If you want to talk tranys I bought a 77 step side Chevy with a 454 / Turbo 400 and drove it for 18 yrs. Did frame offs and engine swaps along the way but never opened up the tranny except to change filters and put in a shift kit. Sold the truck in 96 to my friends wife and she still has it.This trans is now 23 yrs old and will still chirp em going to 2nd. Trust me this truck was never babyed but well cared for. I think the 400 was the best trans ever made.

 

To BLACKBOLT99: I am afraid I might disappoint you. The SVT dealer I mentioned is Sheehy Ford in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is about 20 miles north of Washington DC. Not too close to California. I know of at least one 2000 red Lightning they sold for $29.5K around May/June. They always seem to mark down $500 off MSRP for starters. That is lot better than paying a couple, three thousand over MSRP, but not as good as other dealers if you are willing to shop around the country. Their number is 301-258-1015 if you are interested. Pete Fulton was my salesman. Last I saw, they had a black, a red and a silver 2000. They just sold their Cobra R for $60K. Was asking $65K.

 

how much do those go for? The Turbo-400s. I am keeping an eye out for for next summer.

 

turbo 400s go for around $600. not that expensive and are great. some people like the turbo 350s but the 400 were a heavy duty tranny. had one in a 72 chevy pu, it had 226,000 miles on it pulled a boat for 14 yrs and was my work truck for a landscaping business for another 5. when i sold it, it was still going strong.

brad

 

I'm no auto trans expert. I'm more familiar with the sticks, but I believe a TH400 is a 3-speed with NO overdrive. That's a compromise in a truck that already gets poor gas mileage.

If you've got a race-only vehicle that is towed to the track, then get a 2-speed Powerglide and put the correct converter in it. Those handle well over 1200hp in many applications. 7-8 sec Mustangs run these a lot. It's not a stock tranny, but then neither will anything else be to take serious abuse.

From my understanding the E40D/4R100 trans has a lot of potential. I wouldn't give up on it until you're running 9s or faster.

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Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.63 @ 114.5)--392rwhp/433rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.3)--364rwhp/444rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
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