Any hotrods with a standard transmission? Give your 2 cents...

[Hazieview]

Guys I've been on here asking everyone about my setup for months and still haven't decided what I'm going to do. I can tell you one thing!

I have a small block 400 with a busted 350th trani that I already had rebuilt once.

Is anyone out there got a hot rod with a manual transmission? I'm fixing to put a few dollars in some heads, headers, intake, carb, AND ANOTHER DADGUM TRANSMISSION!

Only thing that scares me is I dont want to blow up my engine and that is easy to do with a heavy foot and a standard

[swb85]

You're not going to blow up your motor because you've got 3 pedals instead of two. I've got a M21 4spd in my truck and a t56 in my camaro, no stab-n-steers for me!

[Hazieview]

I might accidentally pop the clutch and smoke my tires down on purpose sometimes. I think I'd be okay as long as I could discipline my self to shift correctly and in a timely manner

I think it would be kind of cool to keep it a little classic ya know?

[jdurant]

I think it is a great idea. I have a five speed in my mustang and wouldn't have it any other way. I plan to put a six speed in my Buick, too. I even thought about putting a t56 behind the ls1 in the my Blazer project. One day I will put a manual in a squarebody. I've done some research and it is a fairly easy swap. The 5 speeds from a camaro are more desirable because of a little better gear ratio, but you can use the dirt cheap five speed from an s-10 or a full size later model. If you use the camaro tranny though you should use the truck tailshaft to get the right placement of the shifter.
Have you ever driven a manual? You won't blow it up.

[73step]

first off shifting gears all depends on your style of driving. if you like to eat and drive it can be a pain in the butt. as far as tearing stuff up well that can be done too. if your gonna drop the cash build the rear too. people have alot of opinions on tranny capability, i had a procharged 391 in a notch that was getting a 225 shot on a tremmic tko and she never missed a beat. but all in a nutshell do what fits you.

[Hazieview]

Originally Posted by jdurant

Have you ever driven a manual? You won't blow it up.

Oh yeah I've driven plenty of 'em! '98 Nissan altima had 198,000 Miles on it when I sold it to the junk yard.

I'm really not going to be driving the truck every day I have my '07 Chevy crew cab for that.

I'm really just tired of throwing money out at $600 a pop to rebuild the 350th my theory is if it dont last the first time it probably aint gunna last the next time either.

[Pyrotechnic]

What kind of rebuilds are these ? Stock ? Turbo 350's are plenty strong but they need a few small tweaks to live behind a high performance motor, as will any transmission.

First find a builder that is familiar with high performance transmission builds, and it's even better if they cater to the local hot rodders and they have good things to say. Turbo 350's need the valve body modified for firm shifts that improve clutch wear, a high quality rebuild kit, and it's possible to add more clutch rings to the clutch packs to hold more power.

Second, you NEED a large transmission cooler. Stacked plate the design is the best.

[Thumpin455]

I have broken ST10, M20, M21, TH350, TH400, TH700R4, 4L60E, TH2004R, C4, C6, FMX, and one toploader. After I learned how to rebuild transmissions, I found its cheaper for me to rebuild a 3 speed auto than it is to rebuild the 4 speeds once I killed them.

A Th350 costs me about $180 to rebuild and I include my mods to make it live longer. A Th400 is usually right around $200 and I try to use the bigger clutch packs from trucks and other heavy duty vehicles. Get into the 4 speed autos and the price goes up. It runs me over $800 to rebuild a 4L60E just for parts, but they take a beating after that.

Bare bones cost on the ST10 is $400 for the hard parts, about the same for a Muncie. The Muncie wont take the beating the Borg Warner will unless its the M22 and they are kinda tough to find. Figure in the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and linkage and the price I pay to rebuild automatics is cheap. Keep in mind I dont pay ANY labor and this is what it costs me.

It takes me about 3-6 hours to rebuild a Th350, it takes about 6-8 hours to go through a ST10. Most of the time spent on the auto is cleaning parts.

Now a Th350 even with some good parts is not going to live behind one of my 455s, and a Muncie will last less than ten WOT encounters with one of them. A T56 is out of my price range, and a T5 has a rough time behind a stock 305. I do have Th350s still running around in trucks with 350 sbc 15 years later. and the only TH400s I have really hurt were in my drag car (540hp/565ftlbs) and the 4100lb GTO that ran mid 13s with 2.93 gears. Now that is some stress on a transmission.

I always thought the 4 speeds were stronger and I wouldnt break them. I cant get one to live longer than a year in my hotrods. Its up to you though...

[Damien]

Have you thought about a th400? Is your engine stock or Highly built? If your are that afraid of over reving you could use an ignition with a rev limiter.

[Hazieview]

Like I said before I still can't make up my mind but yesterday I pulled my engine and trani and decided I want to have the 350th rebuilt AGAIN.....

I dont have a transmission cooler but now after talking with you guys maybe I will invest in one. You can grab one off of an old suburban relatively cheap.

I am in the process of throwing some money in my engine as far as new heads, intake, carb, and possibley a cam...

Thumpin455,
So is there any specifics I should ask the guy to do with the 350th? He told me he was going to try and rebuilt it as cheap as he could but I'd rather have it right and pricey than cheap and junk.

Also do I need to do anything specific to my torque converter? He said he was going to try and get me a rebuilt one for like $65....

[tvblazer78]

A 350 will last if you have the right parts and person doing it. In my heavy blazer I have a 350 with a 400sb that makes some good power and after I took it to the right person and had better parts put in it, it works good. So it's all about what you do to it. And I drive mine hard to..

[Damien]

You can buy a new add on cooler for about $50.