought there was just two styles. Well it doesnt really complicate things..sounds like anything but the short 6in tail will work.