broke....AGAIN...

So as my quest for horsepower goes on....I continue to break my car lol.

I was out and about tuning Saturday night after work. I brought some plugs an the jet kit in an attempt to dial in the carb at the local spots

First couple passes, everything was going good. I jetted the carb up a little and played with the accelerator pump. But after about 4 solid 2nd gear pulls....I decided to go from a stop.....bad idea lol

I launched from about 2800 on the foot brake and hooked up pretty nice. everything felt great until the 1-2 shift when there was a bang and no 2nd lol.

I snapped the trans out this afternoon, but I have yet to take it apart (just pulled the pan to take a looksy). It's not good so far lol. Lots of metal chunks, looks like I broke a drum or the sprag let go (which is really weird because this is a race prepped trans).

Heres what I found in the pan:


I am gunna pull the trans apart tomorow and try to go through it before work. I am sure I will have some more photos of carnage for your enjoyment

Aw well, that's racing. Spend, fix, race,....repeat. I'm going to say the obvious. Put a turbo 400/4l80e in there.

If it helps for parts, and I get that parts car, do you want a busted 4L60E with no 3rd gear? (I have no idea if its even worth pulling haha)

Cadet57 wrote:

If it helps for parts, and I get that parts car, do you want a busted 4L60E with no 3rd gear? (I have no idea if its even worth pulling haha)

I think he had a 3-spd turbo 350 in there (judging from the pan). It would be expensive to make a 4l60 survive in his car.

I think a TH400 is needed.

IMPALADAKID wrote:

I think a TH400 is needed.

Quoted for truth

what kind of power ya putting to these trannys?? Basically a 700R4 ..Right ?? I may have one for sale thats in my 92 OCC this winter. Goin to a 200R4

the car has to be gettin up there in power lol she goes good.

Broke the tranny down today and here is the grand total:


I found the hardened sprag was snapped in two, the forward clutch pressure plate was snapped, intermediate drum was beat up, case was cracked, and a few clutches got chewed up lol.

I should have it all back together tomorow.

Its weird. I swear by the th350 trans. We have used them in daily driven 9 second street cars for years, and never have we EVER broke a hardened race. I think it was a fluke thing...and it is surely what caused the rest of the trans to fall apart, but it will all be good.

This trans was completely built from top to bottom, so it was really weird to have this happen. But we will try again! It has been proven plenty of times before in cars that make far more power then mine.

I just hope the convertor is ok

Remember that "9 second street car" doesn't actually mean anything. A 9 second Vette needs far less strength than a 9 second Fleetwood hurst does. Your car needs alot stronger drivetrain than a g-body needs. And something that works well in an f/x/y body is basically stock in a b/c/d body.

Build your parts for a car that weighs 4,000 pounds and turns 500 ft-lbs of torque and you'll be golden

bammax wrote:

Remember that "9 second street car" doesn't actually mean anything. A 9 second Vette needs far less strength than a 9 second Fleetwood hurst does. Your car needs alot stronger drivetrain than a g-body needs. And something that works well in an f/x/y body is basically stock in a b/c/d body.

Build your parts for a car that weighs 4,000 pounds and turns 500 ft-lbs of torque and you'll be golden

hell ya !!! Mine weighs 4500#s. The weight is goin to be the killer. We use billet parts in the Buick 200R4s. BUT as the expression goes "I am from Missouri "SHOW ME"" Worst case scenario I'd go with a 4L80. We are only lookin for low 12s or maybe high 11s . Our GNs weigh in @ 3700#s

we have run th350s deap into the nines on 3800lb cars (mine only weighs 4040 with me behind the wheel.

there is no doubt that a th350 built should be able to take the abuse...

We machined the forward clutch and direct drum housings for a thicker pressure plate and thicker steels
Changed every bushing, seal and oring, replaced the junk clutches, and race prepped it again. Hopefully it will hold up this time. I really think it was just a fluke, but time will tell.