For those of you who have installed a TH200-4R trans behind your Q-Jet equipped Buick V-8, what did you use for throttle linkage (the bellcrank on the carb) and a bracket for the accelerator cable and TV cable? I'm working on my second installation and I'm having a little trouble finding a cable bracket. The first time around, it required welding a small arm on the carb linkage for the cable end, and bending and welding a TV cable housing "receiver" to the original accellerator cable bracket. Kind of Mickey Mouse (and ugly), but it worked fairly well. The real problem with it was the arm welded to the carb linkage had to be kind of short to clear the surface of the stock "very-low-rise" Buick 350 intake manifold, which resulted in a shorter than optimum stroke for the TV cable. That in turn resulted in overly firm shifts at lower engine RPM and slightly soft shifts at high RPM - just the opposite of what it should have been. (Too high line pressure at low engine RPM and too low pressure at high RPM???) This time around I purchased a custom Q-jet originally designed for a V-8 car factory-equipped with a TH200-4R: a mid-80's Chevy Monte Carlo S/S. That linkage should have the right mount locations for each cable. (That particular carb also comes with a electric choke - good for me since I blocked off the exhaust cross-over passages in the TA Performance intake manifold.) Now my problem is that I can't find a bolt-on bracket that locates the two cables correctly. I've tried the real Art Carr (Cal. Perf. Trans.), Edelbrock and Holley. Nothing is available that will work with the Chevy Q-Jet linkage (lots of stuff for Holleys and AFB's, though.) I seem to have two choices (unless I can find something available): 1 - Cut and weld two aftermarket brackets together and pay the big bucks to have that one part yellow cadmium plated, or 2 - Purchase something close, then have custom cable(s) fabricated (expensive and difficult to replace in a pinch). In a perfect world I would find a bracket that: 1 - Looks "factory" fabricated and cadmium plated, 2 - Would allow me to use over-the-counter (auto parts store) cables. How did you do it? Any ideas? Thanks in advance,
Throttle bracket Hi Dan, Try a Spectre cable bracket. Jegs # 865-2428. Worked for me on a 70 GS w/2004R. Cheap too. Only $9.99. Available even at PEP BOYS. JOE
I bought a custom bracket from autozone on saturday $22. It looks like it will work fine although I am using a demon carb. I am also using a universal cable for the TV cable. $15 approx. Hope this may help. :TU:
You can also go to the company that sells the Raptor transmissions. They have everything for the conversion. I used them. http://www.transmissioncenter.net/200-4R.htm
Thanks for your responses, everyone. Joecool- I tried to find #865-2428 on the Jegs website, but no luck. Phil Sedlon- I checked out the PATC website as you recommended and I just may have found the answer. It seems that they sell an adjustable (i.e., slotted holes) universal bracket. My impression is that the slotted holes will allow a TH200-4R expert to really dial it in after I do the initial set-up. Then I can use either weld it up and have the chrome stripped and yellow-cadmium plated, or just use it as a mock-up for a finished bracket that I fabricate from scratch (and have cad plated). Either way, it sounds like too much work and $$$, but thats the price I pay for trying to make it look like a factory installation. Thanks again, everyone. Of course, if anyone has any more suggestions, let me know.
joecool - found it! This time I searched by the brand name "Spectre" instead of just typing in the part number. It appears to be the same one PATC is selling, but at less than half the price. Thanks for the info.
hey what are you guys using for a shifter ? thinking about a 200R4 swap in a 70 GS 455 with floor shiter :3gears:
Ken, I'm using the stock column shifter. I simply adjusted the shift rod so that the pointer lines up with the "P" indication when the trans shift arm is in the Park detent (on the transmission, itself). I ended up with the pointer pretty much lining up with "N" when the trans was in Neutral and with the "D" when the trans was in Overdrive. In fact, I can even pull the shift lever down until the pointer is below, or to the right of the "L" and hold the trans in first gear. I'm not sure how well that will work with the stock floor shifter, though. It may be a combination of my column shift linkage wear, plus the tolerences inherent with the linkage in general, that allows me to do that. Never the less, it may also be the same for your floor shifter. Why not just give it a try? By the way, you may get a number of responses if you start a new thread just addressing your question. Right now, it's buried in this thread that addresses a different question. Anyway, good luck. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the tranmission when you get it dialed in. I know I am.
