Ok, well, i just hit another FINAL bump with my car and it is OFFICIALLY out of commission until my 454 is done. So yea, i've taken time to think about everything and i'm stuck on one issue- what transmission. The motor will have about 500hp/500ft.lbs. I have a th-350 in the car now and i know that wont hold up. I have a th-400 in my garage. I was wondering if i should use the 400. BUT, i want to get some gas mileage so i didnt know if this was the way to go. I don't have TOO much money. What would you do?

Oh, one other thought was to sell the 400 and 350 and save up for a 200-4r.

Thanks

Oh, one other thought was to sell the 400 and 350 and save up for a 200-4r.

Thanks


I think you answered your own question. That is what I would do ! (200R)

Doing it right the first time is always cheaper than doing it 3 and 4 times.

Where is a good place to get a 200-4r? What are the average prices? WIll i need to upgrade it as soon as i get it? Or, should i follow one of these other paths:
Save up for a gear vendors unit for the th-400
Save up for a 4l80e

Thanks

A 200-4R that will handle 500 ft/lb will cost a pretty penny and requires many mods and expensive parts to be reliable behind that kind of torque. A stock TH400 will probably hold up esp with a HD sprag. They are tough. I used a basically stock one with a B&M transkit and manual valve body installed for years in a NHRA Stock Elim 427 Corvette with no failures. Tore it down every winter and it looked like new. With some mods and HD parts by someone that knows what they're doing a TH350 would probably hold up but the TH400 is much stronger in stock form. I'd run the TH400 until you have enough coin for the 200-4R. a TH400 with Gear Vendors OD would work good and should hold up but the GV is expensive, adds weight, and requires floor pan mods and driveshaft shortening.

The Th350 will survive 500 lb ft without issue if you install a good valve body kit.

My vote is to save for a 4L80, although they are costly.

A 200-4R would need the billet forward drum only made by 2 vendors. Chris at CKPerformance and Bruce at PTS.
Chris's stage 2 unit is about 1700-1800 IIRC. That would work for your application.
Bruce's is higher I'm sure.

A 4L80E would require a core (they are getting cheaper), a rebuild, a controller, a slightly more expensive converter usually, a speedo adapter or tailhousing, driveshaft and crossmember mods.

I'm replacing my 200-4R with a 4L80E for upcoming engine upgrades.

I paid $350 for my 4L80 core.
$400 for a 2800 stall converter with lockup
$325 for a modded tailhousing to use mechanical speedo gears
I still need to order a controller, about $650
a rebuild kit, about $250 for a complete kit
I also already have the Transgo reprograming kit, $85

Another $100 for driveshaft mods (I'll probably actually buy a Denny's unit including the billet yoke)

That's a pretty quick $2000+ and I build my own and do my own fab work so it would add up to more for most people.

The 200-4R has better OD ratio, fits nice, installs easily, and has great gear ratios. My only dislike after having one is the way it downshifts under deceleration as you roll to a stop. I'm accustomed to never feeling a downshift so it's not a big deal just something I don't care for.

Wait, if i put in the th-400, would i need a new driveshaft? If not, then i will, without a doubt, put that in. Thanks guys!

Yes usually the TH400 will require a different driveshaft, it is somewhat dependant on what yoke the Th350 uses and what yoke you use on the 400.

I would recommend you just install a valve body kit in the Th350 for now and save up for what you really plan on doing with the car. A TH400 is a tough unit and works well but a Th350 will reliably handle an 11 second car with some minor mods, mostly a valve body kit.
I do some other internal mods when building one from scratch but most don't make or break the trans, if it is in good working order a simple valve body kit will considerable increase the capacity of the Th350, it is actually a pretty decent design of trans that is under-rated by many.

Then if you plan to run a 200-4R, GV, or other setup you can save your cash and do it right the first time.