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My Chevelle has just under 160,000 miles on it, and the TH350 transmission is beginning to show signs of taking a crap on me.
If anyone has a TH350 that's either been recently rebuilt, or has under 50,000 miles on it, and is in good condition, I would love to purchase it from them, for a reasonable price of course!
Please, please contact me before I'm stuck on the side of the road somewhere.
You mean in the home of the viva las vegas car show spectacular there is no th350 in the papers or local residentials fer free or sale.
Hey Streets..$150.00 ?...You are right its been a loooooooooooooooooog time alright....I recently took a torqueflite 904 to my friendly "Prima Donna transmission repair shop"...Their motto "We will screw U 4 sure and you will like it"....The guy there gave me a song and dance about how Amerucan made trannys are poorly made and hard to overhaul...I'm standing there thinking to myself " I wonder if this guy owns a Merc OB..I hope so so I can give the same song and dance about those AWFUL American made things "...He gave me a quote of between $500.00 and ten thou or so depending on how much the crap he snorts up his nose costs that week...OK OK It was about $500.00 if I brought it in...Prima Donna auto repair is next door...They quoted a friend $700.00 to flush the cooling system in his Buick...I told the service rep there once that it sure is a good thing someone near by doesn't sell cast iron pie tins...Then they could get rich by selling them so folks could stuff them down the back of their pants and safely come into your place..There is an honest place further down the By way...Al's Transmission Repair"...Only thing wrong is he is backed up for weeks..Can't beat a place with a name like that...Al.....:) :) :)
The one tranny shop I trust around here gets $350 (if I bring it in) to do the Torqueflights, turbo 350/400 and C4/C6s.
The real kicker is of the 6-7 guys they have working there, they only have one "that knows that old stuff".
Even better if it's a Cast iron TF, Hydromatic, Ford-O-Matic or Power Glide, etc they send it to my buddy who retired from there 5 years ago (and charge the customer in the $1000+ range when they get it back).
Now that I have a bit more time to play with my own stuff, I guess i'll be doing some horse trading with my friend and/or setting up an area in my shop to do my own trannys again.
If you really want a used one, Try the classifieds over at Team Chevelle's site. I have seen working used TH350's and 400's for as cheap as $50 on there before.... http://www.chevelles.com/ads/index.shtml
You can search existing ads, and post a wanted ad there....
All that being said- If it were me, i would just have your existing one rebuilt as everyone else has already said.
A Brand new TH350 out of Summit or Jegs runs about $800- So having yours rebuild can't be much more than $500- Plus then you'll know that it was all done correctly, and shouldn't go out again. With a used one- who knows how long it will last, even if it is working when you get it.
Just my $.02
Hi yah Mike...I decided a long time ago to not be afraid of automatics and began by tearing apart non working ones to see whats going on in there...Besides I scored on a lot of really good capscrews...I never got real into overhauls but I can do a lot to them..and there again I can smell a rat when I do have to go to a transmission shop..I've smelt some really big ones around here!!!...There was a guy and his wife that screwed so many people that if you even mention their shop weapons appear and its like "OH YEAH YOU SEEN THEM TWO SOBS?????......TALK BUDDY TALK!!!!!...OK OK its not quite that bad but pretty close..They skated from the area one foggy night...Slithered to some other hole somewhere...Speaking of castiron powerglides.I came across a nice 58 Nomad (ho-hum in 58) but a cool car.It was pouring ATF out the front seal. Well...thats what the tranny shops said..After two reseals the owner parked the thing and sold it to me for twenty five bucks..I figured the front pump nose of the torque converter was screwed up so I pulled the trans and remembered the torque converter lid was bolted together .not welded...My radiator pressure tester fit the hole of the nose..The seal was leaking!!...The local parts store had a box of five in stock!!!!!..I had to buy the whole box....$5.25....I sold the car for $800.00 and it left for the San Juan islands north of here never to return...The seal was like an O ring but square and fit into a groove...I also scored on a later powerglide that the weld was leaking on the converter.....Al...:) :) :)
I've got to put my .02c's worth in too about used trannys...Only if I can drive the car will I use the tranny..I needed a TH350 for a Nova and the head boy at a local yard swore on a stack of bibles he drove the car it came out of.In fact he drove it to the yard.. Yeah right ..So I install it and there is NO DRIVE..Reverse only...It was that places worst day when I showed up!!!...I made them rebuilt it and have it ready the next day or I was returning with a gun!!!...Just can not deal with crap like that....Ok..I'm mellowed out again....Al.....
Streets...I think that subject came up about driving it to the yard in reverse as I was contemplating reaching out to grab the SOB by the throat...Had a yuppie with a Boston Whaler and a 150HP Merc drive it backwards about six miles to a ramp near my shop this summer...Must have taken him three hours or more..I mean you're pushing the blunt end of the boat and a goose or two of too much throttle could flood the thing pretty easy..Whalers don't have a motor wale..A capscrew outta the block had fallen onto the shift slider and with perfect timing on the bolts part had left no room for forward...Easy C note that day.....Seattle urbanites that come over here and screw up my home land simply pay more...I won a destruction derby heat race once driving a 62 Pontiac in reverse..It was a reverse race..Man!!!,,It took 36 beers to get my neck so it would turn straight ahead again.....Al..