Friend of mine ran a trans shop in the 80s, he's willing to rebuild a th350 for me over the winter - when he gets in the mood Basically get it rebuilt while my friend is able, willing, put it on the shelf. Trans was in a car I drove home, parted out, it shifted, that's all I remember. Trans should handle: sbc up to 400hp, burnouts, mild stall. Won't be a drag car. Not worried about how hard it shifts, want reliable. What rebuild kit or company do you guys prefer ? I see a lot of better kits have alto red clutches and kolene steels. What else should I be looking for, or be replacing ?
Not a lot of differences in most of the kits. Most of the kits I used in 904 and 727 TF's got the red clutches and kolene steels. Makes for a good solid build. Do not use Kevlar bands!! Those things eat up drums. I used one in a 998 I built for my ot AMC race car and it required the front band to be adjusted frequently. It almost caused me to lose a race when it slipped real bad in 2nd gear. After that race I pulled and freshened it up with a new drum and a red lined band... Never another problem.
I’ve had very good service with kits from Transstar. Northern Auto Parts has them as well as Transtar themselves. There is a Transtar location in St.Louis, I believe they are nationwide, I would imagine they have a location in Chicago. They are the go to place when it comes to automatic and manual transmission parts. They also carry LUK clutches.
Sell the Turbo 350 and take the money and buy a 2004R or 4L60 (not 4L60 E) and have him rebuild that for you.
X2 on upgrade to hardened sprag, it's a weak link on T350 trans. Hold off on the converter until you have better engine and car specs. Although it sounds like a generic 2200-2400 stall is probably close for what you are considering.
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