Are 4:11's too high?

Here's my thoughts, I bought a 10 bolt w/4:11 gears for a more than fair price, I'd like to put an overdrive tranny in my car which is a '69 skylark with a 350. It just seems like to much trouble to find a 200r4 and do all the work so its a nice cruiser with balls when needed. Am I being unreasonable and should stick with my turbo 350 or am I just not finding the best information on a swap? Any thoughts and any info regarding this swap that is thorough enough for a "kid" to follow. Thnaks for anything.
-Chris

 

200r4 4.10s

i think for the street 4.10s are too much with either trans but if you can get a good used overdrive put a shift kit and trans cooler on it and see what you think.then run it til it feels weak or blows and decide what you think then.
with the 350 trans you will not be too happy as it will cut you hiway speeds down to 55-60 and engine will run around 3500 rpm depending on tire size
if you use the 350 trans i suggest a 3 series(3.73,3.42,3.23)
andy

 

4.10 seems like a bit too much for the street, maybe if u had a manual tranny??
a 2004r will give you better cruising and mileage on the freeway, but 4.10s i dont know i would go with something no the 3s, i have a car with 3.73s and i can only cruise at 60 or 70 any higher and my gas is liker water it evaporates :rant: i turn like 3300 at 60.... something u may wanna consider as gas prices skyrocket :eek2:

 

4.10 would be fine if you stuck to driving on city streets. the problem comes when you decide to go on the freeway or a secondary road that has a 55mph or higher speed limit. engine would be spinning pretty hard. Bob

 

I had a 4.11 in one of my cars....ran about 3300 at 55 with a muncie 4 speed. switched to a 3.42 and a Th350 and run about 2700 rpm now....still not ideal but works with the cam I'm running. I'd go with the 200R4.

Bill

 

I think it would be a cool setup, pull real hard with some sticky tires and still have overdrive for open roads. I drove my 455 with 4:10s on the road alot with a TH400 but I have a good sized cam so it loved the rpm. We took it on a 200 mile round trip a couple years ago to a wedding and alot of it was at 65mph with no problems. A totaly stock motor would have been another story I think. Passing gear was a blast too. But when I got passed by some guy in what he thought was a fast car I wish I had some 3.31s in it to really air it out :laugh:

 

Same Here

Yeah that's my thoughts, this is too be the car that goes down to Wilwood,Carlisle or even o nthe POWER TOUR which is going to be passing through Englishtown,NJ as a matter of fact. But I definitley want to be able to get up and go when needed. So I think this is the way to go 350 warmed over, perhaps a stock 200r4 out of a GN or Monte SS, and the 4:11 10 bolt. Hey if anyone has a link to a transplant for the 200r4 that doesn't have any holes Id appreciate it very much. Thansk again folks.
-Chris

 

A 200r4 with 3:73's is like a 3:91 gear with a TH400. A 4:10 gear would be more like a 4:20 in 1st. That is a lot of gear for a Buick. I have to be real careful with mine (3:73/200r4) in 1st. Have had a couple of shifts at 6300 because it will go through 1st so quick. For most big blocks I think a 3:42 with a 200r4 would be better. That is the same combination in a GN.

If you have a BBB that can spin 6000+ rpm (congratulations) then go for the big gear. Otherwise it is not a great idea.

 

Well, like I was sayin I have a very mild 350
(not that there's anything mild about a buick) that isn't a monster and I want to be able to go driving with this thing. I figure if it doesnt work the way I want it too I can always put back the TH 350 and run it that way, but with A/C,pwr steering,pwr brakes and 2 kids I think I need all the relief I can get.
-Chris

 

A 350 would not stress a 200r4 and the gear would make it snappy. Still would have to watch the tach. With the overdrive it would be acceptable on street. You will love the 200r4 there are a few tricks to getting the TV cable to work but an easy swap especially if you have TH350.

 

Yah see thats my biggest thing is making sure the TV cable is hooked up right, now being that im not familiar with OD or even autmatics for that matter. What does the TV cable do exactly, see this is why I wanna fidn a thread or site that has it perfect so I dont screw up the tranny or some other part of my drivetrain.

 

That'd be great then, I just need to find a good one to start with,budget and all,not that you guys would know anything about that :laugh: !! Hey also if anybody knows of Buick guys in the Philadelphia,PA region let me know just tryin to find local guys to BS with and maybe cruise around with. Thansk again Guys. -Chris

 

Staying with a functional Turbo 350 & a 2.78 or 2.73 geared r/e will yield the same final drive ratio results on the highway.

Willing to open the wallet up quite a bit, a well built 200R4, quality convertor, shiftworks kit, & a quality built 3.90 or 4.10 8.5 0r 12 bolt rearend, will easily add another 3K. I've built several rears to go behind 200R4 conversions over the years. Also, have yet to run across anyone who got out super cheap on a 200R4 conversion... none got away with a boneyard fresh 200R4. Good luck with your project.

:3gears:
Roger

 

Yeah I figure,the rear Ihave will do fine its well built, but yeah I figure Ill put out for a good tranny.we shall see its a next year kinda thing i guess.
-Chris

 

There are some online calculators that can help figuer these things out.
Here is one although there is many other good ones.

http://www.race-technology.com/WebPage2/Other/Utilities/GearCalculations/GearCalculation.html

The way I see it I've looked into the options and this is my best thoughts on the idea.

With a 3500 pound car, Buick 350 with 400-450 hp and a power band of 1500-6000 rpm I am going to use a SP400 with a 1500 rpm low and 3500 rpm high stall, 3.73 gears and a gear vendors overdrive. The GV is expensive but so are strong 200R4 trans.

If it's a mild 350 then the stock 200 R4

 

That's exactly what it is a mild 350, just built I'll guestimate around 350 HP, so im not sweating a stock tranny, probably have one rebuilt to stock specs just to be certain.
-Chris

 

rear geas

I have 4.10 gars in my car and love them. Have to be careful on the freeway, but thats what I have a trailer for. 200r4 built well and 4.10 perfect combo, wish thats what I had.
Mike :3gears: