[mikeb]

One thing to watch for - that car probably came with a TH-350. The TH-400 will fit but you'll have to modify the trans crossmember and find a driveshaft that will work (or have one made).

Also, the 350 takes a kickdown cable and the 400 uses an electric kickdown switch near the gas pedal.

I just went through this swap on my 79 bird (TH-350 -> TH-400) and those were the issues I found.

Still, $100 for both is a steal.

And yes the 400 responds well to mods, and you can put in a stroker kit and make a "455" out of it.

It's more of a bolt-in if the block has the dual engine mount pattern (5 bolt holes per side) or the later pattern (3 bolt holes per side). Earlier blocks have 2 bolt holes and you may have to scramble a bit to engineer a workable engine mount for the 78 frame.

On the body look for rust around the rear wheel wells, the rear window, and the floorpan.