"My biggest concern is "IF" I decide to run it on drag radials. Will it take the launch? If not, I'll stay off the track and move on to building a car for racing like I really should anyway."
It will be fine, right up to the moment it goes BOOM! We've been around these units for a long time, they are tough little transmissions, but just that, "little". Sooner or later they give up, just too many "sore" spots for long term reliability behind high torque engines.
We've built them here, with all the "goodies", and most live a pretty decent life. Strong running GN's still kill them. Most last a season or two, but they still give up someplace. The converters are as weak as the transmissions, I'd up for the multiple disk units if you plan on locking it up on a hard run.
Someone mentioned pumps, 6 or 10 vane. The pump rings were "soft" with early units, same as the sun shells and stator shafts. Early direct drums are hopeless, and there were a lot of poor welds as well. No advantage moving up to a 10 vane pump, they don't pump any more fluid, just "smooths" out the pulsations some, hardened pump rings are manditory for any build level.
If you are just going to use one of these units in a street car, that see's occassional dragstrip use, they are fine. For SERIOUS applications that go to the track frequently, you are looking at the wrong transmissions. I could build 3 or 4 TH400's for the cost of a decent torque converter for a 200-4R, FWIW.....Cliff
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https://cliffshighperformance.com/
73 Ventura, SOLD 455, 3740lbs, 11.30's at 120mph, 1977 Pontiac Q-jet, HO intake, HEI, 10" converter, 3.42 gears, DOT's, 7.20's at 96mph and still WAY under the roll bar rule. Best ET to date 7.18 at 97MPH (1/8th mile),
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