Finally got the bugs worked out on my Th350 and got it up and running today. HOLY COW, the car is unbelievably faster, almost scary fast now. Its like an entirely different car. Anybody thinking about going from 5 speed to Th350 with a high horsepower motor, don't even think twice DO IT!! Anyways, I'm happy now Finally I can go to the track and only worry about my rearend blowing up, not the entire drivetrain I put in a 3,200 stall 10inch converter, shift kit, and B&M modulater, along with 26X8.5 E.T. drags, hoping to click off some 11.90's on the motor. I'll hit it with spray after I'm used to how fast the car is.

 

good luck hitting the time you want, thats definitely a beast a$$ formula u have!!

 

My advice to anybody else doing this conversion is to not even think about driving it before putting in a shift kit. I thought my tranny was crap when I first drove it because a 3,200 stall converter and a stock valvebody do not match very well at all. Put in the shift kit today, and now it drives beautifully.

 

what setup was the vortec,,you had
i have no idea if my setup
will get me into the 13,s, i just yesterday fitted a 3.08 possi,,,, the 409 seems to pull it OK,,mine is a vortec headed 400 +0.40,,
i dont think 3.42,s will make it faster,, maybe wheelspin more,,,i still havn,t put the 3 inch exhaust and headers on it yet,i still got the old stock 305 smog system and manifolds on it,,,,thats next ,,the entire driveline is fresh,, from radiator to rearend,,should this setup work as a good street car,, and casual club dragrace car,,,steve in australia,,,,the turbo 350 is the ultimate setup,,,it will take over 550HP easy

 

Now if you would have used a built 700R4 you probably would have crapped your pants.

I wasent ever really impressed with the TH350 I had with a transgo kit and a 3K stall always seemed a tad too much for any of my setups even though it nearly matched perfectly with the camaro's config. The B&M 400 was a real nice one still autoshifted to second but real nice quick resposive setup.


Just remember a nice big trans cooler will help alot especially if you drag the car and it will keep your new high stall converter alive alot longer.

 

yeh i had a t200c in the car but was going to put a th350 in it till we checked out the torque rod setup,,,,parts would have been ordered from spohn and the cost would have been too high on freight and customs duty,,,
so i opted for a worn out t700r4
the builder of me engine is really good with th400,s and th350,s,, he wasa little steady as she goes with the th700,,as these are really weak,,,,there is no way a 700 will take a good 396 or a hot 454,,but ,, we persavered with it,,,
he used a vette servo,,,a steel reaction shell that was custom made in real steel,,he them modified the internals to accept extra clutches, and extra bits and pieces,, that normally slip or break,,,,,the torque convertor has real steel internals,, and 4130 chrome molly fins tig welded on,,its like he said,,,stronger than normal,,,the car changes hard into second,,,,very crisp into 3rd,,,we used an external lock up switch on the dash,, to lock up 4th,,,
i guess its built ,,like you guys say,, i didn,t want a stall speed higher than 1300rpm,, coz the 409 pull hard off the line,, extra rpm,s will only cause the rearend to hop,,and eventually blow,,they are week,, also,,besides,, this car gets driven by my wife,,,

 

Just a little comparison of prices here for $hits and giggles, because I did contemplate it.......

used good running 700R4=$500
10inch converter for 7004R=$500

used good running Th350=$75 from some old man in Sierra Vista
10inch 3,200 stall B&M converter=$260.
B&M torque arm conversion kit=$80

So if you add it all up, a Th350 is still like way less than half the price of a 700R4, not to mention that this is pretty much a track only car, what in gods name do I need an overdrive for, if I wanted to take trips down the highway, thats what my mustang is for Lets not also forget that a rebuild kit for a th350 is $83 and from what my friend tells me, even a monkey could learn to rebuild one. I'm happy with my setup

yeah, I have a 26,000 GVW tranny cooler mounted in front of the radiator, should be fine. This is a not a daily driver car, so I'm not real worried about overheating the converter in traffic.

 

here's the old vortec motor setup:

Vortec headed, mildly ported polished by myself
Comp conical valve springs
Comp Cams full roller 1.5 7/16inch stud rockers
valve guides
Performer RPM vortec intake

holley 870 HP carb
Comp 284 Extreme Energy hydraulic flat tappet cam
Dynamax 1 5/8inch shorty headers,
3inch hooker catback
3.73 gears

That's the setup that went 12.6. Funny thing is............I still have that setup, and now its in my girlfriends car :P Probably the fastest chicks car in Tucson aside from track only cars.

 

yeh good stuff
problem here is ,,i had to import a blown t700 with the bracket on the back, or torque rod setup,,,,cost me $1800,, from start to finish,,,and we do a lot of highway drivin,, i wanted that 4th gear, yes the t350 is better by far,, cheaper and stronger,,,bullet proof,,,,,,,,
was your vortec a 350,,

 

Its not the OD that makes it fun its the 3.06 ratio 1st gear which happens to be the only thing I miss about a 700R.

Since this is a weekend warrior

 

Well heres my problem with the steep first gear....its great and all for that first few hundred feet, then BAM, 40% down to 2nd gear, not close ratio at all. Its better, (in my opinion) to have all your gears close together rather than one really steep gear, and just make sure your rearend gears can compensate. With my 3.73's and the Th350, I'll probably go to 4.11's to make up the difference.

the vortec was a 350