I am just about ready to do my drive line work. My el camino has a 200r4 now. I am planning on a 383 stroker with 3.73 gears. The guy that is helping me doesn't like the 200r4 transmission and wants to replace it with a th350 or 700r4. I will pulling my bike trailer occasionally and it weighs 2800 pounds loaded. I would appreciate any ideas you all have. The suspension has just been upgraded to heavy springs, shocks and sway bars front and rear.
Thanks in advance
I would have the TH2004R gone through and keep it. It has better ratios, and a deeper overdrive than the 700. There are a few things you should do to either trans if using it in a high powered application, and both can hold about the same amount of power.
Stock the 700-r4 is stronger than a generic 200-4r but I am not sure it would hold up to a stout 383. With a mild 383 and a sensable driver probably at least for a while. If you have to buy or build something build the 200-4r you already have. Hmnn let me qualify that, assuming you plan to put say 5,000+ miles a year on it and you want to be able to take it on long interstate trips with those 3.73s. The 200-4r is geared better than the 700-r4 especially for the torque of a 383 where you don't benefit from the super low first gear. I would get a basic $1,500 street strip build from a transmission shop with a history of building the hi po 200-4r. www.ptsnctb.com was an innovator of many hi po 200-4r parts. They are expensive but they also list many reputable shops around the country.
I would add a large cheap transmission cooler and also an inexpensive transmission temp guage. When towing something like 2,800lbs I would leave it in third. Oh yea if you install a manual lock up switch such as the one bowtie overdrives sells you can lock up third gear or unlock it depending upon your towing load and what your transmission temp guage says. This way you have what I think would be the ideal transmission for your needs and are not flying blind with the temp guage. Anyway thats my 2 cents.
I'm not particularly qualified to answer that completely, but I'm in the process of converting my 81 el from column shift, to a richmond 5 speed.(4+1). the clutch pedal assembly I got from elcaminostore.com was expensive, 500 bucks, but it's made in the U.S. and is very straight forward to install. You just have to cut the floor out enough to be able to get to the transmission upon insertion.
Manual trannies are stronger, most of the time more efficient. I dont think there is alot of manual gbody cars around, so that is why you dont see them much with these cars. Im sure there is alot of people that would do the conversion but, parts are hard to find and very expensive. The bad thing about manual is that it is a pain in the *ss for some people to drive depending on what kind of traffic they normally drive through. If it is stop and go traffic, manual is not fun. If you mainly drive in a less populated rural area, it isnt that bad.
I'm not particularly qualified to answer that completely, but I'm in the process of converting my 81 el from column shift, to a richmond 5 speed.(4+1). the clutch pedal assembly I got from elcaminostore.com was expensive, 500 bucks, but it's made in the U.S. and is very straight forward to install. You just have to cut the floor out enough to be able to get to the transmission upon insertion.
The reason manuals are not that popular in these cars is price and availability. To run one, you either need to understand how to engineer a clutch linkage, or get a hold of some fairly rare and expensive parts. I will probably do a manual in mine eventually, but I can't afford it now. I hate automatics for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that you are always in the wrong gear to power out of the apex while carving corners. Plus, there is no engine braking, and there is too big of a lag when you downshift manually--and it's even worse if you let the trans do it for you. I am still debating the relative benefits vs costs of a T-5, Tremec, or T-56, when used with a Gen I SBC. My daily driver ( used to deliver pizza 40 hrs a week) is a manual. I bought it new, and have put almost 300k on it. I can not imagine driving it with an automatic. I can even multi-task with it in traffic with no real problems. I balance eating, cell phone conversations and fiddling with the iPod while driving with no issues. Sometimes, I bring my laptop to use the GPS, and have an inverter to power it. If I can do it, I fail to see why anyone else can't.
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