I have a 76 cutlass with a mild 425 and a turbo 350. I would like to install a transmission out of an 82 or 83 Buick LeSabre and by what other people have told my it has an overdrive transmission. Would this be the 200r4 or the 4l60. For either of these what would I have to do to get it hooked up and properly working in my car.

Thanks

 

I did the swap on my 75 Cutlass. 350 Engine redone, removed the TH350 tranny, existing 3:42 gears and installed the beefed up 200r4 tranny.
Put in a dual hump cross member in for duals. Need a bracket for the carb to hold the piano wire cable, adjustment critical, overdrive lock up switch and I have a console, so I needed to get a shifter cable and bracket assembly to go on the bottom of the pan and cable from the shifter to pan. Installed a tranny cooler.
Jeff

 

Find a 2004R in good condition. Ideally, find one from a Monte SS, Olds 442, or a Grand National. Those will have a decent stall speed converter, with a decent valve body, and a governor that will have the trans shifting at a decent speed. Don’t pay a premium for those transmissions, other than the valve body, servo, and governor, the 2004R is basically the same in grandma’s Cadillac or a turbo Buick. If you can’t find one of the hood ones, just find one in good condition and order a valve body/servo/govonor package from CK Performance.


A stock 2004R might not like the torque of a big 425. The forward clutch housing is a well known weak link. When the input shaft breaks off the forward housing, that leaves you with 6 neutral gears and park. When it breaks, it breaks with no warning. Just something to keep in mind.


The TH350 to 2004R swap is about the easiest swap you can make. You need to slide the crossmember into the position used originally for a TH400 trans (the 2004R and 400 trans have identical bellhousing to trans mount spacing) the original driveshaft will fit (the 2004R and short shaft 350 trans have the same output shaft spline, and the same overall length). Gotta love GM interchangeability!!!

The biggest hangup is the TV cable. It is NOT a kickdown cable!!! Don’t try to connect the TV cable where the kickdown cable was, the trans won’t last. You didn’t mention what carb your using, chances are someone makes a kit. It’s very important to make sure the TV cable is correct, “close” isn’t good enough. Ideally you need a line pressure gauge to make sure the TV system is doing what it need to do, but it can be done without it.


You can wire the lockup converter with a simple toggle switch. I had a 75 cutlass that had the headlight dimmer on the turn signal lever, if your 76 is the same get a floor dimmer switch and use it to control the converter. No extra buttons or toggle switches.

 

Thanks for all the info, I have an 82 or 83 lesabre that has an olds v8 but I will do some looking for the ones you suggested. I would plan on getting it rebuilt by the local specialist as he did my th350 and it works great. I have heard about the TV cable being a pain to set up what would happen if it was done poorly, if there are major problems with it are there any warning signs that I did it wrong.I have a Holley 750 double pumper with and electric choke and vacuum secondaries but might go to an 850 if that makes a difference.

 

If your having it rebuilt, I’d bite the bullet and put the hardened forward clutch housing in it from the start. By the time you pay for a tow to get the car home, then pay to get a housing put in, you will have more than paid for the part, and saved the headache.

Any transmission builder should have a line pressure gauge. If I remember correctly, minimum line pressure with the tv cable unhooked is around 90psi, hook the cable back up, the line pressure should increase with the slightest increase in throttle. Maximum line pressure will vary depending on what boost valve and regulator spring is used.

CK Performance is probably one of the best 2004R builders around. Chris has been working with those transmissions pretty much since the first came out. He isn’t the easiest person to get ahold of at his shop (I think it’s just him, his wife, and a couple others that run the place) but he is a stand up guy in my experience.

 

Make sure your trans guy has experience with these transmissions, many have failed with them lasting behind any power. Much like a stock TH350 or 700R4/4L60E, stock they fail behind abuse. I have cooked a few, even with line pressure mods. The gear ratios are near ideal, unlike a TH350 or 700R4, so it will be worth it in the end.

 

I dont know if he deals with a ton of the 200r4s but I do know that if the gm dealership has any transmission problems they take everything to this guy.

 

That is a good sign of his ability. Our local trans shop basically doesn't even touch the 4L60E. They just get GM reman due to the 3 year warranty and the cheap price from GM. They did rebuild one for a guy and it just made it over the year warranty and he was told, tough luck🤨. The 4L60E fail a lot in truck applications stock, towing.

 

I’m guessing your local trans shop won’t be around much longer. The 4L60 and similar models has been around since 1982. After almost 40 years you would think they should be pretty comfortable with them by now.

 

yeah I don't know he runs it out of his garage and I've been there a handful of times and it always seems like he's always busy. So for a 425 with a mild cam what kind of upgraded parts do I need.

 

I agree. Maybe it just was a fluke, he was pretty hard on his truck and it might have had the 6L. I think they do Dodge Diesel transmissions, so who knows? I have heard the owner and main tech are both BSer's, so no thanks. I would think that 425 would be pushing over 400 ft/lbs easily, so all the usual line pressure mods, hardened stator, billet servo, a deep pan with a bottom feed filter or a pan spacer and the billet forward drum and shaft would be needed.

 

As inferred above, never under build a 200-4R, you’ll regret it later. It is torque that will kill these trannies, especially low/mid range with moderate throttle opening.

 

Put a hardened stator support tube in the pump. Hardened rings, dual pump rotor spring, .500 boost valve. Machine the overdrive piston the equivalent of one clutch plate, put it between the 2 stacked steel plates. Install a wide band, premium direct clutches, dual feed the direct clutches, either with a shift kit or internally. Install the hardened forward clutch housing, pay attention to the endplay and clearances. Make sure the TV cable is installed and adjusted correctly.

 

After having a VIN Y 307 melt one of the plastic thrust washers in a 200-4R, I've become a big fan of the roller bearing retrofit.