For rockcrawling...how would you build it?

I am thinking of an Automatic when I do my V8 and a T350 is appealing due to it's simplicity.

I have read about lower 1st gears and making them heavier duty.

Comments?

I want to run a Ram Jet 350, T350, Atlas

TIA

with the deep gears of the atlas case why bother, probably cheaper to use a th-700 with the 3-1 first anyways.

:shakingmyhead:

You're killin me man...

:D

Hey Grogan,

Check out this site...

http://www.martelbros.com/cgi-bin/store/ws400CS.cgi?store=TCI&cart_id=1020329054108889&page=tci/tci.html&category=tci/56.htm

or this one...

http://tciauto.com/tech_info/gear_ratios.htm

You can put a 2.75 first gear into a TH 350.

You might be able to find a lower first gear. I talked to a guy that is into drag racing and he said I could get a 3.00 first gear for my TH 400. Not sure if that is an option for the TH 350.

Charles

Seriosly, I wouldn't go with a TH350.
I have personally sh!tcanned 4 of those things and have seen twice as many go.
A buddy of mine runs a transmission business and told me that if it weren't for the TH350, he wouldn't be in business.
I would go with the 4 or 700.

OK,

One vote for T350's sucking. Any more? Look, i know NOTHING about slush boxes, but I do know that I want to keep it a simple as I can.

If a 700R4 is the way to go.....

I just thought you could build up a T350.

Any more ideeas?

Thanks for the links Charles...

My T350 is in the shop right now :mad3: ! The 400 is so much stronger. If I had the time and $$$ I would be replacing my 350 for a 400.

Awell built 350 is a good trans, get hardened sprags and quality clutches in it. Keep it cool and the fuid clean and it should last under alot of abuse. If you want a good first gear in an auto just get a 700, I hear not so great stuf about the low gear sets for the TH350. The 700 will give you a better gear to start and the overdrive.

The 400 is the pimp daddy of GM trannies but you pay to play both in dollars and HP, the 400 sucks many ponies up. Plus the 400 has the cool bolt on bellhousings out for it now, you can make a virtually indestructable 400 thes days

Well the 700 are pieces of shit and the 400 robs a lot of power(more than a 350 would) but you may not need to worry about that with a RamJet...IMO (and this is what I am doing) I would go with the TH350 dont bother wasting money on the lower first gear(unless you can get it to 3:1, if so let me know where)...put a manual valve body and get a shift kit from Art Carr or some one like that...

I have two TH350s in my garage right now I found(so I got them for free) I am going to build them both and IF I do have problems with one I'll throw the other in and have time to rebuild the first:D:D:D

IMO...:D:flipoff2::D

Do a search I remember a thread not too long ago about this same thing and the decision was 700s suck and are weak and the 400s are cool bt do rob power and are more expensive

Keep it coming...this is good shit...

Th350's are the ballsack. They are tough,simple trannies that can be had and modified cheap. Thay are also shorter than the th400 and the shitty 700 r4. Go with the 350.

Well I put over 200,000 HARD miles on a 350 and the only had one problem with it. Well more with the torque convertor then the trans, I grenaded three in 3 years (along twards the end, original lasted 9 years), plus one twisted in half driveshaft and about a dozen shattered U-joints. Never wore out a U-joint in the twelve years I ran it, I shattered them going from 1st to 2nd.
Trans finally died three years ago 'cause the pump exploded.
It came from a 79 Z28 and I had it in a 75 Nova, 80 Malibu wagon and finally a 84 Cutlass Supreme.
I definatly agree with DUG, KEEP IT COOL! Invest in a good trans cooler and get a trans temp guage. That temp guage saved me more then once!

Nolen,

You're welcome!

700R4 and TH 400 about the same length. I really doubt you would ever need overdrive with 42" tires so the argument for the 700R4's overdrive becomes null.

The early TH 400s are the ones to get. These are the ones with the aluminum vent tubes. The cases are stronger and don't wear out internally like the "newer" TH 400's.

Another plus for the TH 400 is the 6 bolt verses 4 at the tail housing.

Charles

So how much of an argument is there for the T400 robbing HP? Is it really an issue on a rock crawler? Is the large tranny pan an issue on clearance?

Nolen,

I don't think you'll have any HP problems with the Ramjet motor.
Avalanche has an adapter for TH 400 to an Atlas. Most of the vehicles they build have TH 400/Atlas combo. I'm sure the adapter should take care of the clearance issues. Might want to give Clifton a call.

Charles

Hey Nolen, I've been spinning a TH350 (mostly stock.....took the shift kit out of the fawkin thing cuz it would slip and lose traction when it shifted.....applies to shale, sand, mud) I've blown the 2-3 sprag shift gear in it but it went do to age and not application, and only cost 50 bucks to replace......Above and beyond that you can pick them up all day long for 100-150 bucks if you shop. IMHO a TH400 is too much of a power thief for a 350 v-8.

A 700r4 is only a peice of shit if it has never been rebuilt there are updates to fix their problems. just run clutch packs and a fan cooled extra large tranny cooler.

some one corect me if I am wrong but I remember
reading that the 400 was the only trany
that the atlas bolted to with out needing
a adapter??

if this is so then it would make the 400
a real good choice.

What trans you use depends on what you want to do with it. If you have the power to spare, build a t400 with good parts and fuhggedaboudit . A turbo 350 will work just as well when built correctly and use less power to turn. I personally run a 700r4 and i wouldn't go back. the lower first gear is great, and the overdrive is what bumps my truck to 13 mpg with 35's and 4.56 gears. (Only run 2500 rpm's down the interstate at 80!) I had the 700 built with corvette servo's, clutches, and a 10 veign pump. It will bark both 35's when shifting from first to second. (takes some explaining to a police officer, but so far i've been lucky!) This trans has never given me problems. All I do is run a good cooler, and have it flushed every year and give it a new filter. Whatever you use is your choice, just be sure to keep ém cool and use good parts from the beginning, and you will be fine.
P.S. if you use the 700....Make sure that the T.V. cable is adjusted properly!!!

nothin wrong with a 350.
I recommend a custom super low rpm torque converter, like 6-800 range, It'll keep it cooler and behave better off road.
Expect to pay approx $500 for the converter though.
I think there was one in the for sale section here recently too...

Originally posted by 500 HORS
nothin wrong with a 350.
I recommend a custom super low rpm torque converter, like 6-800 range, It'll keep it cooler and behave better off road.
Expect to pay approx $500 for the converter though.
I think there was one in the for sale section here recently too...

I paid $800 for a rebuilt 350 tranny with a 800 low stall converter.

Originally posted by Brawler


I paid $800 for a rebuilt 350 tranny with a 800 low stall converter.

Where did you get yours, Brawler?

My Cruiser has had a turbo 350 in it for 14 years. The 1st tranny I got was rebuilt to stock specs with just a mild shift kit. That tranny lasted 11 years with just 2 oil changes & many miles of abuse.Heavy towing, wheeling,etc. Broke 3 rear pinions,& scattered a transfercase & broke my adaptor. Never a tranny problem. Get a good cooler & maybe an inline filter. Love my 350. Works fine for me.Turbo 400 is the ultimate though.

So Nolen getting tired of shifting? I am :D I almost went auto .

I'm sticking with a manual for now ,just don't have funds now.

I saw all the autos in RCCA ,man everybody has one.

Oh wait, a manual took first:D :D

Rob

So the best trany for you would be
the 400 as you are going to use the
atlas.......

nothing wrong with a 350
but you wont need a adapter for the 400
so it will be a cheeper install
it will end up being shorter than a 350
with the adapter and a 400 is a strong trany
basicaly

400 will be
cheeper
stronger
shorter..

Hey Nolen...go with the 350 and get a good shop to rebuild it...get billet servo's, synthetic fluid, and lower gear set, I think you can get 3.06 to one using the 700 gearset...I'll find the name of the guy in town that rebuild them and he can set one up real sweet....

