I am currently transmissionless. My friend who did the engine and rear end said to put a t 350 in. Never had a powerglide, but could get 1 for free.Is it worth messing with or would I be wasting my time. 396, 12 bolt 342 posi. Are they a bad transmission or just limited. All comments welcome. Thanks.

my personal take on the powerglide is that despite popular belief, a stock powerglide is far from indestructable. yes, a powerglide absolutely CAN be built to handle ANYTHING, but money is a huge factor. To but it behind your big block you could put a stronger input shaft and clutch hub, and those parts are relatively affordable. with the availability of good used th350 or th400, I personally would definately go that route over putting work into a pg. this is assuming this is a street car by the 3.42 gear, the th350 or th400 will also be alot more fun/enjoyable on the street. :)

If this is for the street the 350 or 400 would be your best choice with the 3.42 gears. The lower 1st gears in the 350 and 400 would wake the car. With the powerglide the car would be lazy.
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I run a 396 th350 and 3.42 gears in my 1967ss. I am looking to step up a 700r4 with the .70 ratio overdrive soon. The 700r4 has a 3.06 low ratio vs. the th350 2.52. If you plan to run normal size tires and drive it on the street, the 3.42 is a low gear > especially with the short stroke 396. My car has bfg 235-60r-15 tires on it all around so they can be rotated. At 55 mph it is turning around 2500 rpm. My car came with a 396/pg/3.55 ratio gear. Was thinking that the change to 3.42 would be ideal and I have run this current combo for several years with no problem. Current parts/suppliers are available to build the 700r4 or 200r4 to live behind a big block...hope this helps...check out monster transmission for some great technical info.....