70-442-W30

So I'm considering just taking this Hurst O-H transmission out and putting it in the corner of the garage until I find someone experienced enough to rebuild it. I am looking into a replacement that is ready to go and knock at least one piece of the puzzle on this car off the list.

What brands should I be looking into? Budget around $1500. TCI and B&M are on ebay like crazy. Any thoughts on those? Others out there that I don't know about? What about converters?

wr1970

I just had one done for $500. I am going to drive on the street with this one and race it.

70-442-W30

No you're not. You're gonna give that one to me!

droldsmorland

TCI, Coan, Hughes, B&M to name a few. With the TCI through Jegs it will come with custom mods and will have been put on a dyno before you get it. Warranty to boot. Off the shelf. I've had one in my 68 for 16 years. 2700 stall, semi-manual valve body, HD guts n seals etc...bullet proof so far.

wr1970

Fastnal!! Man i can tell you not all transmissions are equal. I have used chance on three cars and would again. But the best deal i got was Future transmission carry out. I told them i was going to use it for racing all they said was okay. Gave them my core and it was reasonable priced.

70-442-W30

If either of those companies were close to me, I'd go check them out.

wr1970

That is why i said Fastnal! Chance transmission has been in racing for years! I have one in my 1970 442 and one in my 1938 dodge streetrod. I sold one with a 1972 nova. The 1967 race car has a Future transmission.The 1970 442 has been raced since 2001 with the chance transmission. It will continue with a 468 bbo out of my 67 race car that has gone 11.20 at 120mph.The 1970 will be seeing street duty as well. The 1967 has a different combo now. DO NOT ORDER A BTE transmission from anywhere they are junk. Others like Coan are a okay my brother has had good luck with that brand. Good luck with what ever you choose.

70-442-W30

Thanks for the good luck. I will heed your advice on the BTW transmission. Sounds like you've done enough racing to know what to avoid.

Any word on who I could trust with this H/O transmission to do the rebuild? Or am I taking a chance sending something like this out and should seek someone locally?

Talked to my wife's grandpap tonight and he says it needs the bands just need tightened, but I'm thinking due to age this would need a total rebuild. Thoughts?

wr1970

A refresh would be my suggestion! If that is a ow i doubt i would send it out if it is numbers matching. I would get someone i could trust to rebuild or buy a different one. JMHO

70-442-W30

It is an OH, not an OW. Matches his old 69 Hurst Olds. But I can't find the current owner... Not sure if you ever saw these pics so I'm reposting here:

wr1970

Cool pictures no i never seen them before.OH trans wow okay still advise to same as a ow.

droldsmorland

FYI the bands are not adjustable on a TH400. At least not in the sense like a Chrysler 46re or a 727 is, which actually has jamb nuts on the exterior of the trans to allow service interval adjustment. You need to disassemble a 400 to do this. The rear band is adjusted by changing the length of the servo pin and the front band is adjusted by selecting the thickness of a washer under the servo pin. There are several good books out there explaining how to set up a killer TH400 that will take track abuse with dual feeding and a trans brake etc...Invest in high quality hard parts and soft parts. Always disassemble an unknown trans and inspect. Nothing worse than having one explode off the line by taking a chance.
You can rebuild your own killer 400 with a little homework, time and of course $

70-442-W30

I think I'm just taking this one out and letting someone who has experience rebuild it. While I'm all for learning, if I were to do a transmission like this the wrong way it would be a disgrace to the Oldsmobile history, as there aren't many of these OH transmissions around. So I'm sticking to: 1.) Uninstall 2.) Find a nice corner of the garage for this until I can find someone trustworthy and experienced to rebuild it properly. 3.) Install shiny rebuilt TH400. 4.) Hope that engine works out well.

wr1970

Good advice right here^^. If your engine lower than 500 hp i doubt a regular turbo 400 is a issue.A heavy duty sprag and shift kit would be in order. I have run 12.50's with a regular run of the mill turbo 400 in my 1970 442 for years and is still being used. It was a fresh transmission from Chance transmission. Also a fresh converter from Neil Chance. Two different businesses.JMO

wr1970

On a side note if you go with a trans brake you best have damn good parts in that tranny!!Do not skimp!

70-442-W30

This car is going to be cruising to the local burger joint and around the neighborhood to make other 40 something year olds jealous. That's about it. So I'm good with the normal TH400. Unless I get the racing bug someday.

BlackGold

This is important to remember when it comes time to rebuild your OH transmission. Most shops will as a matter of course paint your transmission. Probably black. If you value originality, you must emphasize over and over to the shop that you do not want it painted, stripped, wire brushed, or anything else. Tell them you won't pay them if they do anything like that. These yahoos think they're doing you a favor by painting things when they rebuild them. That's happened to me with my OW TH400, my open-face alternator, and my driveshaft.

TripDeuces

Still have my Switch/Pitch TH400 with a full manual valve body from Kenne-Bell that I got in 1986. Even after much track and street time it still shifts like the day I bought it, brutal. Best transmission I've owned.
Take care of it and it will take care of you.

coppercutlass

I would tell you to rebuild it. The kit from b&m or any other mfg like tci or Hughes will work. It's not very hard to rebuild them it takes a few special tools and some patience. I decided to rebuild my th350 and it's harder to build than the th400's as there is more parts. Or so I'm told . I spent under 400 thats uncluding buying a few special and needed tools. Took me a while but it turned out great. Put alot of miles on it last year and plenty of hard abuse down the track.

70-442-W30

Holy carp, I feel for you there. That's something I would lose a lot of sleep over after it was done. There is just no going back. Well there is...but you always know what happened.

Thanks for pointing that out. It will be something I will definitely look out for.