Thread: What Turbo 350 Should I Look For ??

Tweet

Since I normally do not play with Chevies, I am not sure what Turbo 350 tranny I should look for. I have decided to hit the U Pick Um junkyard Saturday and try to find a usable transmission for Project $ 3 K. Eventually I will buy a rebuilt one, but for now I just want to get a cheaper one to get the car running.

The question is, what cars do I look under at the yard? And what years? Do I look at full size, mid size? How about shaft length? Are full size longer? Do vans have the same 350's in as cars, and do 4.3 applications work with a 5.7? Are there any to avoid also?

I need all the advice you guys can give me on how to spot one. I will be ok as far a looking at the color and odor of the fluid, and looking for cleanliness of the trans and overall appearance, but I just need to know which vehicles are the most likely candidates.

Thanks in advance.

Don

Don, TH350's were the rage in the early eighties. Mid to late eighties saw the migration to the O.D. trans. If a 350 is what you want I doubt you will find a "nice" usable trans in a junkyard. You would be much farther ahead to simply go with a 700R4 or just buy a TH350 from a good rebuilder. I know it will cost more up front but trying to save money by buying "junk" willl only cost more money and time in the long run. Spend it once... Spend it wisely...
Mark

Don
I got most of mine from earlier Camaros the only differance 's would be long and short tail shaft's long shafts are mostly found in wagons and some trucks. Picking which of these you want would depend on driveshaft length wanted. Yours will probably be short so you'd most likely want a short tailshaft 350. The overall length of a short is 27" I just sold my long so can't measure it. I think its about 6" longer. I have been using a 350 for a long time now and never had a problem and I am HARD on them. Be carful laying under the car removing it they are heavier than they look. I used to put them in and out on my chest but either I got older??? or smarter now I use a jack. Probably a bit of both Good luck on your hunting trip.
Charlie

Actually, it's the trucks that used the short tailshaft. Cars had the long one. There isn't a "poor" TH350, they're all pretty much the same, just be sure it IS a 350. Lots of 250's and other, lesser trannys out there. The later ones had a dual pattern and fit Chevy as well as BOP engines.

Spend it once... Spend it wisely...

I know, and normally this is what I would do, but I am running out of time and just want to get the car running for now. I will buy a built one later on. I have a junkyard AOD in my Jeep and it is still running strong and probably has 200,000 miles on it. I am going to look for one that is hit hard, at least I know it worked up until the crash.

But your advice is certainly good in most circumstances.


Don

Don,
i know alot of the 80s G body cars monty carlos, grnd prix etc...
ran 200s so watch what you are looking at.. ive had good luck runnig use trannys myself... most chevy engine tranny combos will bolt up...$.3 and 5.7 are the same as in bolt patten and strength.. do you care if its a 400?
Good luck finding a good one...

Harmon

So, I'm still in the dark a little on this one. Do I head for the section of the junkyard that has Camaros, or full size Caprices , or to where the vans are? I know I need the short shaft (27 inch model, because that is what my stick setup measures and it's a perfect length).

Also, are the 350's behind a 4.3 the same as the 5.7 V8 ? What years should I stop at ( were 350 turbos used only till the mid 80's) ?


Don

Don,
i think that the 200s are OD so look for just about anything with 3 gears its mostlikely going to be a 350 or a 400. i hope that helps. the 4.3 and the 5.7 are thw same bolt pattern and strength...

Harmon

Thanks, that helps. Will looking at the shift pattern on the shifter tell me if it is an overdrive or not? I'm looking for some way to keep from climbing under every car there.


Don

Don your 350 pans are almost square with one corner cut at a 45 degree angle. Use a search that has "images" to see what they look like.

Here you go Don, this should help you out...

1 Aluminum Powerglide 14 bolts
2 TH200 Metric 11 bolts
3 TH350 13 bolts
4 TH400 13 bolts
5 TH200-4R 16 bolts
6 TH700-R4, 4L60, 4L60E 16 bolts
7 4L80E 17 bolts

Mark

Thanks for all the responses guys, this will help me a lot on Saturday. I called the yard, and he says he has tons of 350 turbos, $ 175.00 I pull it. They will pick up the car and set it on barrels.

I could go to Jackson Racing Transmissions and buy a mild 350 from them for about $ 450.00 plus shipping, which is really reasonable. I have bought 2 from them already and they are perfect in every respect. But because I am rushing this car and trying to do it close to the $ 3K budget I am going to look at the junk yard ones first. I may still go the Jackson route in the final analysis, because I am not sure if I really want to pull a tranny out in the sand on a hot Florida day either.

Thanks again for all the input and help.


Don

The later th 350's were better because they used more Torrington type thrust bearings as opposed to the conventional thrust washers. It just puts fewer wear particles in the oil which causes less problems for the valves in the transmission. I think the change was made gradually between '75 and '77. There were some small improvements made in the early years of the th350. There are heavy duty and light duty versions of the transmission. The heavy duty had a few extra clutches here and there. The light duty transmissions can be easily modified to do the same.

The final, most important difference to look for depends on whether or not you are running floor shift or column shift. If you run floor shift, you have to get a transmission with the mounting bosses for the floor shift mechanism on the drivers side of the transmission right above the pan.

Was going to sell my 350's for 50 bucks just to get rid of them. Came out of a 81 or so 1/2 ton truck with 350 engine. I have 3 of them. but the guy never called me, I guess it was too cheap and he figugerd it was junk. I am not in to making money off of my left over junk just happy to get it out of my way. Are the truck trans undisirable since they have a lock up converter?

Most of the cars in this particular yard seem to be from the 1980's, so these should have the improvements you mention. Good advice on the floorshift mounts.

Maybe reality is starting to set in. Do I really feel like pulllng a greasy transmission at a hot, sandy, bug infested junkyard in the middle of the Florida Everglades, or do I just pick up the phone and order one? Maybe I will just give them a call and find out exactly what they have and how much.


Don