ok, so im going with a 2004r in my 75 cutlass, my motor, a 350 olds, is going on the dyno next week and should make 350-400 horse. im looking at Performance Automatics, Transmission Depot, CK performance, Extreme Automatics, and Bowler Performance as possibilities for this transmission. the question is, who do I go with??? some are cheaper or have better warranties but what is the best bang for my buck? any of you guys have experience with any of these companies? this is just a street car, but keep in mind I am going with 4.11 gears and the car weighs in at just over 4,300 lbs with me in it. any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

 

I always go with local builder so if you have a problem you aren't trying to diagnose problems on the phone. A good local guy can do anything those mail order guys can do.

 

great minds think alike jag1886! however im not finding many local shops that are doing 200 4r's. the one shop I did find that would build me one was very expensive and would only give it a "tail light" warranty. most of these performance tranny shops are doing a 1, 2 or even lifetime guarantee on them. many of the shops I talked too would do a stock rebuild but as soon as I started talking about horse power, torque, or the fact that I was swapping out a 350th for this trans they started back pedaling. im in western Wisconsin, bout an hour and a half east of the twin cities, so if any one knows of any shops in the area please let me know and I will give em a call. thank you.

 

You might look into Jimmys near Mundelein , Il

He would be the closest to you. I know Extreme And David Husek ship and are great to deal with.

http://jimmys-trans.com/
http://extremeautomatics.com/
http://www.turbobuickperformance.com/

 

Give a call to both CK and Lonnie at Extreme. I got mine (stage 2) through Lonnie, and although it had a couple of hiccups that had to be addressed Lonnie was more than helpful through the process. I would give CK a call also due to the fact they test drive each of their transmissions in car prior to shipping them out. A test drive would have addressed the issues I had upon arrival of mine and saved me a couple weeks. Either way, both of the guys are talented builders and should be able to throw together a stout unit for you and you'd be better off than having a local do a stock rebuild with a shift kit. Just my 2 cents.

 

Im looking into a 200r4 also, My trans guy is very talented, but he told me most people that want to build a 200 buy the parts from CK, Art Carr, Extreme etc... then bring them to him and he builds it. Im sure you can buy everything you need for the build from CK, not sure about the others, and have it shipped to you or straight to your trans shop of choice. Thats my plan, CK looks good to me so far. I havnt looked at extreme yet.
Good luck