Transmission help?

[dbooker]

Hey guys, i have a 87 monte carlo SS. looking to swap trannys....
right now its original, and im looking to replace with a turbo 350 or 400.
Any reccomendations on rebuild kits or which one to go with?
And also, do I need the short tail or long tail?
Anything else that would be helpful during this swap would be much
appreciated. thank you.

 

[DoubleV]

I don't have an answer for you but I have some very good advice; ( assuming it's not a tack only car ) do NOT get rid of your OD transmission for an old, outdated non-OD transmission! I mean, why on earth would you want to downgrade to a transmission with no OD? What are the advantages to a swap like that?

 

[dbooker]

I'm not exactly sure myself either...
i'm going off of others' opinions and reccomendations.

 

[dbooker]

The shop that built my motor reccomeded a turbo 350 or 400...

 

[DoubleV]

No disrespect to the oldschool purists but anyone nowadays who recommends a 350/400 transmission for a street car that's running some gear is simply out to lunch and living in the past. Overdrive blows away non-overdrive in a street car 11 times out of 10. To switch from a 2004r transmission that's already in your car to an old 350/400 is just ludicrous. The only way I can see a 350/400 transmission even being considered would be if you were running granny gears and didn't need OD, it was a strip only car, or you had an oldschool muscle car and wanted to keep it unmolested/period correct.

Stock for stock, a 350/400 transmission will be stronger than a 2004r/700r4, but the OD trannys can be built up and when they are built to handle the power your going to put through them, they'll blow away those old dinosaur transmission's on the street.

 

[shanghaismith]

I'm not exactly sure myself either...
i'm going off of others' opinions and reccomendations.

Did any of the "others" give you a reason for their opinions or recommendations? I had a three speed in my Cutlass and I switched to 3.42 rear gears and did not like the engine turning higher RPM. I switched to 3.73 gears with a 200 4R and I am very pleased with the results. I agree with VV that swapping the 200 4R for a TH350 is a down grade.

 

[Csilvy2000]

Stick with the 200 OD. Ask around about local transmission shops and have one of them build it. If the place that built your engine suggested the 3-speed, I would go back and check their work. Like so many of these shade tree shops that open up, they probably do decent, cheap work but don't put much thought into a combination of parts. Their main concern is to get the vehicle running and collect from the customer.

Check over that engine.

 

[dbooker]

Just to be on the safe side....how can i confirm that my transmission now is the stock one?
i was assuming its original seeing how i never switched it and the previous owner was
the first, so i doubt he changed anything.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Just to be on the safe side....how can i confirm that my transmission now is the stock one?
i was assuming its original seeing how i never switched it and the previous owner was
the first, so i doubt he changed anything.

The tag near the tail of the transmission should read CZ. The MCSS version of the 200 4R is sought after due to the higher shift points - hang on to it!. There are a lot of old timers out there that swear by the obsolete TH400. It's a strong transmission no doubt but double V is right on about losing overdrive. In my opinion, the only place for a 3 speed transmission is on the strip. Soon, 4 speed OD transmissions will be a thing of the past.

Be VERY carefull when selecting a shop to rebuild your 200 4R. I will never use a local shop again. The average trans shops just don't have enough experience to do a good job and they will screw it up. Do some searching on turbobuick.com Not all 200 4R's are created equal and you will likely piss money away if you give it to the local dick's transmission shop on the corner. Guys like CK performance or extreme automatics do a good job.