If the car is light a good 8 3/4 can live with a trans break.. I still run a alum center 8 3/4 in my car.. running 1.19
sixty.. thats leaving at 5900 rpm every pass 8.94 was my best pass... BUT 99% of the time I wouldnt ... I have
a 9" in all my other cars

I've twisted the half shafts behind a 318 and N2O, upgraded and went to 3.91 with a mild 440 and then broke the pinion. Car always has been heavy though.

TH 400
1: More efficient ?, everyone I know who has done the 727 - TH400 swap has improved ET with no other changes
2: More aftermarket support.
3: SFI casing available. (Stronger, will live with higher HP / torque)
4: Better converter design / availability (bigger bell housing space)
5: Cheaper for high HP. (Might be a moot point because I don't know if anyone one will make a 1500ft/lb capable 727)

Plan (long term) is to fit a dual fogger and have the big motor hopefully develop around 1100 N/A. Even though the N2O will have a controller I wont risk it until I got a well built 9" type rear and good aftermarket TH 400 derived box in there.

Except you havent raced it in 20 years Mr P, and seldom when you did.
That car is ULTRA light. A typical bracket car making any power at all has zero business using a brake with an 8.75

Do what ever floats your boat Don.. yeah I quit racing a few years ago due to health but
the rear held up fine

Love ya man( and you know that) but you keep saying every so often you race that car and people can get the wrong info to make decisions about.
It weighs what, 2400 pounds, maybe.? And am I lying, you haven’t raced it in 15-20 years. That car isn’t typical
I know about your health, not blaming you.

As soon as I put a 10 sec capable 440 in my cuda, it twisted two stock driveshafts. Once I got a good driveshaft, it broke the ring and pinion in the 8.75 rear.
I didn't bother fixing it, just put in a Dana.
This was footbraking at 3700 lbs w/ a mid 10 sec combo.

since i started this post, [and pretty much knew the answer going in] a dana was basically the answer i expected. i would not want to put in a 9" for several [of my own personal] reasons, although it would be a very viable alternative.
the car now has 3.91's in it with a 29x12.50 tire, and goes down the road nicely at 3000-3200rpm.
with that said, and moving to a dana, what gear should i look at to use ? 3.73, 4.10, 4.30 ?
maybe just sell the transbrake 727 and go 4.56 with an A518 ?
it's always mission creep, ain't it ?

My son had 4 years on his last set of 4:10 gears in his 8 3/4 set up by Tim at Bowman Performance. He ran as fast as 10.11 with my 408 and 6.54 with his stock crank 360. (3200 pounds) He footbrake raced his car most of the time but did occasionally use the transbrake. Matt rearend had a spool but was nonbraced or any other upgrades besides spool and axels. That same pumpkin is now in a big block duster running 9.70’s for the last three years. Matt recently had a fab 9 inch made for his duster but it isn’t installed yet.

You won't find any new pro gears for 4:10 (series 1 carrier) and lower ratios for a Dana. We're still carrying the fronts past the 60ft with 3.73 ratio but they are the hard, brittle street gears. I'll be checking them every season for cracks. The cross over ratio for the carrier is 4:10 make sure you have the correct one.
The 4:10 street gears and down, use a thick ring and they wont work with a series 2 carrier.
You can use a series 1 carrier and a spacer for the pro gears.
( I think I got that right now )

When I was putting the 499 in my Cuda, I asked Dave from ProTrans about a transbrake, told him 700 horse, 3800lbs, he said Dana?, I said 8.75, he cringed and said no way, lol. I have hurt a couple sets of gears over the years footbraking and alot of street driving with the 8.75, built a Dana 2 years ago, so far so good, I don't have a transbrake still though.

my goal for this car is to run only mid 11's at best.
i have this trans here, and the only thing i know for sure is it has an A&A brake valvebody in it.
i haven't torn it down to see if anything else is done internally, or what other parts it may have inside.

Keep your current trans, wire up the brake in case you have to use it for reverse, and just footbrake it so hopefully the 8.75 will live for a while.
Most "pro" transbrakes require engaging the transbrake for reverse to work. The Turbo Action 727 pro brake does not. I can't comment on any others.
In GM transmissions, the pro brake also has to be engaged for reverse to work. Standard transbrakes don't.

You will need to use the transbrake to back up with the A&A valve body. I use a toggle switch I use to back up so I don't have to hold a button in and try to maneuver backing up. I would suggest doing that no matter what rear end you use just because it makes it easier to back up.

you guys made me remember about having to have the brake on for reverse.
i forgot all about that !
thank you !

FWIW, transbrakes usually require higher line pressures so there is a slight performance loss when footbraking compared to a conventional valve body.

A&A valve bodies, both trans brake and non trans brake are between 145-155psi.

If you are lucky it's BANG CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK. If not then it's "Clean up in aisle one"

At least when they do go….. they can in fine fashion.

kind of like a "hold my beer and watch this" moment........

Spend all that money on an aluminum case and still have to replace it with a 9" or Dana.