jakeshoe

Without dyno'ing the motor, you don't have a good idea when the "torque ban" starts.. If you want to get really technical converter selection should be based off peak torque, not the beginning of the power curve. With a 3 or 4 speed auto, for drag racing a couple hundred rpm before peak torque rpm. If you have a Powerglide, peak torque or a couple of hundred rpm after. However, for a street car it is more personal preference. He's obviously not after a max effort deal or he would have more cubes.. I would run a generic ~2500 rpm converter. Hughes, TSI, TCI, B&M, whatever.

It's not a huge cam by any means, but in a 283 it is the equivalent of about 10 more degrees of duration in a 350... So you will have to do some tuning to get it to have good driveability. Main thing is plenty of initial timing, it will probably like ~20-25* of initial, maybe even more. Some motors like the timing locked out, but this can be rough on starters without a retard box. Just remember once you get it running, that you need to get a good clean smooth idle, so advance the timing until you get the best idle, then maybe back it off 2*, You will need to go over the timing, idle mixture and speed a few times until you have the least idle speed screw setting, proper timing, and proper mixture. Then rev the motor to 3000 rpm and check timing with a dialback light. You will want ~36* usually with old style SBC heads. If you are running Vortecs, they seem to like no more than 32*. If you have plenty of initial timing, you will find the total timing at 3000 rpm is usually too much. There are a coujple of tricks to fix this... One is to simply limit the distributor advance, but this can be involved if you don't have a distributor machine. You can also set you're total timing at 3000 rpm to 36*, because you know this will be close, then use lightweight advance springs to bring in more timing at idle. A Crane adjustable vacuum canister allows you to use manifold vacuum on the distributor. I've done this often. You set the total timing first, then set the idle timing using the adjustable vacuum to bring timing up from base. What this does is it allows the engine to crank against slow timing like say 8*, then when the engine starts, it builds vacuum, bringing the timing to the desired specs set with the Crane part, and total is where it needs to be.

That's a pretty healthy cam for a 283... So you may need more converter. Also check your initial timing. More cam means more initial timing to get quality idle. If your timing is slow, it will require more idle speed adjustment to attain proper idle and cause issues with the idle transfer slots at idle and off idle throttle positions. Set timing for fastest smooth idle with the least amount of idle screw. Record timing. This may cause your total timing to be too fast. You will have to limit the distributor to compensate.

You should be OK with stock length pushrods, but you shoudl always check the geometry, especially when you start using aftermarket heads. The smaller cam will make your combo very responsive, it will be snappy. Should be fun. I personally have a tendency to undercam and for your motor, you are definitely on the smallish side but it will run good. Also, This is my opinion but I'm not a huge fan of hyperuetectic pistons. They are still JUST a cast piston. They are also more brittle. Harder material, but when they have issues, usually the whole piston ends up in the oil pan. They work fine, but to me they are not usually worth any extra money.

Summit doesn't make anything themselves... They are probably a Sealed Power piston. 9.6-1 is a good compression ratio and with the aluminum heads you will probably be able to run 87 octane without issue. Any good moly ring will work. You might check out Northern Auto Parts, they have pretty good deals on rebuild kits... You will have a fun motor... I would bump up the cam size a bit...

He has alum head, so 10-10.5 is not a problem on pump gas. He could run 10-1 on 87 octane.. DCR is a product of the intake valve closing and with a mild cam he probably has a wide LSA, therefore later intake valve closing, lower DCR. I'm not a fan of the Edelbrock cams, they are very old lobe profiles. Like 60's era profiles. I use Delta Camshaft in Tacoma for many of my builds. Very reasonable prices and they can do whatever you want. I just ordered a solid flat tappet for a 408 I'm doing. Small base circle, custom grind, tight lash profile for $55+shipping... I would run a cast flat-top piston. In a 355 with a rebuilder flat-top, you'll be luckt to see 9.75-1 with a normal deck height, gasket, and 64 cc chambers. If you use that cam, get 1.6 rockers to put the heads to better use...

Downshifting under accleration is not a huge issue. Calibration comes into play, but since the drum continues to drive the planets, there is MUCH less shock to the sprag. The trans is designed to make a 3-2 downshift under accel on it's own. I downshift under acceleration all the time. No worries there.

That trans contains what I would consider a minimum rebuild. It doesn't even mention an improved forward drum. If it doesnt have it, it won't take 450 lb ft for very long. If you haven't purchased it yet, I would look elsewhere. For more goo dinfo on the 200-4R I would look on the TurboBuick website.... or ask around. PTS, CkPerformance, Century Trans, DynoTech, those are names I would be looking into. BTO doesn't have a great reputation with the 200-4R.

