ohhhhh im drooling over that 455 long block for a little over 4k..... will my stock tranny and rear end hold up..
The short answer is NO.
A TH350 needs a 36 element int sprag/drum/race assembly, and a good build by somebody familiar with HP TH350 builds. If there is not a good tranny guy in your area, you can buy a good TH350 online. But they ain't cheap.
Most guys just switch over to a TH400 with a 34 elemnet int sprag. It takes a different crossmember and a larger slip yoke.
An 8.2 rear end will work OK, until you put sticky tires on it. We broke one on the track, and oiled down a good portion of it. They really frowned on that. We switched to 12 bolts and never had any more rear end problems.
An 8.5 rear will work also. They are almost as strong as a 12 bolt. My '74 Vent has one. It runs 7.30's in the 1/8 mile. An 8.5 out of a GM X-body will bolt right in to a 1st gen. If you use one from a 2nd gen, the spring perches must be moved in some. And the driveshaft will need to be shortened slightly when switching to an 8.5.
For racing, you can upgrade to 30 spline axles and carrier. The 8.5 can take quite a bit of abuse.
Hey, you can put the 455 in it, and just baby it 'til you can upgrade the trans and rear. Most guys are always upgrading something. It's just part of the fun--make 'em a little quicker and a little more heavy duty, as you can. By the way, if you decide to go with the 455, be sure to go with forged rods. Stock rods have been known to fail, well below 6000rpm in a 455.
With an Eagle crank and rods, it's only $4500 + shipping. I know a guy who just bought a motor from Len, if you'd like to talk to him about it.
