SBC CHEVY 427 DART SHORT BLOCK FORGED +10cc DOME 4.125 PISTONS MANLEY CRANK & RODS

The picture below is a file photo of our Wiseco pistons.

Some of these upgrades are often requested by those building an engine without a machine shop. We find most of these upgrades very valuable for those wanting to take longevity and durability to the next level. They are all bottom end related, and that's an area worth investing a few more dollars into, in our opinion, especially if you're planning on running long and/or hard. These upgrades are also valuable for your build history on your engine, and would certainly increase the resale value of your engine, should you ever sell it. Pricing of upgrades subject to change.

Transmission Recommendations by Skip White

Your selection of what type transmission you're going to use with your new engine is very important. I'm going to give you the real lowdown on what transmissions I recommend, as well as the ones I would stay away from. For those building a mild, (detuned) street rod, (small cam choice, dual plane intake) these recommendations are not as critical. We offer an excellent line of automatic performance rated transmissions built by TCI. The quality and cost are excellent.

700R4: Worst possible transmission choice when used with moderate to high horse power engines.

Pros .

• Driving at 50 and above in overdrive certainly has its advantages such as increased fuel mileage, reduced wear and tear on the engine, less engine noise, reduced emissions/pollution.
• Fuel injection/EFI does make this transmission operate much better providing the cam choice, intake manifold and final gearing are setup correctly.
• To setup an engine to operate properly with this transmission requires a detuning of the engine and top end horse power is greatly reduced.

Cons

• Very wide first to second gear spread. First gear is a 3.06 ratio Second is a 1.62 ratio. This nearly equates to skipping from first to third gear with a manual trans. This kills acceleration when these trans go into second gear on a carbureted engine with a healthy cam and large runner intake manifold. Compare this to a TH350. First gear at 2.52 ratio and second gear is 1.52, do the math.
• The 3.06 first gear is so low that any final gear of above 3.55 or numerically higher will have you right at the  max rpm at around 35 mph, only to then have your car fall on its face when it hits second gear, feeling like it skipped a gear. Wheel spin is uncontrollable upon hard launches, unless you have a very tall final gear, and then you can for sure count on going nowhere quickly when second gear comes in. Overdrive would be totally useless at highway speed regardless of detuning with a tall final gear, unless you were cruising at around 100 mph.
• Huge cost to build up to a decent street rod level. Don't even consider a stock rebuild to handle 500 hp or more. Under hard use, the 700R4 will fail quickly.
• Limited as to what level these can be built up to. High performance transmission builders and parts suppliers don't even recognize this as a serious transmission.
• More complex to build than a TH350 and far more expensive, especially when built up to handle high hp numbers.
• Having to run a cumbersome throttle value cable to the carb. linkage. This feature actually serves a good purpose, but if not set properly, it can destroy your transmission quickly. Very critical adjustment, and often overlooked. Our TCI built 700R4 transmissions do not require the throttle value cable should you decide to run this type trans.
• The overdrive is actually useless with engines running decent size cams relative to the cubic inch, especially with large runner dual plane intakes, and single plane intakes are out of the question with this trans. The exception to this rule would be those running a Holley Sniper EFI system, and a low profile single plane intake.
• Stall converters are double the cost of the one run in a TH350.
• This is  not a very reliable transmission in a street rod.
• Lowers the value of your vehicle to some degree, especially on high hp builds. These transmissions do not belong in most carbureted street rods. You must detune an engine considerably to operate the overdrive and be able to tolerate the first to second gear drop.
• Could be classified as the worst mismatch of parts known on a true street rod.
• As a side note, I would like to mention that most of us have owned a regular stock street car with a 700R4 trans, or its electronic likeness, a 4L60E, and didn't find much of an issue with the way they operated, especially if the vehicle was fuel injected. This is because stock car engines are designed to operate totally different in the very low rpm range. They have huge amounts of off idle torque compared to the average carbureted street rod that makes 400 hp or more. This off idle instant torque allows the vehicle to keep its speed up decently when the 700R4 drops into second gear, and the same low rpm also allows the overdrive gear to operate normally at very low rpm. There are other factors that also allow these trans. to operate at low rpm, especially on fuel injected computer driven engines.

TH350: Best transmission choice, hands down.

Pros

• Excellent gear spread between all three gears.
• Very low cost to build up to various levels of power handling.
• Can be built up to extreme power handling capabilities.
• Most all transmission shops are capable of building these to at least level 1 or 2.
• No TV cable to deal with.
• Stall converters are low in cost, and the selection is broad.
• Very reliable and simple to repair if needed.

Cons

• None, simply none! Select a final gear that will allow you the best overall performance and one that allows a decent off the line acceleration, and one that will be in a tolerable rpm range at highway speed. You must have the correct stall converter for optimal performance. This can make a huge difference in the way your vehicle accelerates.
• These are becoming scarce, but there are still plenty of them around, and high performance parts are easily obtained.
• You may have to go through this long story to your less than knowledgeable friends as to why you didn't choose a 700R4, and when you explain it to them, they may still think you don't know what you' re talking about.

TH400, Excellent choice for high powered engines in heavy cars or trucks.

Pros

• Excellent gear spread. Very similar to a TH350.
• Very strong internal parts.
• Reliable.
• Simple and inexpensive to rebuild or repair.
• Best suited when running high powered big block engines in medium to heavy vehicles.

