Id like to bring my 69 GTO into the modern age with a Overdrive Auto. Theres a few choices and Id like to hear your thoughts. The Car is 400/400 right now with a 4.11 gear. Engine is basically stock with Edlebrock 750 carb. I do intend to slowly ratchet up the power, but it wont ever be beyond 12's. Looks like the choices are the 200R4,the 700, or the 4L60. Only thing Ive heard so far is the 200 has a nice gear spread.

It is good that war is so terrible, or else we may grow too fond of it.

Id like to bring my 69 GTO into the modern age with a Overdrive Auto. Theres a few choices and Id like to hear your thoughts. The Car is 400/400 right now with a 4.11 gear. Engine is basically stock with Edlebrock 750 carb. I do intend to slowly ratchet up the power, but it wont ever be beyond 12's. Looks like the choices are the 200R4,the 700, or the 4L60. Only thing Ive heard so far is the 200 has a nice gear spread.

It is good that war is so terrible, or else we may grow too fond of it.

the 700r4 and the 4l60 are the same tranny. The 700r4 is a chevy only bolt pattern but there are adapters to bolt to a pontiac engine. Most 200r4s are a GM universal pattern (both BOP and Chevy). Infact every 200r4 that I have seen had the universal patter. I beleive in stock trim the 700 are tougher than the 200s but with the money they can be built tough enough. Do a search and you will find plenty of info on this subject.

If money is no object do some research on the 4l80e. It is based on the t400 with an OD unit thrown in the case.

They are expensive and require a external controller ( Compushift). They appear to be bullet proof. Everything is adjustable via the controller- line pressure, wot shift rpm, etc etc.

The 4l80 is also big and heavy.

There are a few on Ebay right now that apear to be a very good deal. One is 600.00 no controller. I f I had the extra cash i would buy it and moth ball it. HTH

John
69 Judge(currently parting out)

What about physical size? Would the 4l60 Fit in the trans tunnel and mount up?

It is good that war is so terrible, or else we may grow too fond of it.

Sorry, I mean 4l80...

It is good that war is so terrible, or else we may grow too fond of it.

Check out CPT California Performance Transmissions,Art Carr builds 200-4r trannies for GN Turbo cars. The newest issue of CHP has an article on some of the mods that they do to make them hold up to some real power. They do a 400 to 200-4r swap into a 396 chevelle. I've got two that I plan to build with their parts,one is a cheby case the other is a uni-case.
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Greg

http://www.cpttransmission.com/

check it out.
Greg

Thanks for the leads! Ive been leaning towards the 200, since it seems to be the easiest of the 3 to swap, but Ive heard some talk about the trans not holding up too well. It seems to me, that as time goes on, these story get less and less, so I think people are getting better at building them.

It is good that war is so terrible, or else we may grow too fond of it.

Check out http://www.ptsxtreme.com/ the 200-4r is only a little bit bigger than a th-350. Very little mods needed, I will be buying one from these guys when I can.

http://kurtsplates.homestead.com/files/428LMNS.jpg

Nothing is real if you don't believe in yourself-Rocky Balboa

2 points to consider:
1. A 200R4 has a very low first gear. With your 4:11 gears, 1st gear would be totally useless. 2. You said that you want to eventually get into the 12's. When I was looking into them last year I was told that there was no 200R4 that could repeatedly take 500 ft lbs of torque, no matter what parts were put in it. That is roughly where you will be. I was told that 500 ft lbs was the magic number and that if I got the car to hook really well, it would break, soon.

If it is strictly a street car, yes, the OD would be nice. If it serves double duty as a race car, spend the big money on a GearVendors bolt-on OD. The GearVendors unit is as bullet proof as the turbo 400.

Why not look into a Gear Vendors overdrive? They're not cheap but you end up with double the number of gears you had to begin with. If you've got a TH 400 you'll end up with six gears. You can keep the 4.11s and still have a nice comfortable cruising speed.

Here's the website:

http://www.gearvendors.com/

69GPModJ

Moderation in everything--including moderation. WC Fields.

Low on a 200-4R is 2.75, and on the street is nicely spaced. A 700R4 is 3.06. That's a low gear.

Plenty of guys running very fast Grand Nationals, look at the site I posted, and there's a turbo Buick board http://www.buickturbo.com/forums/ind...9ebfdc334249fb People running 200-4R's. Doesn't hurt to call and talk to them. Plus it's almost a drop-in. Only a little bigger than the 350, no change in driveshaft.

http://kurtsplates.homestead.com/files/428LMNS.jpg

Nothing is real if you don't believe in yourself-Rocky Balboa

Bowtie overdrives have some nice crossmembers for doing swaps with 700s and 200s. I just got one and it is very nice(they also make a slick one for early Impalas.

Just got a 200R to use in my son's 81 TA driver.

Take a look at the V2OD overdrive unit from
http://www.usgear.com

Maybe a Ring gear change is in order? I really liek the 4.11 launch, but of course, turning like 3500 at 60 Mph isnt so nice. I looked into the bolt-on overdrive units a while back, and while it is the "ultimate", its also very steep price-wise. I know the 200R4 is like 2000$ for a new one on the web, but ive also heard you can get the same thing much cheaper done locally if the shop is reputable. Thanks for the info!

"On the highways, it was a white-line nightmare...men were battered and smashed..."

Running a 3.55 gear with a 200-4R will give you the same effect as a TH400 and 3.90s in 1st gear, while giving you something in the neighborhood of 2.41s while in OD. HTH

THE 200R4 IS A STRONG TRANS THE EARLY MODEL TRANS HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE STATER SHAFT AND THE DIRECT CLUTCH DRUM THE SPLINES WERE SOFT AND WOULD WIPE OUT EASY BUT IN 87 THEY UPGRADED THEM THE WAY YOU WOULD TELL WAS THE DRUM WAS ALUM IN COLOR ON THE INSIDE AND WAS UPGRADED AND HAD A DARKER COLOR ON THE INSIDE AND THE SAME FOR THE STATER SHAFT IT WAS ALUM IN COLOR AND WHEN UPGRADED IT TO WAS A DARKER COLOR ON THE SPLINES ALSO THIS WAS DONE WHEN THEY HEAT TREATED THESE PARTS THAT WAS THE ONLY WEAKNESS THE 200 HAD... AND THE 700R4 HAD A HOLE BUNCH OF PROBLEMS AND STILL DO IF YOU GO INTO A OD TRANS GO WITH THE 200 YOU WON:T HAVE AS MUCH PROBLEMS AND YOU CAN BEEF THEM UP WITH MORE CLUTCHS IN THE OD SECTION AND THE DERICT DRIVE SECTION AND ALSO GET A HEAVY DUTY BAND AND SERVO GOOD LUCK WHICH EVER WAY YOU GO

3.55 x .270 = .9585 + 3.55 = 4.5085 1st gear advantage.
3.55 x .640 = 2.272 final gear ratio w/OD

This is how I see it.
Some one correct me if I'm doing this wrong.
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Greg