The TH350 is the way to go in my opinion. Cheap, plentiful, strong, simple. If you buy one already rebuilt, you can just remove the Accumulator spring and get those nice firm shifts without buying a kit to tell you to do it. Really, just a good tranny tranny cooler is all you really have to do(I just like mine to bark those big tires when I hit 2nd in town) And as far as low gears, with the auto and the Atlas you will never need to go lower. Keep in mind-the torque converter....These things crawl even with horrible gears everywhere else. figure your overall crawl ratio-then double it! The TH350 I'm running in my 40 was hands down one of the best mods. Way less complicted to swap in-especially if your doing the V8. Imagine you're on a steep incline, you don't like your line. You just put your foot on the brake, pop her in reverse, adjust, forward again...No more 3 legged dance under the dashboard again. ...IMO manual trannies are :rainbow:

nolen, if you get a th400 that had a np208 on it you can use the stock 208 adapter. you will have to change the atlas input shaft to a 32 spline though. you will probably have to change it anyway depending on what the spline count is for your current tranny. then again a th350 that had a 208 would be the same thing. if i recall correctly you are running a gm tranny now. if either the th400 or the th350 use the same pline count it might make your selection easier.

i used the th400 with a 208 adapter on mine and i just got the atlas in. i am ready to go try it out!

I've run a 350 for 2 years with only a quality rebuild and a good converter. I have a summit cooler in front of the radiator but that's all. This is on a rig that the crawl ratio sucks, and had 36" tires. I've run a lot of the better trails and the trans has done fine. I wouldn't spend the money for the lower 1st gear set. If that's an issue I'd go 700r4. The trouble with the R4 and the 400 in my application is width. They are both considerably wider and with a right side front driveline they can be a problem.

I ran 2 350's and never had a problem with either. both times I was running 35's, about 320-350HP, and a 205 all in my 6000# Willys wagon....


I now have a TH700 and like the first gear a lot better (the OD kicks ass too). If you have the money and the legnth room I would go with a 700 over the 350, but the 350 is a very good tranny when built properly and kept cool.... I'll never run another auto without a cooler and temp gauge...

:usa:

Go with the TH350, you can get 3 of them rebuilt for the cost of 1 7oor4 and from what I've read you shouldn't need to get a second rebuilt if it's done right the first time.

Flimmy its probably been a while since you've seen a 700r4 built I work at a trans shop and the prices to rebuild are about the same. The thing that makes them expensive is the application they are in as like corvette camero and s10 blazer can get expensive as far as r&r go but for pick-ups and vans and full size cars pretty close to 350 and 400 owners.

Hey! Any of you kids had a problem with fluid starvation on verts or steep angles? I have been running a 727 Torqueflight that had a man valve body, billet steel servos, an 800 rpm TC, and a custom drop spacer for the filter and pick up. Was wondering how hard it would be to do the same to my 350?

Build a 350......I have ran all 3 trannies.... Take a 350 get TCI heat treated shafts for it.....Run a manual valve body and run a extra deep pan with a cooler......naver turn back.....Have it "built" for under $500 last a long time...... I run 500HP through all my 350's all the time.....:beer: :beer:

Twisted metal run a deep sump pan and a filter spacer deeper into the pan that should help a lot.

Nolen, PLEASE go with the 700R4. As everyone has pointed out, you can build a TH350 to be strong, and you can get the lower 1st gear, BUT you can get a electric lock-up option on the 700R4. I have never heard of this for a 350 or 400. If i ever go auto, it will be 700R4, with about 1100 RPM T/C, shift kit, manual valve body, and electric lock-up. the lower first gear in the r4 is very noticable, and having the ability to lock it up for long descents to save brakes would be awesome. IE Lion's Back...

Consult your nearest Jeg's catalog, or call some speed shops up there in Dallas to get details about the lock-up converters...

Ohh yeah, and overdrive will be cool to have when you get your rockwell axles. I will help make up for the 6.72's, hehehehe

later man-

Depends on length and $$$ that you want to spend. Sounds like you have some extra cash for this. Get a built 700R4. I have had good and bad luck with all the GM slushboxes that I have had in the past. 700's can be built to easily handle a RJ 350.....