Hi. I'm a totally new to this great Buick culture as a participant, although I've admired them for years. So far I've picked up a '59 Willys Panel Truck , a '70 455 out of a running Electra with 86k on it & the 400 tranny behind it. I want to change the tranny to a 200-4R for ease of cruising cross-country. Should prove to be a FUN sleeper to a few Chevys. :laugh: I have narrowed the tranny choice to the following. Am I on the right path? A code 6BR or 7BR ('86-7 GN); code 7CZ or 8CZ ('86-8 Monte SS); code 6CA ('86 Pont. GP/2+2 w/305; code 9TA ('89 Pont. TurboTA) or a code 6KZ or 7KZ ('86-7 Hurst Olds/442). Would I need to do further upgrades to any of these or are they usable in stock form? Most usage would be cruising with an occasional romp through the gears. I'm open to your experienced advice on this choice. Thanks in advance..............Thom
you hit a soft-spot for me. My uncle had a jeep panel with a 425 Buick in it when I was a little kid. I remember watching him dust-off a 70 z-28 with it on the road in front of our house. The hood kept coming up against the spring-loaded holders on the fenders; scary looking! You might be OK if you don't abuse it too much and the trans is in good shape. I would suggest a shift kit (NOT trans-go for this application, they bugger-up the valve body), . and a super-servo install. Do some reading in the transmission section of turbobuick.com. Also, run the fluid about 1 qt over-full. These transmissions have problems with slosh on hard acceleration and can suck air and then you are done. The TV cable adjustment is also very critical and you will kill it in minutes if it is not right. Your code choices look good, The turbo cars and monte-ss are the only ones I personally know are the preferred valve-body units. I think some guys have recently been having success modifying some of the more mundane models' valve bodies (CKPerformace). Again, read up on turbobuick.com. Good luck, I have some great memories of the Jeep panel. My uncle also instaled the speedo out of a 63-65 Riv or Wildcat in the stock speedo hole of the jeep. Nice unique touch.
You want a trans from an 86 or 87 GN, or T-Type. They come with the "BRF" code you need for any kind of power. I wouldn't even bother with a Non BRF code trans.
One other thing you have going for you with the transmissions you listed is that they all have the governor that allows a higher rpm upshift (as much as 5000 rpm I believe) instead of the standard governors on the lower horsepower 200-4R units. All of those can be made to work, as long as you are talking 2WD and not 4WD. I too have some family history with the jeeps. Many of the parts I am using for my 455 build came from an uncle who was going to use the parts to replace the hotrod 340 Buick in his 48 Jeepster with a built 68 430 motor Unfortunately, he passed away before he could get it finished. His oldest son currently has the Jeepster in Colorado, but the 430 and other parts ended up with my dad and I. My brother also had a 49 Jeep pickup with a 350 olds/350 turbohydro adapted to a HD transfer case. He sold it before he got it all finished, but it looked great with the big tires and lift kit he installed. Good luck with the panel! Randy
Adam, Thanks for the good info. By any chance do you have a picture of the Riv speedo you mentioned? It sounds interesting..........Thom
Randy & Kelly, Thanks for your feedback. I found a tranny list in the TurboBuick site. That's what I picked from. The 1st two I was pretty sure about. The others were a guess that they also would be usable. Now I have to try & find one. Do you have any advice as to where I should start looking & how much money I am looking for one? Thanks again, Thom Kleckner
Joe, Thanks for your reply to my post. Is the '86-7 GN the only tranny that has the good BRF code you mentioned? Do you know where I might be able to get one? Thanks.......Thom Kleckner
No, but it shouldn't be a difficult find. I just realized, I am assuming a 59 has the classic round jeep speedo and not the squared-off one. If you do some snooping on the site I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding some photos of a riv instrument cluster. You just use the speedo though.
