im tossed between droppin a 1970 396/402 in my 69 camaro or just a 350. afraid a stock 402 with mild cam will be to much weight for subframe. do i need frame connectors?should i worry about twisting frame or pulling bolts out of subframe? can someone help ease my mind about this 402. should i use turbo 350 or 400 tranny?

go for it. so many cars have big blocks.i would put in subframe connecters any way.helps the body from twisting even with a small block

The factory put almost 600 HP 427s in a few lucky Camaros, so your 402 won't be too much. You may have to switch the front coil springs out for BB springs, though. The extra weight will severely sag SB (or 6 cylinder) springs. You shouldn't have any trouble out of the subframe. Lots of first generation Camaros came out with 396s in them. Go for it.. you won't be disappointed. A TH350 will hold up to a BB running around on the street. I ran a TH350 behind my 427 for years. Plus a BB looks allot better under the hood than a SB.

Go for it man!.....There's nothing better than the torque of a Big Block Chevy!:thumbsup:.....My drivetrain recommendation would be a built and beefed up TH350 with shift kit, a 10", 3000 stall torque converter and a 12 bolt posi with 3.73 gears!.....This combo would s'hit and get for sure!:thumbsup:

we run a 468 in our 68 firechicken with no problems from the frame at all...and it`s a convertible to boot...we prolly should do frame connectors, but the car doesnt get any traction, so its no big deal...more of a drift car than a qtr miler...lmao...

Go for it! We swapped out the mouse which I believe was a 327 in place of a 396 in my first Camaro way back in late 1991/early 1992. Actually it was a 402 since it was .030 over.

As far as your transmission. I would go with a Turbo 400. Back in 1969 a Turbbo 350 was called as such because the torque rating was only up to 350 ft lbs tq. Turbo 400's were called 400's because they could withstand torque over 400 lbs. The 396 cars & 427 cars which were ordered with automatics came with TH 400's and not TH 350's. I blew up a well built TH 350 and a stock T350 before I said F this and went to a built to death T-400. That trans was built to take double the power I was making.

Now ask yourself this question regarding automatic transmissions. The 427 ZL1, the 427 Yenko, the 427 COPO, the 427 Baldwin Motion cars even the SS 396 L78 cars all had TH 400's when an automatic was specified. The 1970 Chevelle with a 454 LS6? Yep, Turbo 400 it was. The 1970 455 Buick GSX with an automatic? A turbo 400. The Calloway Corvette Sledge Hammer Twin Turbo car of late 1980's early 1990's fame? A turbo 400 with gear vendors. Today the US Army Humvee uses a ? turbo 400.

The TH-350 fans, The 200 4R fans, the 700R4 fans can say what they want. Those are all good fine tranny's when built right and will live a long time. But the fact is the Turbo 400 is the best trans of this bunch. Here is a quote from one web site "It is an immensely popular transmission in the automotive industry as well as the aftermarket. They are found in GM's, Jeeps, Jaguars, Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and others." How many other GM transmissions can say that? The facts do not lie. You want me to back up what I said. Ok here you go. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-Hydramatic

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/th400.htm

P.S. I never put in sub-frame connectors in any of my Camaro's but they would be a good idea just in case you get on it once in a while. Hopefully I will have sub frame connectors in the Camaro I currently own. I also agree that you should put big block springs in it.

Have fun and go for that 396/402!! And if you can get a 427 or a 454 even better! :thumbsup: Good Luck!!

I have a TH350 behind a 402 big block in my Chevelle. No problems here, but I did install a Transgo shift kit just for good measure.

im tossed between droppin a 1970 396/402 in my 69 camaro or just a 350. afraid a stock 402 with mild cam will be to much weight for subframe. do i need frame connectors?should i worry about twisting frame or pulling bolts out of subframe? can someone help ease my mind about this 402. should i use turbo 350 or 400 tranny?

What do you want to do with the car? The front end weight of a BBC will not be nice if you're trying to go fast around corners. If you're merely trying to go fast in a straight line, the grunt of the BBC will be fine. In either event, SFC's are a good idea.

If a '69 Camaro wasn't supposed to have a 396 in it, GM wouldn't have put one in from the factory. Come on....heavy up that front end....lighten up the back, and let's go burn some rubber!!!!!!!

30 over 454 with Dart Pro-1 heads, TCI 400 turbo and a 3800 stall converter. Hotchkins springs in front. PUT THAT HOG IN AND FEEL THE TORQUE.:D

If you're going to make headers fit, you'll need big block frame stands to set the engine mounts on. They offset the motor 1" to the right (passenger side). If you use a TH350 you'll need to offset the transmission mount to match. The TH400 crossmember has the offset built in.

Good Luck!