I am getting ready to get my 69 Firebird out of storage. first order of business is to pull the 350 and rebuild it. I am thinking of changing the turbo 350 to a 200 r4 for the 4th gear. Does any one have a good source of information on this swap. I have alot of questions like; What year transmission do I need to find? Is there a crosmember modification? Do I need to change out driveshaft yokes? Is there a need for an some electrical upgrade? Any help would be great.
Thanks so much, I seem to remember someone on this sight talking about it a while back, the Overdrive sight looks like what I was looking for. I would really ike to make this car an over all performer.
Here's food for thought: Do you drive it enough so that the modification offsets the 'feul' savings? (That was always the counter offensive for gas/deisel boats, driven by large twin engines, and the reason I quit considering the upgrade: deisel is more efficient and gets much better mileage in the water, but the upgrade can cost upward to $50k, just for the powerplantws, not counting whatever modification. It's going to cost you money in fuel anyway, but you can buy a hell of a lot of gas for $50k, making gas engine much cheaper to operate.)
No one has been driving these on the highway for the last 25 or so years. When I made the comment earlier, a nwebie said that he dives his car, but his 1k a year isn't considered driving even by an insurance company. You might get a little out of first gear--I'm not familiar with the finer details--but the od isn't going to save you one red cent in fuel, of offer anyting in the performance department if you drie the car like most owners of these vehicles drive.
If I were to spend the additional amouount that an upgraded tranny costs, I would spend it on additonal hp. Take 2 cars, one with the upgraded tranny and one with additonal ponies and 'twist, the higer hp car will be a much stronger overall performer. And stay with the turbo 350, a well documented high performance tranny.
Mervo, I'd say you need to get out more, like the rest of us. We arent talking 50K. We may break 1K if we don't have squat to start with. The 200r4 is an easy swap using many existing parts. Sure, it does depend on how the guy plans to use the car and how much. Sure, a Th350 or 400 will be a stronger transmission. I'll also agree the investment will take some time to offset, but he did say he was going to have to come up with something anyway. I can attest however that not only do I get more smiles per gallon, but I am not taxing the engine like I was, driving 4,000 RPM all the way between here and Tulsa just to keep up with traffic. Lets find out what the folks ARE going to do with it before we pass judgement. BTW the 350 does use the same slip yoke as the 200r4. TH400 is different. The 400 cross member fits with the right trans mount and a wee bit of a spacer. I don't forsee any electrical upgrades, but the kickdown cable may be tricky. As far as I know, they do have differences between 200r4's, but are primarily strength and torque values. My feelings are they can be built stronger than ever. They are NOT a racing transmission.
My motivation is not necessarily mpg (although I will take it) or acceleration (although I will take it) but driving at nearly 4000rpm on the highway (yes, some of us do) just isn't enjoyable especially for longer than a half hour. Plus it will extend the life of my engine. You have to look at the overall package and not just what the fuel savings are.
Better acceleration Better fuel economy Engine longevity Comfort on highway driving for extended periods
I am considering this swap also. Check out this month's Hemmings Muscle Machines(April, I just got it in the mail so it should be on the stands by now). They are swapping a 2004r into a 1 gen Camaro. This month they go over the differences in the powerglide, 350, and 2004r, and the removal. Next month is the rest of the install, etc. They also use these references
Thanks so much guys, I appreciate the feedback. A couple of my motivations are that the tranny in there is not original and is going to need rebuilt any ways. I do seem to find my self out cruizing and it would be nice not see the motor spinning 3000 to 4000 RPM at 65/70 miles an hour. I plan on taking this on in a month so I will keep you posted
hey ,just logged in and read your tread, i as of 12;00 today ordered the 2004r to swap out my 350 trans,im running 3;90 and got tired of trying to find what gear i should run, Zac at Gearstar was allot of help, will custom build,go look at his web before you spend a dime!!!! My delivered complete,every thing to swap,except crossmember, 1999.95 done in 2weeks followed hemmings add, dont wait to long supply&demand. if you need help my email jaa3k@comcast.net SEEEEE YAAAAA!!!!
