727 rebuild cost and recommendations

[funknut]

I took my 727 in to a reputable shop for a teardown and peek inside. As suspected, it's a bit worn out. I got a quote of $850 out the door for a rebuild, but don't yet have a detailed parts list, but I'm assuming that's all the clutches and bands. I'd like to do this once, so I'm looking for advice on what kind of rebuild I need, what upgrades make sense, etc.

It currently has a manual valve body, which I like and will keep. The motor is around 500-550 HP, car is 4000 lbs. The plan is to eventually replace it with a manual trans, but that's prob several years off. The car will probably see 2000-3000 miles/year, may see the track a couple times per season.

Is this a reasonable price?

I've never had a trans rebuilt before, so I'm looking for some guidance on what to ask for to make sure that it will hold up for a few years with some spirited driving.

 

[turbine68rt]

For $850 I'm guessing it will be a completely stock rebuild. Some upgrades you may want to consider are, red eagle clutches, kolene steels, solid kickdown band lined in red, low reverse band lined with kevlar, 5.0 kickdown apply arm, TF2 kit, 4 pinion planetaries (although 3 pinions should be fine). Not everything is necessary, but are good upgrades to a stock build. The 727's are really not that difficult to build and the money you can save doing it yourself would allow for some nice upgrades.

 

[turbine68rt]

Your inbox is full

 

[R413]

I’d be interested in How you picked the transmission shop? References? Reputation?

Did you ask the trans shop what they recommend for your car?

-5.0 kickdown lever is NOT what you want in there.
-I like the TF-2, but he already has a manual valve body.
-4 pinion planets are not necessary.
-I like a solid kickdown band over a floppy.
-standard Borg Warner frictions are fine with your intended use. All those cool names on the frictions are just ways to spend more money IMO.

 

[turbine68rt]

Again....not everything is necessary.

 

[funknut]

Thanks guys. I cleaned up my inbox.

The transmission shop has a great reputation here locally as being fair in general. They do a lot of late-model work but have carved out a niche working on classics, too. Talking to some other folks with vintage cars, more than a couple mentioned I should talk to them. When I spoke to the owner, who does most of the older-style transmission builds, and told him what I was dealing with, he was knowledgable and mentioned that they have done everything from a stock builds to full race stuff. Genuinely nice guy and I hung up feeling confident he was up to the job. I told him everything I put in the original post and he said he'd put a detailed proposal together and send it over before he started ordering parts.

I feel like it's in good hands, especially given I'm not looking for a whole lot beyond a stock build.