I have a 64 Chevy C-10, with a a 327 mild build, and TH 350 tranny. A friend of mine has a rebuilt Turbo 400 that he would sell for $200. My question is: would this be a good set up? Any thoughts on torque converter? this is my daily driver. Any other combo ideas?
both the th350 and the th400 are good transmissions and should serve you well. keep in mind that neither are overdrive and have a final ratio of 1:1 in high gear
Do you need a new trans ? A T400 is as strong as they come so no worries about tearing it up, you can use same converter as you do in a 350T . Cross member may need moved back a little and the hardest thing is finding the yoke for output as it is larger diameter. They used to be plentiful in the trans ams and grand prix but yards crushed lots of those when scrap was up
A mildly built 327 will do no damage to a TH350 (unless you're into those foolish neutral drops) so why spend the money and time making the swap? Now, if you're planning for a lot more HP in the future then it might make more sense. Buy it and set it under the bench until it's time to use it.
Gunk, I guess you need to determine what you are trying to do. If the truck is set up for the THM 350, you'll have to shorten the driveshaft and move the transmission cross member back to install the 400. For $200, you could go through the 350 yourself and bolt it back into the truck, just depends on what you can do yourself. If it is a daily driver, avoid too high of a stall converter, they get old when driven daily! HTH, Tim
Thanks for the replies. I just wanted something to keep up with the motor. Seems the TH350 goes thru the shifts quick. Thought maybe the turbo four hundred might serve me better. Maybe I should look at the rear end instead. don't need a tranny, maybe buy and set aside is the best advice. Thanks.
The TH400 is stronger, but there isn't enough difference in gear ratios when compared to a TH350 for that to be a legitimate reason for the swap.
You can play with the governor and the vacuum can to tailor your shifts. This requires no removal, both are simple under-truck R&R. Get yourself a TH350 transmission hop-up book (HP Books), and follow the simple instructions. For $200 clams, plus the cost of shortening the driveshaft and a new yoke, I'd buy a shift kit and go through the 350. Both can handle gobs of HP, and the TH350 is said to have less parasitic drag. Plus it's lighter. Cosmo
I'd buy that, if we knew at what rpm the shifts are occurring, AND if the trans will hold shifts until redline, or near enough. Perchance the kickdown cable is not connected?? The TH350 is the only trans that can actually be used without the cable, but it will compromise performance shifts. Plus a quality job means that all is properly hooked up. Still, that combo is a good one that can be tailored to work very well. And the gearing could be changed easily with a rear out of a late-model. They should be close in O/A width. Cosmo
After going through a few TH350 transmissions over the years, I say grab the TH400 while you still can, and use it. IF you build more power into the 327, you'll be covered with a TH400. Just swapped a TH400 into my DD 82 Silverado pickup, and there's NO comparison; the TH400 shifts so much better, no lag or delays like the TH350's, and it'll take anything I can throw at it. Sure, you can build a strong TH350, but it still won't last like a TH400. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I've been impressed with the shift quality of properly set up TH350s. Some guys disable the accumulators, which is a bad idea. And 350s seem to have a lot of parts that wear out....a low quality rebuild will result in a short lived transmission. Worn out hard parts need to be replaced. Then again, a stock 400 will take a lot of abuse and live through it