The only vendors of the drum I would use in a performance 200-4R build is CKPerformance and PTS. I do not use PTS, although it isn't necessarily that their parts are faulty. Some other vendors use a heat treated drum, which is better, but not a fix. A WOT 2-3 upshift with a locked converter, or a 3-2 downshift with a billet servo can break the forward drum shaft. Even behind a stock type motor. The best bet on a 200-4R is to dual feed the direct drum, but this adds even more stress to the forward drum on the shifts, so necessitates the billet forward drum. If you don't dual feed the directs, it takes tremendous line pressure to keep them alive. Not good for the variable displacement style pump....

You also have to take into consideration other factors. RPM at the time of the downshift, converter design, trans calibration, etc.. However, A simple look at the design of the trans will show you that you are asking for failure doing 3-2 downshifts from high rpm. The intermediate sprag grounds the direct drum. That is, it brings it to a complete stop. It does so going out of 1st gear into 2nd, and then it "over-runs" when the direct clutches engage as the trans shifts to 3rd. The int. sprag is a notoriously weak point in the GM 3 speeds, especially the Th350. They are known to break when the trans makes an excessively hard shift from 1st to 2nd (i.e B&M shift kits) and the action of downshifting from 3rd to 2nd has the same effect. An 11 lb drum goes from engine rpm to a complete stop instantaneously from 3rd to 2nd. It only goes from approx 80% engine speed to a complete stop when making a shift from 1st to 2nd. Usually there is some cushion on the 1-2 shift from calibration (accumulator system, cushion plates, oil feed passages). There can be some cushion the sprag on a 3-2 shift, IF the intermediate band is in good shape and grab the drum as the clutches disengage, so that the sprag doesn't take a huge hit. When you are decelerating, instead of the direct drum driving the planetaries, the planets drive the drum. You are more than welcome to do whatever you wish with your transmission, I am just warning you what the results can be. Guys who abuse their transmission help me make extra income... I also deal with 200-4Rs. If you don't have the billet forward drum, I would highly recommend you not do a harsh 3-2 downshift either.... even under acceleration... You'll learn the hard way what the weakest point in that unit is. I am running one behind a 427 in a '69 Chevelle.

I can't answer your question on the shifter, but typically one of the harshest things you can do to an auto trans is downshift under decel...

R200 with LSD.... Wanna near bolt-in...

Cable, My car is coming together from a logistics standpoint, I have about everything gathered to build it, kinda hard to do from Iraq though Final setup is gonna be the 400 SBC with TF 23 heads, solid cam 246 at .050 Lunati, Eagle rotating assembly, Air Gap, Demon 800. I'm still trying to decide whether to use the Th350 with 2600-2800 converter or the 200-4R with about the same. However, I need a differential. Email me at jakeshoe@hotmail.com if you still have an extra and want to sell.

80LT1 is correct, a Z car normally came with a somewhat deep rear gear ratio and smallish diameter tires which make it seem even more deep geared. A 200-4R makes a nice transplant candidate due to smaller size and not quite so deep 1st gear ratio. The 700 will also work fine, but the 1st gear will be really steep with the normal rear ratios, the lightweight Z car will be hard to hook up from a standing start. The best addition to make one of these cars a daily driver will be an overdrive trans IMO. Good luck.

Another very informantive oil site: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Leith, I live in Sanger when I'm there. Any leads on a good R200 LSD?

Wanna do a diff swap on my 74 260Z, Can I use the stock stubs, stubs from a 280 with a R200, or do I need the stubs that come with the LSD diff?

www.shiftworks.com or www.jagsthatrun.com

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/PE/content/htm/pe.002.00.000009.00.htm Just for a good example, here are TX's laws. 9.42 in particular, I LIKE.

Z Guy, I know a guy, who had 3 burglars invade his home, at night, and yielding knives, he shot two dead, one lived. The victim, guy I know, did prison time, for using excessive force. He was threatened, they were "coming at him" with deadly weapons... I'm not trying to slam your post, simply stating thinking in terms of common sense might get you into a lot of trouble. Unfortunately many people wouldn't know this until it is too late. It is a good idea to at least know your local laws pertaining to "use of force, and use of deadly force". If you find you don't like them, encourage your local politicians to change them. Hopefully nobody will need to know these things, but I would suggest being prepared. If your states laws are based on "common sense" your definition would sound fair to me. Some states are more leniant, you are allowed to use deadly force on a thief as they are running away in TX, OK. In TX, it must be YOUR property, and it must be of value that it would be a felony act. In OK, I'm not sure, but the way I understand it, it doesn't have to be a felony. Someone steals your chickens, gets caught in the act, tries to flee, you can shoot. Some states have much less lenient laws for the person protecting their property. The dogs stated earlier in this post could be a huge liability...more so than using a firearm in some places.

IN TX or OK it is legal to kill a thief if you catch them in the act. OK calls it the "Make My Day Law"...