Nice thing about my car, lol, is it is in pieces. rafter to rafter, shelf to shelf, trunkspace, and where ever else I could store it. Rear end is cleaned and detailed waiting patiently for the right gear combo.( In the rafters) My bop th350 is chillin on some casters but I tend to agree with the 200r4 I like the idea of overdrive if I want to take it to some of my favourite car shows outta town. M22 crossed my mind a few times too!!
Switching to a full out manual definitely crossed my mind as well but aside from the ridiculous amount that the conversions cost, cheapest I've seen is $3200 for the kit, is the amount of work required over say a 2004r swap. It's virtually a plug and play transmission and if manual is what you're after, go with a reverse manual valve body and say a b&m quick silver ratchet shifter and change the gears yourself. That's what I'm planning to do. Essentially, its an automatic but will drive like a manual as there will be no automatic up or down shifting whatsoever. Kind of like an auto stick circa 1972!
Ya duke, That's what I'm talking about. Do you feel you lost a lot of bottom end or just a little? Anyone have an idle video of the 212? I would have to bet that it doesn't sound anywhere remotely as mean as Dukes 284. I would give up a lil bottom end for that sound any day! Thanks Duke.
Ceas-you rock bro. Thanks for the YouTube shout out. As far as the power, I don't think I lost very much at all down low, and when I ported the heads(after the cam install) I gained whatever I had lost and then some. Even still, prior to the head porting, the cam replacement gave so much more after 3k rpm than the stocker could ever do. Trust me, those that harp on the 284 must be experiencing something I'm not bc I am 100% happy with mine. The car sings at the stop light, and for those who have their windows up acting like they can't hear it, there's no way to miss the ol Buick doing the Harlem shake as it idles in gear!
No prob bro! Just don't stop posting on v8 like usampfreak guy from the vid I posted... Haven't seen him in a while. oh btw likin the color of your lark (same as mine)
My 71 350<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Totally rebuiltwith 284 cam, recommended at the time by TA over the 212 <o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->TA manifold<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Custom built(3X) Rochester 4bbl carb with electronic choke that has a mind of its own! <o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Ported heads,worked to get around 9.5 compression<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->HEI ignition<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->Hooker Headers<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->7. <!--[endif]-->Magniflow Xpipe dual exhaust<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->8. <!--[endif]-->Stage 1 200-4rtransmission with a stage 2 shift kit & deep pan. Rebuilt 2X times sofar and I still have issues with fluid spitting out the vent tube occasionallyafter running her hard. I finally got most of the vibration out of my drivelineafter strengthening my cross member and shimming the trans for the proper angleto the driveshaft.<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->9. <!--[endif]-->3.73 gears,moved up from 3.08’s that I had with my turbo 350<o></o> <!--[if !supportLists]-->10. <!--[endif]-->2300-2500 lock- up stall converter, recommended by the trans shop.Wish I had gotten a bit higher.:spank:<o></o> Biggest issue Ihad with the cam was that I lost a lot of vacuum and needed a vacuum canisterto assist my front disc brakes. I’m sure there are much better combos as I havelearned a lot of things I should and shouldn’t have done after the fact! At the end of the day I call my car Christine because some days she great on others she’s not! Gotta say I REALLY like the days she’s great! <o></o>
Why are these the only two cams discussed? There are lots of other choices out there. I've done a few for guys on here with very good results. Keep an open mind.
I won't stop posting here as this car is my hobby. I love wrenching on it. I've done everything myself from the paint, tranny, engine, suspension, you name it. Of course, the paint job is a driveway rattle can warm over but ill do it right when I get home. The car was five colors so I needed to get it one solid color and flat black just looks mean as hell. I see yours is angry too! Good deal! Sucks eagle guy has so many vacuum issues. Fortunately I haven't had that problem. I'm sure I will deal with tranny bugs once the 2004-r goes in. I'm going with a reverse manual valve body though and will totally eliminate the need for the tv cable. That should free up some labor/dial in time. I don't know about the lock up function. I mean I'd love to save on the gas mileage so I'm sure its smart to do it, I've just got to figure out how to do it. I've learned with every ounce of work I've put in this car, even had to duplicate work on a few occasions due to rookie mistakes. Thank goodness for this forum and buick lovers who mentor within these threads. I'd be ber lost with out y'all.
All this 212...284 talk I felt left out. Hey guys my motor runs pretty well using the TA_C113-350 cam and with the 4 speed getting to the power band is no problem Has a nice sound to her as well and I think it's on you tube somewhere. I will ask my 7 yr old son he knows LOL
The quick answer to your question is this: For the lockup to function you need 1. 12 Volts to the trans and 2. ground to the trans. It has been a while so I do not remember the colours of the wires and which does what but a quick google search should tell you. I run a toggle switch in the GROUND wire going to the trans and then the 12V is hooked to a ignition switched source so it gets power whenever the engine is running. I also have a brake switch hooked up off the brake light circuit and that is also in the GROUND wire circuit so that when I touch the brakes the transmission unlocks while I have the brake on. Without this brake switch the engine will stall under panic braking (been there done that), and let me tell you that having the engine stall when you are going about 60 MPH on pure ICE sucks.... No power steering, no power brakes, and not control! I just went to the local electronics shop and bought a few switches for about $5 each and wired it up... Only took about 10 min to do. I use a lighted switch on the dash for the lockup control so I can see if it is locked up out of the corner of my eye while driving. I only lock it up at over 60 MPH and never in the city. This switch you want to be a "normally open" type of switch that means the switch is not completing the circuit unless you flip the switch. The brake switch you want to be a "normally closed" type of switch which is always completing the circuit unless power goes to the brakes in which case it opens the circuit making the lockup shut off.... I do not remember the reasoning behind why the switches go on the ground side of the circuit however that is how factory designed them to operate so that is what I do. Also keep in mind that you can add a vacuum switch as well as the on/off toggle switch and then you can have the lockup engage automatically when a certain vacuum level is met. I added a switch from a TCI lockup kit later on and that gives me the option of: 1. Lockup switch off, no lockup no matter what 2. Lockup switch on, only lockup when the vacuum switch allows lockup All in all I do not recommend the TCI lockup kit as it was expensive and I was really okay with just having the toggle switch for on and off.
Well let me take this thread way off topic and suggest the consideration of a TA Roller cam.... I think that a mild 10:1 compression 350 should be able to make about 380 HP with a custom roller cam and still not give up any low RPM power. With lots of head porting and some careful tuning I think one could make a 450-480 HP engine that drives great on the street.
That sounds awesome Sean! I would like you to do my motor when the time comes if at all possible! Right know just a cheap quick upgrade. No disrespect to any. There are tons of combos out there and its all time and :dollar: . I respect every BUICK! and all the gear heads wrenching on them.
