Originally posted by TurboDiverArt
I'd think the rebuild costs between a 350 and 400 are probably “about” the same. I don't know if a 350 is any lighter than a 400, maybe 10-20 pounds. 350 probably has less HP loss but is not nearly as strong as a 400. The 400 stock is pretty strong as far as hard parts. Rebuild a stock 400 with good clutches and bands and it'll get you pretty far, sprag is probably the weakest part of a stock 400. I believe there are people rebuilding 350's pretty strong but I don't know the cost difference. There certainly is more availability of HP parts for the 400. Also, the BOP 400 is a dime a dozen. I think the going price for a BOP 400 is about $100 if you don't have a core. I'd think it would be more for a 200R, especially with the GN valve body, don't know the core on a 350 but probably about the same as a 400, cheap.
$500-$1000 difference for a 400 vs. 200R rebuild sounds about right. Posting in the Transmission section would probably get the tranny guys to chime in. Also remember, it's not unusual for a built 400 with trans brake to last for 4, even 5 years in a 9 second car, don't think you're going to get nearly that out of a 200R. Like most say, you'll probably be rebuilding it every year. 400 is also a pretty simple transmission to rebuild. I had done many of them in my youth! If you know it's got the hard parts, replacing clutches, steels, band and sprag on rebuild is cheap and easy. Usually takes much longer to clean everything than it does to tear it down (maybe an hour) and another few hours to rebuild it. Probably take you all day to clean everything if you're particular like me!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. A 9-second stage motor is not meant to really be driven on the street. Lots of stress on the valve train and rockers. Here’s where you are probably doing the most damage. If you go with a really mild hydrolic cam in a stage car then you are better off. You’ll definitely be refreshing your stage motor more often if you drive it on the street. You need to factor this in when deciding on a 200R. If you are not really going to do a lot of driving on the street because of the added cost to refreshen the stage motor more frequently then you should just go with the 400. Does TSM allow 400’s? Bobby was just shaking his head when I had my motor freshened, he said he can already see the damage being done driving it 50 miles round trip to the track every weekend. I’m thinking about looking for garage space closer to the track to cut down on the street driving miles.
