Mopar to ya
Well-Known Member
Anyone know if there is a reusable gasket for a 200-4R? I've looked and haven't found one. I'd love to put one in the next time the pan comes off.
200 4R Install Questions.
- Thread starter C300
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C300
Well-Known Member
Thanks Joeboy, really appreciate your information. Don't think I Sucked the pan dry. Heard about it. Could be why the converter was getting toasted though. I did install a cooler bigger than the AC condenser, huge.
That pan looks thick so I'm sure it's tuff. That come with the Extreme Auto ? If not, who's making it? I'm going to need one. How's the split leaf handle on the street? I'm not liking the safety aspect of it. The Hodgekis 3 leafs seems stronger, and (seams) safer. Anyone using them ? Wondering about handling. Going to be up against my brothers '68 340 car with C5 suspension. Not looking to get spanked on the road course!
joeboy
Well-Known Member
The pans from Hughes performance $200ish through summit... It is beefy,and has a nice thick mounting face which I always like.
It does pretty good on the street. I have strange adjustable shocks with em. I usually back off my caltracs about 1/4" when I'm just cruising for a while otherwise it is a bit stiff. I also change the shocks down to 4 or 5 on the street. I have .92 mopar torsion bars up front, and overall it does great for what I do, it's not a corner carver, but no where near a boat. I only have tiny factory bars and worn out leafs with junk shocks to compare it to. I feel like there was somebody that had excessive front spring flex and pinion mvmt with the hotchkis stuff try searching the "rebirth of dustbull" thread (or something like that...)
It does pretty good on the street. I have strange adjustable shocks with em. I usually back off my caltracs about 1/4" when I'm just cruising for a while otherwise it is a bit stiff. I also change the shocks down to 4 or 5 on the street. I have .92 mopar torsion bars up front, and overall it does great for what I do, it's not a corner carver, but no where near a boat. I only have tiny factory bars and worn out leafs with junk shocks to compare it to. I feel like there was somebody that had excessive front spring flex and pinion mvmt with the hotchkis stuff try searching the "rebirth of dustbull" thread (or something like that...)
I too ordered the Hughes pan so it would use the 700-R4 pickup which feeds from the bottom, thus eliminating any cavitation/air sucking issues on hard launches. I was concerned about the depth of the pan and how low it will hang, but I'm more concerned about the pickup getting air in it and burning up the trans.
To the OP, I just ordered the converter for my 200 build from FTI. It was between them and Circle D for me. Circle D hadn't built a custom converter like this before so they quoted $1100 to build it. FTI had done this before (similar anyhow) and it cost me $830 to have them build this one. Will be a 4500 stall with manual single disk lock-up. Justin was the guy I worked with.
To the OP, I just ordered the converter for my 200 build from FTI. It was between them and Circle D for me. Circle D hadn't built a custom converter like this before so they quoted $1100 to build it. FTI had done this before (similar anyhow) and it cost me $830 to have them build this one. Will be a 4500 stall with manual single disk lock-up. Justin was the guy I worked with.
To the other guys who are looking to build one of these, don't hesitate to look around local to get one built. I know Extreme Automatics makes a really good unit, but you pay for it. I bought some of their parts like the billet forward drum, a 300M input shaft, and their adapter ring for the Reid bellhousing. With the way it's being built, I'd put it right there with their stage 2. The 300M input shaft is WAY overkill but stock ones have been known to break around 550 hp which is around where I'm at so I bought the insurance. Total, I'll be in the trans (without converter) for right at $1500 when all said and done, whereas $2200+ for the EA unit (and maybe you have to pay shipping too?). Plus if I have a problem with the trans, at least I'm going to be dealing with someone local that I can bring the car or trans to and talk face to face about it and get it sorted instead of calling over the phone and letting them guess as to what the issue is. Either way, the trans will be a good swap.
joeboy
Well-Known Member
Clint, I don't think you need to worry about pan height really, yeah mine hangs lower, but it's truly almost the exact height of the headers, so if you're at a height that clears cruising now, you'll be fine with the new pan.
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jbc426
Well-Known Member
There's a bit more than just changing a few hard parts that goes into a well built transmission. Knowing what parts to use and which parts to modify can make or break a build. As long as you know what you are doing, go for it.
Even guys like Art Carr can't figure out how to run a lock-up converter with them. There are some shops out there that specialize in building these specific transmissions, but not many. That speaks volumes to me.
Oh yeah there's lot more to it than what I mentioned. Those two parts just happen to be a couple of known problematic issues in higher HP applications that could cause a catastrophic failure. There's still a lot of other things that can go out but won't do near the damage if they fail vs the input shaft or drum failure. The guy that's building it seems pretty sharp. He's been on point with any of my questions or concerns and he's making me a good deal on the build. I've called "reputable" shops that build 200-4R's all the time and some seemed to only half know what they are talking about. The more I hear about problems with Art Carr, the more I'd want to stay away from them.
First off, thank you all for you posts a write ups. You all have talked my into going with the 200r4. I know it will make driving my Duster a whole lot more fun, as it won't eat so much fuel and drone me out on the highway.
I was just curious though. I love my manual Valve Body in my 904, but can you get a manual VB with the 200r4, or it is just full auto?
I was just curious though. I love my manual Valve Body in my 904, but can you get a manual VB with the 200r4, or it is just full auto?
Never mind I found my answer on the Extreme Automatics web site. I didn't see it on Art Carr's sites. But, I seen they do make a revers manual valve body for them. That makes me even more excited to get one.
Looking at doing the 200-4R swap in the future, anyone here have this transmission with a column shift? I really enjoy the free room in the front seat. My car has the bench seat with the arm rest, and my daughter likes to sit in the middle when we go for cruises around the neighborhood. I am curious if there is a replacement indicator for the column so that it will indicate for 4th gear
What did you do about flex plate? Do you also still use a typical converter as far as mounting points? Just wondering if you need a Frankenstein.
Treblig
Well-Known Member
I got one off another GM car, had to make some minor modifications to get it to fit, then I bought a long shifter rod and bent it until it shifted properly. Of course this was all done on a '59 Studebaker Silver Hawk (auto column) for my daughter but the method should be the same:
This last pic is before I had finished sanding, grinding and painting. Once it was in the car no one could tell what I had done. The really, really hard part was making the detent bracket to make the shift arm (lever) fall into the correct positions to match the gears positions on the indicator.
I installed a Chevy 350 with 2004R into the Silver Hawk and my daughter drives it to school everyday!!
Treblig
For a 340, you need a JW Flywheel 93009-LC - $270 and a JW Crank Adapter 80012 - $80. The LC is lightweight. There is a heavier version which I think is just -C. The converter needs about 6.5" spacing (varies) and is normally built at 6.0". FTI built mine with 6.25 spacing and sent .25" spacers with it.
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jbc426
Well-Known Member
I used the stock 5.9 Magnum flexplate because it has the tone ring for the EFI built in, and had the converter custom made to fit. The rear half looks like the GM converter the front half looks like a Mopar converter. Precision of New Hampton made the converter, and it was a bolt in deal with the Reid Bellhousing. No spacers, no fuss, just bolt it together. It was easier this way in my opinion. They know what both parts look like and only needed the overall measurements. They have them now and can easily reproduce them by the thousands.
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