[thefirebirdm@n]

A number of different things:

- Shifts occurred way too early. Even under some throttle the trans wanted to shift into higher gears at low speeds.
- No passing gear at all. I never could get the transmission to drop down a gear under load for a "passing gear". I had to manually downshift.
- The lockup feature worked initially but later I could never tell when it was engaged or not. I had even installed a switch under the dash that should have allowed me to manually engage the lockup, when at speed on the highway. Usually you can hear the RPMs change a bit IIRC.

All in all, given the amount of work I had to put into swapping in this trans and the expense (I bought a kit from a company specializing in these transmissions in Florida), the result was a very sluggish car that was not much fun to drive. I usually joke with my friends that my Tahoe was/is faster.

To be fair, the Firebird (at the time) had the numbers matching 350 in it with a very mild cam and a 2bbl to 4bbl swap which I doubt was putting out a lot of big horsepower (no dig on the other 350 owners here - it was just a very mildly setup 350), but regardless it was less responsive than when it had the 3-speed in it. Club members here in the area think the Torque Converter might have been much too high. The company in question stated on the order form that I selected the converter but I did not. I relied on them, as the experts in these trans to recommend one (mistake, I know).

I also felt I could never get the TV Cable set correctly, lots of ppl will say its easy. That's a whole other discussion. I used a custom adapter for the carb linkage from another company that should have set the cable geometry perfectly.

I saw your list in the OP. Thought I would post here what I did in the event it helps you or someone else prep.

1 - Cut the factory driveshaft to match
2 - Bought a custom trans cross-member that loops around the back of the pan so you can remove the pan any time
3 - Modified the pan to add a drain bolt
4 - Installed a trans cooler and built custom lines to run from Trans -> Radiator -> Cooler -> back to Trans (I believe)
5 - Swapped in the correct shifter adapter plate to change from 3-speed shift to 4-speed shift
6 - Changed the carburetor linkage on the Quadrajeft from Pontiac to Chebby and installed the Custom Adapter I mentioned above
7 - Modified the stock linkage adapter on the intake and installed a customer adapter to work with it to allow the stock linkage to manage the throttle cable and the TV cable.
8 - Installed an adapter on the trans to allow me to hookup a pressure gauge inside the car (to use to monitor pressure at various shift points - directions in the kit specified at what pressure shifts should occur)
9 - Installed the required "wiring harness" to run the manual lockup switch inside the car

That's all I can remember. I'm about to install the 2nd 200R4 in the same car so if I remember anything else, I'll post it here. If I beat you to punch, I'll try and post more about the experience this go around. I am running a different torque converter this time and an engine swap occurred as part of the project which was one part front clip restoration and two parts trans swap. The 350 came out and got baggied and crated away since its the numbers engine. I am installing a '68 400 with a moderately hotter than stock build that should make a lot more power.