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Just got the 4 banger pulled out of the luv and need some advise on what transmission to go with. I am putting a 350 4 bolt in and i know the beer budget swap said 350 turbo behind it but I am wondering if I could get a 400 in there and what the differences between the two are. Overall what is the best swap for fitment in this truck with the least amount of cutting the firewall out?

You wont have to cut the firewall for a turbo 350 or a glide. Dont know about a 400. The glide has a smaller case so it will be easier to get in and out but you only have 2 gears.

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I believe a TH200R4 will fit too, if you want an overdrive trans. It's about an inch longer than the TH350 from what I understand. Really depends on what your plans are for the truck when it's complete.

My personal experience with the 400 SBC is that they tend overheat even in well ventilated engine compartments. Cooling is definately a big consideration in this swap. Keep searching threads and you'll see what most of the folks have done here. I think this outlines it pretty well, in case you haven't seen it: http://www.luvtruck.com/pdf/12606.pdf

What are you planning for the rearend?

This is a pretty common swap, a bit of searching will yield a lot of information on what works and what doesn't.

Have fun

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I did my swap with out cutting the fire wall at all and I run an HEI distributor . I believe the bell housings are the same or really close for all the tranny's .

you can do it without cutting the firewall. Unless you really build the sbc, you dont need a turbo 400. The 350 will serve you just fine and it will put less stress on the motor and will spin up faster then the 400. I run a glide, with a 406 sbc, but mine is a bottom line race truck. Its not hard to do or work on. IF your 350 motor is built, do consider changing your rear end.

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Ok i should have told you i am going with a 8.8 rear end out of a explorer my buddy has it in his s-10 behind a ls-1 and has served him just fine its geared 3.73. I would like to know what everyone has run at the strip with the set up they have if all possible i want best of both worlds street and strip since this is not my daily driver i can afford to play around with it a bit. Thanks for all the help guys it is much appreciated.

A little shortcut you can do is to tear down your turbo 350 and use turbo 400 parts to rebuild it. The clutch packs, etc. will work fine and it will give you a much better tranny IMHO.

I did it a long time ago out of desperation/lack of $$ because my 350 went out and a friend of mine had a spare complete rebuild kit and a spare shift kit for a 400 and a old junk 400 that had a cracked case lying around.

We put all of the 400 stuff into the 350 and it was the best tranny I ever had and there was never a problem with any overheating.

Just my $.02 worth....

The 3.73's will work good . I would run a 26" tire or slick at the race track . I personnally like the 3 speed , mainly due to the second gear scratch on the street . Nothing like shifting to 2nd next to some one and seeing the expresion on there face when it barks the tires . My set up is 355 , th350 , 9" ford 4.11 , 10.98 1/4

OK couple of more questions do u keep the original mounts on the frame not the mounts that are bolted on the frame but the ones welded to the frame. Also I have decided to go with the 350 or 400 if I can find one and a 350T transmission, 8.8 rearend with caltec stabilizers and 3.73 gears. Also it seems like I am the only one around here on the east coast does anyone else have a luv with the V8 swap here in NC or are all the good LUVs on the west coast. I know there is the big prob with rust on the east coast but mine is in great shape being stored for the last 25 years in a garage. Just wondering thanks for all the help you guys.

Got a TH400 in mine. Used to run a 700R4 also.

The main concern with the different transmissions is the tail shaft mounting location. The TH400 mount is right on top of the crossmember. The 700R4 was about 9 inches farther forward. I think the TH350 is somewhere between the two.

If you go with the Hooker mounts, they replace the stock mounts on the frame and require cutting/welding.

If your good at fabrication you can make your own mounts.

So the 350 and 400 transmissions will fit on the crossmember with nothing but the new transmission mount. Also the engine mounts can i reuse the original mounts or do i have to get the hooker mounts i doubt i will be fabricating my own mounts unless someone on here can do it and i will pay them for it. Thanks for all this knowledge guys.

A few places used to sell mounts that would work with the stock pads, but they had limitations because they take up lots of space. I don't know if you can get them any more. I think Autofab had a set at one time.

The trans mount is a bolt on replacement if you can find or make the bracket.

There is some "massaging" that you will have to do to the trans tunnel for bell housing clearance on any trans.

For the weld on brackets and/or trans mounts, Hooker used to have everything. I don't know if they still do. The guys over at v8luv.com are working on selling the brackets too.

These are for sale at any time.

Transmission bracketry available for 5 GM automatic transmissions.

Thanx!

thread modified ...

Can you give me a price and where u are loacted?

I don't see how you can keep the TH400 from hitting. The mount is on top of the crossmember.

No response huh?

You can drop the front of the motor and drag the headers and oil pan on everything I suppose.

Or move it forward a couple inches and make the front to rear weight ratio worse while eliminating what little space there is up front for a radiator and fan.

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I guess your right , i never thought about the 400 mount being on top of the crossmember .

???

Snake Oil Salesman...cute

I am curious...
are you running a HOOKER bracket, or are you making you own piece?

The T-400 clears with these brackets.

Is there something you care to pointe out in some images where you are having some difficulties?

My point is, by moving the trans forward or the engine down, so that the bell housing doesn't hit, you create other problems. Now, if it's more important to you to not have to dent the trans tunnel than to run a high capacity oil pan, or be able to install an electric fan that doesn't require hogging out half of your front grill, then be my guest.

The point of these conversions is that anyone can do it their own way. Guess what, they all work. But there are trade-offs.

To some, setting the motor as far back as possible may be their goal, and denting a trans tunnel is no biggie if that's all that stands in their way.

You can put your engine in however you like. Just don't come around here acting like you figured out the magic bracket and we all did it wrong.

Show you pictures of where I'm having difficulties? Are you kidding me?

The only difficulty I have is keeping it in my lane when I shift into 3rd.