lowest rear gear what is the lowest rear gear i can use with the 200r4.my car is a 72 skylark with the mileage friendly 2.75 gear.it has a th-350 in it and i want to swap out the th-350 for the 200r4.is this to low of a gear?should i bump up to 3.08,s.i am trying to maximize gas mileage(car is being kept all stock).
dreeesh, I would not use anything less than a 3.08 and that is with a short tire. Make sure you have a funcioning lock up switch for your non computer controlled setup. Otherwise you leave a good bit of your mileage gain on the table so to speak. FWIW My Q-jet was from a 75/76 electric choke 500 Cadillac and the brackets etc were from the car (g-body) which came with a 200-4R with an Olds 307. It been a couple years but it only need a very minor alteration that looks factory and has given me no trouble. If I were going to install one in a GS I would look at 307 / 200-4R setup as I think it would be the simplest route.
dreesh, You may want to start your own thread. You'll probably get a lot more responses, since your question is now buried in my thread about linkage. Personally, I used 3.42:1 ratio. It seems to be right on the button for my uses. The change from my original 2.56:1 improved accelleration and around-town "pep" by a lot, yet brought the revs at highway speeds down to a similar level as the original. I can't give you specific numbers (since I didn't have a tach), but it sounds about the same as it originally did Vern, I like your idea. In fact, I'm using a modified '85 Chevy Monte Carlo S/S electric choke-equipped carb. I would love to find a throttle/TV cable bracket from the same car... or even a photo of the stock Chevy set-up. So far, no luck. I may end up using the Spectre bracket to do the original set-up (or at least have Art Carr use it for the initial set-up, since his shop is only a few miles from me.), and then build a bracket using the set-up Spectre bracket as a pattern. TXGS, Nope, no headers. By "bellcrank" I assume you mean the lever that attaches to the steering column, which in turn engages the steering wheel lock??? By the way, are you saying that it hits the headers when attached to the original TH-350 or TH-400 trans, or does it hit when attached to the TH200-4R? By the way, thanks again for your responses. Best Regards
It hits on the 2004r. I am sure there will be a fix. Bell crank is the piece that moves the trans selector lever on the transmission. Did you have any problem with length. on the rod that comes down from the column. :beer
TXGS- Oh yeah, now I get it. I guess I had a senior moment, there. Anyway, the bellcrank installed almost exactly like it did with the TH350, except... that it didn't engage the bracket on the frame as deeply as it did with the TH350. As if the TH200-4R trans is about 1/2 inch narrower than the TH350. All in all, though,it was almost as if I was hooking it all up to the original TH350 trans.
Dan, if you haven't got the throttle bracket problem figured yet, mid to late 80's GM cars that use the Olds built 307 V8 have a bolt on throttle/TV cable bracket. This bracket mounts at the rear of the carb and attaches to the rear carb bolts. I am currently replacing a Jetaway trans in a '66 442 ragtop with a 200-4R trans out of an '87 442. I grabbed the carb bracket from the '87.Works and fits perfectly.I still have to figure the carb linkage problem out. I dont want to weld on the original '66 carb. I may use a newer ,late 70's Olds 403 carb or experiment with using a newer throttle plate that has the linkage setup for the TV cable on the '66 400 carb.Ted
JUNKMAN, Thanks for your response. Yes, I'm trying to go in that general direction. I had Jet Performance build a middle-80's QJ just for that purpose (correct throttle arm), but I referenced an '85 Monte Carlo S/S since that's the vehicle I had personal experience with (same engine/trans, I believe). I haven't had any luck finding the dedicated bracket, though. I would be a real happy camper if you could take a couple of photos of that bracket and e-mail them to me. One photo of what would be a side view (if installed), and one front view, since I suspect that I'll have to fab one. Again, I suggest e-mailing the photos to me directly so you don't have to post them here (it's a hassle). Anyway, If you have photos, please e-mail them to me at danjudy@pacbell.net. Thanks in advance,
