Best transmission rebuild kit B&M or TCI?

by patriot_5420 Sat May 21, 2016 10:52 am

Hey guys, we about have the TH350 out of the old 73 Elkie and after pricing all the options, if all of the hard parts are good, best route is just going to be rebuilding it ourselves at the shop. I've never rebuilt a tranny but from all the info i've gathered its a pretty easy job for a decent pair of DIY mechanics. So i'm loading up a cart on jegs with the guts i know i need and i ran across two major rebuild kits:

B&M 30229 - B&M Transkit Automatic Transmission Rebuild Kits
http://www.jegs.com/i/B%26amp%3BM/130/30229/10002/-1

and this:

TCI 328800 - TCI Pro Super Rebuild Kits
http://www.jegs.com/i/TCI/890/328800/10002/-1

The build plan for the car is very mildly modified street cruiser, no drag, no hot rodding, autocross at the most, maybe some light towing (kayaks, bikes, gun range gear, no cars or big trailers). Wanting to firm up the shifts, make it a bit more peppy and make sure its rock solid.

So for any of you guys that have rebuilt the TH350, which kit do you recommend and why?

Bonus round:
I have in my cart the rebuild kits (will delete which one i dont need), a torque converter, flex band, heavy duty sprague race, new trans mount and a few dress-up parts like AN braided lines to convert from the garbage hard lines. What other parts would you guys recommend to pick up for the rebuild, things that you would definitely recommend replacing during the rebuild and/or most common hard parts for our trannys that end up needing replaced during a rebuild.

Thanks guys.

by g3chevy / Mr Pontiac Sat May 21, 2016 11:09 pm

Both kits are good from the research I've done. I haven't used either in a rebuild, but I do have experience with the B&M shift kits which worked great on my El Camino. Most of these kits don't come with all the bushings or thrust washers needed to do a proper rebuild. Unless you have the correct size bushing driver set you'll need to take your pump assembly, tail shaft, etc. to a transmission shop to have them pressed in. Shouldn't cost a whole lot. Here's a couple links to the extra parts you might need.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290564198686?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141741109794?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

by patriot_5420 Sat May 21, 2016 11:48 pm

Thanks I forgot to mention I had a bearing kit in the cart but I didn't think about the thrust washers.

by 77cruiser Sun May 22, 2016 7:34 am

This one looks pretty complete.

http://www.bulkpart.com/2/product/44006A-BOX-1.html

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Best transmission rebuild kit B&M or TCI?

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