Ok so it's come time to replace my friends 700r4 in his 87 firebird and Iv been looking at vendor reviews and Iv been getting mixed results so I'm asking you guys who's the best to go to looking to replace it with a trans rated for 450-500hp

 

Probuilt Automatics. I hear the lead time can be long sometimes, but Dana knows his stuff. I am very happy with the rebuild kit I got from him 5 years ago.

 

That's a little bit outta his price range how good is bow tie overdrive

 

If i was him id save more money. Because you get what you pay for. That being said i have bought internal parts from bowtie overdrive. The service was fast. I cant comment on thier tranny's. My last 700 lasted a month with my new engine.

 

He has a stock 305 but with plans to swap to a 350 later me I just want his car outta my yard so I can get back to working on my 87 camaro prepping for a ls swap

 

Well in that case id try to find a good one in a junk yard or just have that one rebuilt to stock

 

Been driving/racing on my Bowtie Overdrive Level 2 transmission for 12 yrs....had no problems. I'd buy another one in heart beat.

Get a tranny cooler, it'll help them last a lot longer. It's cheap insurance.

 

My 700R4 core was in bad shape, I ended up putting about $1300 into it. Rebuild kit from Dana, Edge 9" torque converter, pump remachined & surfaced, bushing pressed in at a shop and about 90% of the hard parts (both planetaries, input drum, both sprags, etc etc). And that cost doesn't even include 40+ hours of build time (keep in mind this was my first build plus all the running around picking up or looking for parts or getting things machined, etc). Most transmission shops don't put the attention detail that is needed to build these units when only charging a few hundred dollars. You get what you pay for.