I also think the autobox is good for more power if its built properly. And by this I don't mean a quick £1000 refurb job, I mean, new clutches brake bands valves the lot. I would have thought you would be looking at way I excess of £2000 for just the gearbox on its own. The problem is the autobox has suffered with lack of maintenance by owners and cheap rebuilds meaning they fail often giving rise to poor reliability. Using second hand is almost pointless, they are simply too old now.
I would do a big capacity build (1380 or 1430) and a mild cam(sw5-07 or my ACD - RT)torque pump type engine if you will, this would work well with a (very expensive) rebuilt gearbox. Should last 20 to 30,000miles before you need to rebuild again.
Ac
Edited by ACDodd, 27 December 2017 - 02:53 PM.