hey i have a 50 feetline with no trans tunnel at the moment but i wanna know what ****** shoud i run i am a fan of the 700r4 but i heard some good things with the 200r4, what do you guys think i should do, i prob will end up running a sb chevy unless i can get my hands on a 454 chevy motor is what i really want, can you all help me out with some knowledge...
This subject has been hashed out pretty well here on the HAMB. A simple search will give you several hours worth of reading. In a nutshell, the 200 and 700 R4 are both very good ******'s, but they tend to be rather expensive to build, and require great detail to properly set up. The 200 is good for light weight vehicles with small blocks, but it can be built to work behind almost any HP level with enough $$$ The 700 is a step up... Heavy vehicle or BB power. Based off what I've read on the 'net, the 700 is a POS in stock form, but a good rebuild will cure it's shortcommings and produce a fantastic H.D. trans. In all honesty, sometimes it makes more sense to just go with a T-350/400,,, but that decision is based on how you use the car in the real world. For example, why would you spend the extra $$$ for overdrive and lockup if you only drive your car around town, and only a couple thousand miles a year? On the other hand, if you plan to drive it 50 miles to work daily, then the 'R4 makes sense.
There is a 200r4 in my 50. I did that cause I didn't need an adapter to the poncho engine. There's a 700 in dads chenille for the same reason. Either one should work fine, but the 700 does have a big 1-2shift gap. Thom
You're going to spend some money to make one of those trans hold up behind a 454 unless you drive with an egg on the gas pedal. If you must run overdrive behind a 454 there is the 4l80e option which isn't cheap and requires a computer to make it work right. The good news is if you buy your 454 in a parts vehicle made after some date in the earlier 90's most likely there will be one behind it. Pir8Darryl's comment is a valid one. Unless you really do drive this vehicle quite a bit the non-overdrive transmission might be a smarter option. A TH400 behind a 454 means you don't need to worry much about your ******.
just for the record. the 200 is known as a 200 4R not 200 R4 the 700 is called 700R4 http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/index.shtml
Running a 200-4R in our '53 Chevy 2dr with a 305 SBC & 10-Bolt. Easy Install. Modified original transmission crossmember to accept the late model transmission.
well what kind of stuff will need to be done to the 700r4 to make it worthy behind the 454, a buddy of mine is goig to give me a stock 700r4 out of a 91 impala. i know you cant beat free so what do i have to do?
yes free is good, i ove free now if i cn find a 454 without someone selling it or someone that will reply back to me when i email them, but still need to but a kit to mae the ****** strong enough to push the motor
hey hey 200r4 can be run with out locking up the converter , 700r4 will burn out without lockup , 700r4 has a lower 1 st gear , ive used both and i like em, i got a 700r4 with a shift kit and 373 s in my car and its a little terror with a mild 400 chevy. Mac
700's can handle any street-able 454, there are upgrades for the second gear servo , any good transmission guy can hook up up without robbing you blind.
I did a lot of considering before choosing the 200r4 for my Deuce. In my case, I felt that I needed the extra 3% of overdrive. 2.5 ton Rockwell's are 6.72 gears. Even though it is a pretty heavy rig, I figure the gears actually reduce the load on the drivetrain. I'm not wild about the non-removeable tailhousing. Since the speedo adapter is on my t-case, I didn't worry much. I do like the fact that 200r4 is a unicase, since I am, at present, undecided whether to continue installing the TBI 350, drop in my 350 Buick, or pick up a 455 Olds that is available locally.
That heat problem may be true with super tall gears like the factory 3.08's; those tall gears will generate lots of torque convertor heat, but with more sensible gears like the 3.50's I have or the 3.73's I wish I had, the heat from an unlocked torque convertor is very manageable by any ordinary cooler. It is only when you couple it with really tall rear axle gears that you need to either lock it, or get a huge cooler. I have been towing since the late 1980's with my Stude pickup with an adapted 700 R4 without using lockup without my trans temp gauge getting high. I don't have super tall smog-car gears. It doesn't over rev, and it doesn't lug too hard in O.D. I have never felt the need to lock up the convertor. When I change to 3.73 or 3.90 gears, I think I may want to lock it up just to get the next 200 rpm drop as if it was a fifth gear.
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