Hey all,I'm trying to decide if I should buy a gear vendor overdrive or go with a 200r4. Couple of my buddies say go with 200r4 since it'll hold up and give me overdrive and be cheaper than gear vendor,trans,and drive shaft. I have a th400 now. Thanks
I'm in the same fix. Definitely want some sort of OD. Sounds like the GV will be like $3500. How much on a 200r4?
I went from 200-4R to a GV, I miss the lockup but otherwise am happy with the 400 GV combo. The piece of mind is worth a bunch and the 400 is an S/P which makes up for the lower 1st gear of the 200. Good Luck Bob H.
Price is around $2k-$2500 for the trans. Car is a 71 centurion convertible with 462 putting down 613hp. Will be mostly street driven with the occasional track visit. Thanks
I went with the GV back in 2006. It has been trouble free since then. Back then, the 2004R wasn't as popular a swap as it is now. It will cost you about the same to build a stout 2004R that will live behind a built BBB. It cost me about 3000.00 including labor and drive shaft. The GV is rated to 1200 HP, and can be modified to take 2000 HP. I always laugh when I read the GV manual. It says, "Do not be afraid to experiment with your GV overdrive. It is made to be shifted at any throttle opening, at any speed. There is nothing you can do that will hurt it". I figure it should last forever even if I need a rebuild of my 400 at some point. The GV has a .78 OD ratio with no lock up. I also have a SP transmission with a TSP 12" converter. There is very little slip in low stall. I have a 3.73 gear with 28" tires. 3.73 X .78 = 2.91. Using the formula 336/tire height X gear X Speed = RPM, I come up with 336/28 X 2.91 X 60 = 2095 RPM. My observed RPM at 60 is 2150 on my Autometer Tachometer.
for the price, just go with a 4l80E http://extremeautomatics.com/transTypes.php#gm4L80E 800HP $2200 Jakes performance is another great option for 4l80E but a tad more pricey http://jakesperformance.com/4L80E.html
You would be asking A LOT out of any 200r4 in your car. Even for the best that money can buy you'd be at the top of the power handling capabilities for the 200r4. Personally I am not a fan of having to replace things multiple times and always having to worry about breaking if I want to put my foot down. I would suggest building the 400 up with the gear vendors. You will turn slightly more rpm's than the 200, but will be much stronger and should last much longer. Mike mentioned a 4l80... which if you don't mind electronics the 4l60e's and 4l80e's have bolt on bellhousings that you can get a BOP style for and be SFI approved(if you like to race) and be built into a very strong transmission. You will spend more than getting the GV unit though, as you need to buy the built transmission, a bellhousing, and a computer for it. I personally don't like more electronics than needed, so I still say 400/GV.
So knowing now how things have come along Larry,would you still recommend the GV or the 200 swap??? Are you satisfied with everything,even the gear ratio? Would you recommend a higher gear? My car is obviously heavy,so I need whats gonna get it going and be a good gear all around the board. I'm also gonna be crossing over to the atomic msd efi in a couple months if it matters. Thanks. ps.i also run 28" tires
4l80e you can either have it full manual shift, or use a shift box like optispark(kinda like an msd box for ignition) to control transmission shifts Youre able to go with a lockup converter you can now bolt them up without a trans adapter as they have modified th400 Reid BOP bell-housings ready if you have a cable speedo, you'll either have to opt for a mechanical tail-shaft or upgrade to an electric and or GPS speedo(cheaper option)
I was looking at those also,but like you,don't care for more electronics. I wanna do this once and have it last for as long as possible. I was stuck on pairing the GV with my 400 but after hearing a couple buds rant about the 200r4's I gave it consideration but wanted opinions from you all. It did seem pretty pricey going the 4l80e route
I vote 4L80E. My logic was simple, what is the OD trans equivalent to a TH400. Answer was a 4L80e. I built my own shift module (TCM). My second consideration was the 400 w/ GV combo...but the Riviera frame for the model year I own made that combo impractical.
I look at it this way, the GV is pretty much bulletproof for our cars. So the weak link, if you can call it that, is the THM400. How much does it cost to build a 400? I like being able to turn it on and off. The gear ratio is fine for me. With the 28" tires, my 3.73 is like a 3.55. The .78 OD brings that down to 2.77. I am at 2150 RPM at 60 MPH. I also plan EFI sometime in the future.
3k will get you 4l80E, shift box, and GPS Speedo(to avoid Cable speedo tailshaft costs) if you dont mind manually shifting all the time 4l80 would be 2200 give or take Gearvendors for TH400 is 2700 plus you'll most likely have to spend 1500 atleast(trishield Perf) but can get allot pricier through jake or extreme to have a bullet proof th400 a bullet proof 2004r will cost 3100 either option will need Driveshaft mods(consider a DS with CV joint ends) and a DS safty loop.
I have both a Gear Vendor's overdrive behind a modified turbo 350 and a 200r4 with a trans brake in two different Buicks. I call it a toss up because my 200r4 with 3500 stall and a trans brake cost $4400 and the turbo 350 with a 3000 rpm stall converter cost $6500 with the overdrive unit. For no reason at all I would go with the turbo 400 and overdrive or a modern derivation thereof; it just seems tougher. Also, it is fun double shifting the overdrive while making a pass although the ET and mph show no difference.
I myself have been tossing around the same thoughts. I already bartered for a $400 4L60E and paid $120 to have it pulled. I began crunching numbers and i still need to spend $600 for the bellhousing, little over $600 for the commander, $600 for the new tailshaft/housing for the cable speedometer, couple hundred on a floor shifter and i still need to swap the cross member and make a driveshaft. All of this for a used tranny. Or, i can order the gear vendors overdrive for $2600 new and only need to make a new drive shaft. Who knows, one may even find a used unit. Last yr i passed on a 1980 CCLB dually Chevy from Florida that had 6 new tires, 454ci, TH400 and the GV unit for $2500. I could have easily swapped the tailshaft housings, cut another shaft for the dually and sent it back down the road for the same money if not more and had the GV for my car. But, at the time i was thinking of the 4l60E instead.ou:
How much is involved with the 4l80e hookup? My installer said he heard they are a pain to program. I'm hearing so many options that I'm all over the place right now about which route to go. I just want what's gonna be the best and last the longest.
never did one but doesn't look like you have to actually program anything with the shift boxes such as opti shift, But you can modify the way they shift.. if you go holley dominator EFI thats self learning(complete engine and trans management) as for connections for the opti Shift you have Ground Power TPS Transmission connector accessories(optional)
