so I take it the 200r is good for 350 hp always thought that a 350 trans will handle 350 plus hp?
it boils down to whether you want o/d or not. i'm guessing a stock 700r should handle the power of a mid 70's stock 350 ci motor. the 200r will take big h/p if they are built right as will the 700r. the weight of the car comes into play on this also. the 200r in my chevelle handles the 823hp with no problem but it was built for it and more. your rear gear ratio will come into play also in making a decision on o/d or not as will your driving habits. the cat pretty much explains a recipe for a 350 th build. there will be a couple of small add on's and alterations to go to the o/d trans and now would be the time as the tranny is out already.
Ive never been an Automatic trans guy. We used 350's all the time and never had an issue.
The 400 was said to use an extra 50hp and a bit tougher etc. Used them in the BBs or really nasty small blocks.
This kinda reminds me of the old Saginaw 4 speeds vs Muncie. We pounded the absolute crap out of the Sags without a problem with some high HP cars.
Did our own 'crash box kit' on stuff etc. A $50 altered tranny that worked well with very few issues, as opposed to a $500 Muncie (back then) worked fine for us, always.
Nothing wrong with a TH350, had them in plenty of vehicles and never once had a problem.
The "benefit" of the th200 is overdrive but you still have to (I think) deal with the electronic or electric lock-up of the torque converter. Also, if you go with an overdrive trans you may need to rethink the rear end gears you have now.
Busted plenty of ST10's (yeah, probably operator error, nut still) ..... never had an issue with a TH350. Hell, I've even had a TH350 sit for YEARS in my parents garage .... installed it and didn't have a single problem.
Probably cheaper to rebuild than a 200 too.
I'm not crapping on the 200's as overdrive can be nice (if the car is going to be driven in an environment that benefits from it) but a TH350 is just such a simple deal. Now that I think of it, with the years just flying by .... wonder how hard or easy it is to find a TH350 nowadays ......
-- Edited by chips on Friday 26th of February 2016 01:47:37 PM
Th350's are good trannies as long as you recognize how much load the transmission will actually see. A high powered, heavy car, on street tires that never hooks is much gentler on a trans than a lightweight, medium power car that dead hooks because its on slicks at the dragstrip.
The TH350 really needs more clutch surface area, so get the kits that fit more clutches and steels in - sometimes they will come with a thinner apply piston instead of thinner steels in the kits. I would also use good clutches like alto reds, and a good shiftkit that includes an accumulator kit. The only downside is that you really need to start replacing hard parts above around 400hp as they will start breaking the stock stuff internally. Sprag's, planets, etc start going if you car hooks at all. You can build a Th350 to take up to around 800hp by replacing all the guts with aftermarket, but then the case is the weak point. A TH400 will take 1000hp with far less effort and cost.