Hey Thom, Different Joe here. The BRF code came in the GN & T-Type cars. The KZ in the 442's are identical, and came with the same D-5 torque converter. The CZ's (Monte SS) are slightly different but have a valvebody similar to the BRF and KZ models to support the shift points Randy referred to. Sounds like you have already used the turbobuick site - it is best your friend on this transmission. Chris at CKperformance.com is a heavy contributor there. As TA is to the engine, CK is to the 200-4R transmission! Good luck finding a good core! Best Wishes,
Adam I'm not opposed to modifying my Jeep dash or building something new. I want the finished car's features to all come together in one nice package & not just a bunch of pieces thrown together. I plan on the outside having a "stockish" appearance with maybe a few subtle changes thrown in. I plan on my "heartbeat" being the Buick stump puller intead of a SBC. A buddy that came by last nite with some excess body parts, has a Chevy 350/700-r4 combo in his sedan delivery. It all fits in like it was meant to be, but so will mine after I do some surgery on it. I need to move the radiator forward about 3" & recess the bottom of the firewall back about 3". Just a little "nip, tuck & blend". It'll look like factory when I'm done with it. I want to see my brother-in-laws face when it dusts all of his tri-5 Chevies. Thom
Adam, You won't believe what happened today. In your reply Monday, you mentioned it would be nice if I would use a '63-5 Riv speedometer in the Willys dash. Well, I got off work at noon today so I called a friend of mine. He told me last week that he had run across an old wrecking yard about 50 miles from home that we needed to go check out. He said they had some old Willys in there that I might be able to get some parts from. Great let's go. We got there & right off I spotted 4 Willys inside the gate. I walked up to the 1st one which also happened to be a panel truck. Not 15' from it sits a '64 Riv, complete. The 1st thing I did was look at the speedo. That's neat. It would look really cool in my dash.Thanks for telling me about them. I think I may buy the whole car. My son is building a '26 "T", chopped/channeled. The 2 engines he has wanted for it is an early Hemi or a nailhead. Does the Riv nailhead have the switch pitch? Is it a 401 or 425? If I do go ahead & buy the whole car, I will have some really nice body trim, wheel disc's, bumpers, etc to sell. The interior is shot & musty smelling, but the buckets & console are all there. They will need to be completly gone thru though if someone has an interest in them. Thanks all the support you all have given me. Thom Kleckner
You can get a BRF if you are going with a stock transmission rebuild. They are rare, and frankly are designed for a GN/T-TYPE. Otherwise, other valve bodies (listed in other posts) can work just fine in the hands of a competent transmission rebuilder. Don't forget a large free flowing transmission cooler, and some hardened parts. ElectraJim
Joe, how do you identify the D-5 converter? My KZ trans out of a 442 has the original converter in it, including the factory bar code sticker. What are the specs on a D-5 as far as stall speed? Let me know, Randy
Hi Sailbrd, :Comp: Thanks for your info. You say your tranny is "worked a bit". What have you had to do to it? How heavy is your car as raced? My Willys should end up at about 33 to 34. Will be mostly for cruising, but with an occasional romp. Thom Kleckner aka: 59Willys455
Jim here, "The stock Turbo Regal has a 12" diameter converter stamped D5 D5 D5 all the way around the face of the converter. It is a unique special high stall converter from the factory. The factory stall speed is approximately 2200 RPM." http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/transmission/converters.html ElectraJim
Sounds like a cool project. I bought my BRF off the turbobuick board, used and stock condition for $500. They come up for sale on a regular basis there. Mine shifts right at 5500rpm. There are some minor wiring differences between the BRF (fuel injection) and the CZ and KZ units (carb'd). The GN's had computers and I had to change the 3rd gear pressure switch to a carb style. That said, if you are running a good size tire and a 3.08 gear, I would not bother with an overdrive. The 455 has more than enough torque to get you moving with a 3.08 and the RPMs won't be too bad. I have $1500 into my swap with a used trans. Just keep the THM-400. Good luck. Brian
Just my 2 cents worth about the 2004R. I have one in my `65 Lark that I couldn't be happier with. I removed it from an `87 GN that was being raced and running 11.30's in the 1/4. It had a B&M kit in it that made it shift extremely harsh. I removed that kit and installed a Transgo kit and I love it. I kept the D5. BTW, the car has a slightly warmed over small block in it. I've made over 50 mid-8 second passes down our local 1/8 mile track and put about 4,000 street miles on it with no problems at all. The converter and gearing in this trans is perfect for my application.
