Building the sub-assemblies for my first DIY TH400 trans: just completed the Sonnax Smart-Tech Drum module, (lots of photos).

[Nashville Cat]

Beth, I'm not yet done with this TH400 build. Those photos are just the beginning stages. I still have to assemble the rear gear train, modify the pump, ( although a minor modification) and install everything into the new case which also includes the intermediate clutches, and the center support. So I'm not done with this project just yet. These are really baby steps cuz I'm still a novice at this trans building thang. Anyway, as you likely already know, it's often said that a 4L80 is like a TH400 with an O\D gear added. I'm not sure, but I think the 4L80 case is slightly bigger than that of the TH400, ( which BTW might very well be due to the O\D gear). I already have a TH400 in the car now, ( which is only rated for about 125 HP less than what I expect the engine to make) and it was such a tight fit for me to install that TH400 into the car, that I had to literally take a 20 lb sledge hammer to "massage" the floor tunnel to get the trans to fit while the car was on my brother's lift, ( another reason why I went with a Reid SFI approved case, since I won't need a trans shield, and there's no way I can fit a trans shield in the car).

So my guess is that I'd have to cut the entire floor tunnel out of the car, and get a buddy of mine who does body work, to fab up a whole new, bigger floor tunnel for me in order to fit a 4L80 housing case. That's something I'm not willing to do merely to have an O\D gear. Another thing is that I've had two transmissions in the past in other cars with less power, ( 475HP and 530 HP) with overdrive gears, and I blew the O\D gears in both those transmissions from merely street driving, (the last one I blew the O\D in on the highway late at night at 140 mph). So I'm not a huge fan of O\D gears. I guess I'm just too rough on my cars and on transmissions to have one.

I have an early 4L80e in my 68 Camaro and it's a tight fit. The cooling lines are more forward on the early cases and have more clearance.
Good luck with this build !

 

[BillyGman]

I have an early 4L80e in my 68 Camaro and it's a tight fit. The cooling lines are more forward on the early cases and have more clearance.
Good luck with this build !

I didn't know you have a first gen Camaro. I luv those cars. I never had one but a good friend of mine did when we were teens, and I was privileged to many spirited joy rides in it, and with the 4.88 rear gears he had in it, and the 1965 425 HP 396 Vette engine he had in it, that car really moved out!! I especially luv the sweep and contour of the dash boards being kinda like an aircraft cockpit, (very similar to that of the C3 Vettes). I don't understand why the TH400 case fits so tightly in my 70 Chevelle since those cars came with them as an option. The factory frame of the car is in fantastic condition and always has been. One guy I spoke to suggested that it might be due to it originally being a factory stick car and that the floor tunnels with the 4 speed Chevelles was slightly smaller. IDK if that's true, although that would explain it.

 

[Shovelrick]

I didn't know you have a first gen Camaro. I luv those cars. I never had one but a good friend of mine did when we were teens, and I was privileged to many spirited joy rides in it, and with the 4.88 rear gears he had in it, and the 1965 425 HP 396 Vette engine he had in it, that car really moved out!! I especially luv the sweep and contour of the dash boards being kinda like an aircraft cockpit, (very similar to that of the C3 Vettes). I don't understand why the TH400 case fits so tightly in my 70 Chevelle since those cars came with them as an option. The factory frame of the car is in fantastic condition and always has been. One guy I spoke to suggested that it might be due to it originally being a factory stick car and that the floor tunnels with the 4 speed Chevelles was slightly smaller. IDK if that's true, although that would explain it.

Body bushings squished?

 

[BillyGman]

Body bushings squished?

Nope. I had the body removed, the frame sand blasted and painted, and all new factory replacement rubber body bushings installed by the body shop. And BTW, the frame was in fantastic shape. I thought there would be a good chance that after they completed the sand blasting, it would reveal empty areas void of metal that had been rusted out. But to my amazement, the whole thing was solid metal. No rot holes. IDK where this car originally came from, but the frame was well preserved.