Is this a usable TH350 or not (the way it is now)

Just picked up a cheap mid '70's sbc 350 with a TH350 attached to it. My concern is a chunk of the bell housing thats missing near the starter (it actually covers the starter nose) but it doesn't disrupt the pan on the bottom (it doesn't leak). Should I clean it up and run it or do you think it will crack further and I'll be wasting my time installing it the way it is. The block where the starter bolts on to is not cracked.

thanks,

Wally

 

i would think it would be fine to run it like that but you never know, did it come out of something that was being driven?

 

I wouldn't use it

 

Pass on it. Cracks are likely to form in the damaged area.

 

I wouldn't use that! HRP

 

According to the PO, it was like this when they removed it from the last vehicle it was bolted into and it was 100% functional. then again, I don't know the guy who sold it to me but he seemed like a straight shooter. I'd be inclined to believe him just because he didn't care if he sold it or not and a friend of his told me to call him and ask if he had any sbc motors in his shop for sale. (of course I think the moon is made of cheese so maybe I'm not a great judge of character).

Wally

 

You may be asking for trouble. I would look for another, my buddies would run it. If you decide to, clean it and check for further cracks, and grind the edges down so there are no sharp corners or places for the crack to continue. Kind of an ellipse shape.

 

derby car ok, driving car not ok

 

Only if it's going in a "rat rod". But seriously, TH350's are CHEAP, but most guys seem to want to go with the 200R4 or 700R4 overdrive transmissions. You could cut the broken bell housing completely off, and use an SFI certified, race bell housing. That would most likely cost more than that TH350 is really worth however. I say pass, you can do better. Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Pass

 

I wouldn't as were it ends is the area were the cracks begin on some of them , Th350s are a dime a dozen , take it off and see if you can sell it to a person who wants a core for a ultrabell conversion . ask $25 bucks for it or a 6 pack of favorite drink . if not gut it and scrap for the aluminum and steel parts . or something to learn how a trans is built .

 

If you live in a city you may not care, but around here I travel a lot of gravel roads and wouldn't want the extra crud getting into the starter drive. I'd pass.

 

Wally

I ran one that was questionable one time and never again. Just a PIA to have to install, remove and re-install a different one.

I;ve got a couple transmissions in the garage if you are interested. I'll have to check but I think I have a 4L60 and maybe a th400 still. I'd sell either one cheap if your interested. They've been on the garage floor now for a long time so I probably wont use them anytime soon.

Shoot me a text if interested and I will get over there tomorrow to check.
Jim 716-990-4149

 

Don't use it but keep it around. Like some say TH 350's may be a dime a dozen but they haven't been produced for some 26-27 years now and hard parts are getting harder to come by. The guts of that transmission may someday get you out of a bind or make you some money should someone else need some internals.

 

How lucky are you. My buddy is cheap so he would use it and with his luck it would go 100,000. I'd try it and it would blow up the first day.
The parts could be worth something, Turbo 350s are not a dime a dozen around here anymore. I just had one built, took 2 cores to get enough savagable parts to build it and took me a couple days to find the 2nd core.

 

Check on the price of scrap at your local yard. TH350's are plentifully and cheap You can probably find a better core for the $$$ you get from that one.

 

For some reasons, a good 350TH core was hard to find, when I needed one a year ago. Must be a Texas thing. I wouldn't use that for anything other than a door stop. My last bad trans cracked right where the starter goes. That one looks like a bad waiting to happen.

 

I've had th350 driving around on 3 bellhousing bolts holding it to the engine

 

have not made th350 in 33 years

 

Run it but fire it up before you install it in a vehicle as their could be other damage that your not seeing.

 

oh if you do decide to use it when you hear the sound combination of a cement truck full of rock and a propeller plane taking off pull your feet and legs up on the seat quick kind of like a fetal position , because the outcome aint gonna be pretty , I had a bell shear off on a 400 leaving a stop light , and the sound is almost exactly like I described when it comes apart . and it makes a big oily mess

 

junk

 

When you walk into a transmission shop these days quite often the guy you're talking will ask you what make car your TH350 or TH400 came in and don't even ask about a PowerGlide! The wrecking yards are melting transmssions down every day for the aluminum value too so cores are veryyyyy hard to find especially in a larger Metro area like Houston.