Thread: spend money on motor or tranny

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i have a 454 in a 69 camaro used for the street with a power glide. I need to do a head gasket job on the motor this winter. Since i have the motor apart should i spend money on more horsepower or put in a 700r4 this winter

i have only know of one guy that used a 700r4 in back of a bbc it had all (the good stuff in it??) lasted less then a week but it was a truck with 600 + hp bbc so you maybe ok with one .hard to say what you should do if your bbc needs top end work sounds like you should go all the way thru it ? i would then do the trans you need both to make it move ? you did not say any thing about power you would like to see or how much money you are willing to spend ? this all would come in to play

Everything you do to one component puts additional strain on all the others, ie, if you bump up HP the transmission and rear are now potentially your weak links. Is your PG built or stock? Personally, on the street I would like another gear or two, but have never played with any of the overdrive automatics from GM. Seen some feedback though where they can be not so hot unless modified.

So, my vote goes to spending a little on the motor and the rest getting at least a TH350 in there or maybe a TH400.

Don

i would like to keep it around $1000. The motor has a holley carb, headers, 2.73 rear end with locker. The car can do donuts but my buddy said to go with a solid lifter cam

the PG is built to handle the power, talked to some saying the 700r4 would handle 450hp. just thinking that the 700 and 454 would be a good fit for the street

for the power i would just like the launch off the line to beat the mustangs

i am building a 496 HYD ROLLER street engine pump gas TQ monster for a drive it any were and fast as you can go .we did some taking about the 4l60e after some talking the guy did want the added gear for hi speed running the $5000+. did slow him down some .so we are going the time tested 400 trans and if he wants more gears we will put a gear vender over drive on the 400 at a later date

Originally Posted by 454 69 camaro

for the power i would just like the launch off the line to beat the mustangs

that is alot of help more gear and some sticky tires and some slapper bars should help that out soild lifter cam will not do nothing if the bottom end is a low cr smog 454 small O port head engine .there ways to build them to work good but you have to know that you have to start with $1000. may not get you to far hard to say what you have and what shape it is in . 450 hp is not very hard to get with a 454 but you will see much more then that in TQ and that is what makes a muskrat killer

what TQ mean

Originally Posted by 454 69 camaro

what tq mean

torque:

I agree with Pat..........with those gears you are setup for Bonneville, not off the line performance. A cam will only make it even doggier. Put some deeper gears in there first, best bang for the buck IMO. With that two speed auto in there it must really drop rpms between gears.


Don

Doubt if $1,000.00 is going to make a 700 R4 stand up to a decent running big block.... If you have a good glide, as Don and Pat both suggested you would be far better off with some gears (is it a 12 bolt rear?) and some good heads. Is the engine stock or what does it have going for it???? The later year, low compression BB's were a pooch, mainly cuz of no compression and lousy heads....

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't fool with the 700R4 in a performance platform. It's fine for a modest street combination, but the steep first gear (3.06), drastic rpm drop on the 1-2 shift (3.06 to 1.63) and 4th gear ratio (0.7) all come together to make this a nightmare for a performance application, again, in my opinion. I'd use a THM400 and gear the diff for the cam.

The lockup converter of the 700R4 is a nice feature, but if you are running any kind of perf cam, with the 0.7 top gear, the motor is very soggy at the lower r's. Although I've never used one, some of the fellows recommend a re-worked 200R4. Ratios are 2.74, 1.57, 1.00 and 0.67, so you can gear numerically higher for the cam without having a ridiculous first gear ratio.

When you have a dual-purpose car, everything is a trade-off and the car can neither be optimized for high-performance or for good street manners. It has to be balanced somewhere in between. Tough call.

this helps because i had a 700r4 lined up to purchase, better off to replace the head gaskets, timing chain and water pump. Then when i have more money go with the th400 and lower gears in the back.

I think your last post is on the money. Having lived with several of them in the past, a solid lifter cam is a PITA for the street, unless you just really enjoy adjusting valves. Cam technology has come a long way and a hydraulic or roller cam will give you all the performance and RPM you need. Get a rear end gear to let that big block do what it does best, torque in the drivable RPM range, and you will give those Mustangs fits.