Street Rat

Finally I've accumulated enough money to do the 200 4R transmission swap in my '81. I've been shopping around and there are an abundance of companies offering the transmission in various stages and kits.

I have a friend who swears by his Art Carr (California Performance Transmission) 200 4R transmission set up. Of course there are Bow Tie Overdrives, TCI, Monster, etc.

SO what company did you decide on and why?

Big2Bird

My friend that owns a tranny shop built my 700R. He told me he gets BTO trannys in quite often to rebuild their POS units.

One of his employees quit Art Carr because a tranny blew up in the dyno. He didn't care for them either.

My 2 cents of here say.

mrvette

I got lucky some years ago, and located a local transmission supply house who carries all the good stuff, Kevlar clutch converters, Trans Go kits, the works....I got a decent 200 4r many years ago, and took out the 700 that was in my previously stick shift '72 vette.....Florida demands an overdrive, the congested NE regions, not so much.....

and so took the case to a trans shop who sanitized it, and I built it in the back room one nice couple of daze......

It's controlled by a '88-91 vette speed density computer #1227730 and so yes I have DPFI on the car...HEI in back/top the way GOD intended.....and aftermarket chip programming, done by engine/trans/Rear information over the phone, headers/closed loop....runs good,

I cheated a LOT, I put the kickdown cable to the gas pedal inside, the easy way, and set it up pretty good.....much easier than messing with silly brackets/etc on the engine.....obviously need play with pedal lever position of the pull point and the cable end mount was welded on a cross support up higher under the dash.....standard tab with a square hole for the stock cable end to fit in and aim to the gas pedal.....

Haggisbash

My 200 4R was built by a shop in Florida as a "stage 2" build. What I ended up with was a trans that shifted very hard into 2nd and 3rd and also upshifted too early on WOT. I had to retrofit a modified valve body and governor from CK Performance to get the trans to behave the way I expected. Now it upshifts fast/firm and doesn't feel like someone took a smack at the underside of the car with a sledgehammer as it shifts. It upshifts at 4800 RPM WOT (I didn't want it any higher the engine is standard).
I'm in New Zealand so all of this became an expensive mission, the company in Florida would not respond to my e mails when I tried to sort the issue with them. CK Performance were good to deal with.

widowmaker221

I/m buying a 2004r this Spring from Monster due to their warranty. I am upgrading to the billet front drum as my research says this is the weekpoint of this trans.

gkull

You can sink over $2000 into 200R4's and you might end up with a Stage 3 or 4 rated at 450 or 475 hp. None of the major companies like Hughes etc will even mess with them because they are not a performance item.

I blew a couple of 450hp for BBC rated B&M or TCI transmissions from summit racing. Like the first few days power braking them behind a 355 ci. I wasted a whole summer changing out broken trannies and waiting for the new ones to arrive

'75

I got a wrecking yard take out and built my own, I would highly recommend ck performance either for parts upgrades or a complete unit. He wrote the book, literally, on making the 2004R perform and last. If you have one built locally, get the CK book read it, you will then have knowledge of the process and less likely to get taken to the cleaners.

gkull

Look at the price.......

http://www.ckperformance.com/List/20...-Transmissions

CA-Legal-Vette

Pricey

Big2Bird

So is this 81 stock, or what HP do you have?

kanvasman

I got one off CL and had a local shop ( that does a lot of this transplant work) build it for me. That is the only thing on my resto job I wouldn't tackle, first because of special tools you might need etc.. He answered all my questions and had a few suggestions. Kept my feet on the ground when I started talking mega build when I didn't need it. Price was really good even though it will only be for about a 350hp engine, I just felt that if there are any issues when I get the project done, I can drop in on him. And if I need to fuss with the TV cable for example, he is only a few miles from me. If you go local, get some references from him first.

SH-60B

That's the important question.

I used a factory unrebuilt unit behind a 350 HP smallblock no problem, for street duty. I wouldn't do it for racing.

Street Rat

Sooo what is your recommendation? A built Th700?

Street Rat

The engine that I have only puts out about 350-375 hp. It's definitely under 400 hp but I've never had it on a dyno. Just an estimate comparing to other like builds.

It's strictly street driven.

76strokervette

Look up Vince Janis on the buick site. He is a straight shooter and does great work. His transmissions have survived into the 9's in quarter mile cars.

gkull

I used one of the $3000 800+ hp 700R4's for years. Mildly modded Th350's, 200R4 and 700R4 are all failures prone. IMO you have to look at what your end goal is. If you are into drag or street racing. an automatic is hard to beat because consistency. I came to the conclusion that freeing up hp and the dependability of a HD manual was the best option.

Even with 335 width rear tires traction was a problem on the street with a 3800 stall 700R4 and 4.11 rear. going to manual made it really fun to drive

chevymans 77

I've got a couple trans from Transdepot in Florida, a 200 and a 4L60E. The 200 has been in my car for a few years with a 650 horse 496 in front of it, it has performed flawlessly. The 60E is in my sons truck with a mild 6.0 and has performed as expected. They offer some of the best warranties with their trans for the price and stand behind their builds.

The Buick guys have been thrashing on the 200 for years and have learned to build them to handle the power.

My 2 cents;

Neal

mrvette

I agree with Chevyman77, but I not into drag racing, just a quick enough street machine to have some fun with, and get decent MPG 24 on the freeway to be exact....cruising I 95 at ~80 mph.....It only a DPFI L98 computer, batch fire 355 roller engine, serp drive, electric fans, with LT1 induction ahd HEI in back where GOD intended..... headers, H pipe, Magnaflows.....Like I said b-4, I built the trans myself in a couple daze out back one winter in the sun room....yawn.......got a great trans supply shop here in town....Mitchell Trans Supply Jax Fl. they have all the info and parts necessary to make it nearly grenade proof, and honestly the 200 is an easy unit to do, compared to some others I won't mention.... like an A518 mopar that kicked my *** BAD......

Street Rat

Well so far I'm really thinking about the Monster or Transdepot transmissions. The warranties seem to be much better than the big name companies

My car has a 355 with 3.54 rear and a th350 with a 2800 stall ATI 10 inch converter. Strictly street driven.

I'm thinking about a TH200 for sure. A transmission that can handle about 450-500hp. Just in case I upgrade the engine at a later date. I don't think I want to go lock up. Just put it in fourth when I need to.

More input please.

Street Rat

Wow that's very pricey. It has ALL the good stuff in it though!