Cons

• Somewhat expensive to build up to higher power handling levels, as compared to a TH350. The TH350 has far more high performance parts available at reasonable costs. The 400 trans is not best suited for racing.
• Internal rotating parts (cast iron drum) are very heavy and create a drag compared to most any other trans. The TH400 is well known to be a heavier duty trans. than a TH350 but this heavy duty factor was designed more for heavy vehicles coupled with high powered engines that may encounter pulling heavy loads or vehicles with tall gearing. Only the largest of the GM cars weighing around 5000 lbs had these trans. in them, along with heavy duty pickups, usually 3/4 ton or larger trucks. Even the half ton Chevy trucks didn't come with these in them.
• They will certainly hold up better than a stock built TH350, but they are not a desirable trans. light weight street rod with a small block engine in it. You can build a TH350 to level two or three that would be superior to any stock TH400 in every way for about the same cost. We offer the TH400 trans built to level 3 and this trans. is best suited in high powered big block engines, in cars that are medium to heavy weight.
• You will seldom see this trans in a true light weight Pro-Street car.

Powerglide.

Pros

• Excellent transmission to build up to just about any power handling level.
• Most trans. shops are able to build this trans with ease.
• Very reliable, and simple to work on. Not much to go wrong.
• Decent first to second gear spread.
• Rotational drag is very low with this trans., more so than any automatic on the market. Very efficient trans.
• Stall converters are not expensive and many choices available.
• Often used in 1/8 mile drag racing.

Cons

• Two gears, that's the problem. This trans. can only be run in cars that have a very high hp to weight ratio. It would be fair to say a vehicle weighing approx. 3400 lbs would require an engine output of 1000 hp or more to make it a rational choice, and even then, you would still need a decent final gear to get things moving off the line. The first gear in these is somewhat tall. Those running a T-Bucket roadster weighing around 1800 lbs. with a 500 hp or higher engine could make great use of a Powerglide trans.
• Having only two gears limits having the best of both worlds when it comes to off the line acceleration and cruising at highway speed. The final gear choice limits the general use of your car greatly.
• This trans. will not allow a car to be setup for the best of both worlds, such as street cruising, racing, or highway driving, unless the car is extremely light, and the engine has very high HP numbers.

GM METRIC 200

Pros

• Has a better gear spread than the 700R4 but not as optimal as the TH350.
• Not much good to say about this trans. It certainly has a place in some special late model applications, but old school Chevy engines is not one of them.

Cons

• This transmission can cost up to three times more to build up to a decent power handling level compared to a built up TH350.
• Cannot hold up to high torque engine builds unless an enormous amount of money, (Art Carr) is spent on this trans.
• Most all the cons you see for the 700R4 exist within this trans.
• This trans is not a reliable trans. compared to any of the early GM trans unless a great amount of money is spent building it.

4L60E Electronically controlled trans.

Pros

• No TV cable to deal with or shifting linkage. It has pump pressure control and shifting via electronics.
• Not much good to say about this expensive trans. It is virtually a 700R4 with a modern twist. The same "pros" mentioned with the 700R4 would apply to this trans. also. The 4L80E trans. is a better choice due to the fact it has a proper gear spread, and is a much heavier duty trans vs the 4L60E.

Cons

• Most of the same issues as the 700R4. Terrible choice to run in an old school carbureted engine.
• Very expensive to build up to a high power handling level. Can cost up to $4,000 to build this trans up to a decent level. Computer controlled engines may require this unless you bypass the car's computer system.
• Complex. Very complex!
• Pointless to run such a terrible transmission.
• If you insist on such a trans, the 4L80E is a better choice, as it has a normal gear spread, and is a much stronger trans. Still pointless to use with an old school carbureted engine in my opinion.

Four and five speed Manual Trans.

Pros

• Excellent acceleration at any speed due to many selective gear ratios. Finding a gear at any cruising speed to hit it hard is easily accomplished with a manual compared to an automatic.
• More efficient delivery of horse power to the rear wheels with a manual trans. versus an automatic. In other words, less loss of power due to slippage as encountered with an automatic trans.
• For some people, the fun factor of shifting gears is one of the high points of owning a street rod.
• Very reliable, long lasting. Low maintenance. Simple to change out a clutch if needed.

Cons

• Can be very expensive to purchase a high quality modern manual trans. and high performance clutch and flywheel, especially the Tremec Series.
• Can be somewhat complex to change over from an auto to a manual trans.
• If you think your car is going to run faster with a manual versus an auto, you will be greatly disappointed. The automatic transmission can not only shift much faster, but off line acceleration can be controlled to a much greater degree. This is why most drag cars have automatic transmissions. All things equal, a car equipped with an auto trans will outrun one equipped with a regular street rod manual with great ease.
• Missing gears when racing can cause damage to your engine, and loss of control of your vehicle should you drop into the previous gear during an aggressive run. Been there a couple times, dropped a valve in brand new Lotus Esprit shifting out of second into first rather than third, and locked up the back wheels on a Dodge Viper shifting into second rather than fourth at high speed. Nearly lost control of the car at around 80 mph.
• If you're deciding to run a 5 or 6 speed manual trans because of the overdrive gear, be aware that most engines built with large lopey cams, and single plane intakes running a carb will usually not allow effective use of the overdrive gear.
• Tremec T56 transmissions are very popular and highly advanced. They are expensive. They tend to be very notchy to shift when new. Takes many miles before they become easy to shift. They can be difficult to install in some early model classic cars, as they are huge compared to early model transmissions. They can cost a great deal of money to rebuild if needed. Still about the best manual trans out there, and can handle very high hp levels. The 6th gear in these transmissions is a double overdrive and will never be useful when running any old school street rod engine unless you are running a very deep final gear.
• If your engine is built in the upper horsepower range, then you must run a level two or three clutch kit. These clutches are notchy and lack a smooth engagement like a stock clutch. This is very noticeable, and you will adjust to this after a while. A stock clutch can not be used on any engine in the 500+ hp range.
• Sadly, your wife may not be able to drive your car with a manual trans. This could be a plus in some cases.