• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Help with the Camaro

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
hey all,
When I rebuilt my camaro about 3 years ago I replaced the rear end gears with 3:73 gear ratio. (very quick off the line but...) It is only a 3 speed automatic transmission....so on the highway, about 60 miles per hour will make the engine turn over 4000 RPM. While in a motorcycle this may be acceptable, in my poor car...it is not.
Does anyone know the amount of modification involved in swapping for a tranny with overdrive? Would my console shifter need to be modified (to account for the extra gear)?
how much work involved in changing it to a manual tranny?
 
The swap to an overdrive (700r4) tranny is not that difficult if you have all of the parts required ... you'll need a new shifter, a new crossmember, and a new driveshaft along with the auto tranny. There are many camaro and trans am forums out there that have detailed swap information on their boards. But the best source for info is someone local to you that has performed the swap. :)

A standard tranny can also be swapped but it involves a few more parts. :?

You might also think about swapping rear ends or just rear end gears - you could upgrade to an axle that has disc brakes and change the gears to anything you'd like!! 8)
 
If you can find one of the older Doug Nash 5 speed manual's that were built for the GM small block during the early 70's. Most tranny shops will still rebuild them if it is needed and you wont go wrong with it. They were designed with people in your predicament in mind. Keep the read gears where they are and pop in a high performance 4 speed with an over drive 5th gear. They rock! We all had them when I was a youngin :)
 
If you want to drop a bunch of money on the project you could buy an overdrive box to mount on the output shaft of your transmission. This gives you 6 gears if you want to shift your overdrive while using gear selector for 1, 2, and 3. You even get to spec the gear ratios when ordering so you can get a low-low gear and a high-high gear.

Steve
 
700R4

700R4

I would go with the 700R4 like stated above. You need to try to find an early one that just needs the vacuum hook-ups and none of the electrical like the later versions have. I am definately a bigger fan of a manual in muscle cars but its just such a pain to get the peddle assembly in there and for that matter find one for your car. (A hydrolic setup wouldn't be too hard to install)

Trevor
 
Probably the cheapest thing to go is go with 3.55 rear... it will be a good compromise. I love the 3.73 but with your current tranny I understand your problem very well.
 
I would go with the th200-4r as it is the exact same external demensions as the th350 that most camaros came with. they can be found in the 85 and up monte carlos and pontiac grand prix. ART CARR builds one that handles over 400 HP. :D
 
I used the 200r4 in my ElCamino behind a strong 350. Everything is the same as the turbo 350. If you use your current shifter you lose being able to shift all the way to low.
 
well...for now it seems like I should go with the 3:55 gear or swap in a 200r4 and suffer not being able to shift to low gear. When out of college and making some money, I would like to install a standard shift though. Thanks for all of your help!
 
A temp cheap way is to use taller tires in the rear for highway use. That's what I did when I had the T/A. It cut the revs down a couple hundred.
 
Or you could just quit fightin' it and getcha a Mustang! 8O :twisted:
 
jimcor said:
Or you could just quit fightin' it and getcha a Mustang! 8O :twisted:
Click to expand...
:lol: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....................................no.
 
I am going to 342 gears in my 77firebird. 272 now. I will be putting a newer trans with lock-up converter to help on the highway. It isnt quite overdrive but it will help.

If you go with a 200r4 or 700r4 make sure that the planetary gears are not aluminum. Many of them were and they wont take very much abuse.
 
if you chose the 700-r4 get it out of the 87-up vehichles the older versions were prone with pump failures. and the planataries in all 200-4r were steel, the aluminum planataries wer built for the corvette in 82 an recalled. it would be rare to get one nowadays. :wink:
 
Kyle,
What did you pay for your 342s? I cant find any 355s for less than $250
 
Havent bought them yet. It may be next month.

And I had a '93 chevy p/u with aluminum planetary gears in it, it died.
 
Hey, you missed something!

Hey, you missed something!

Camaroman,

If your car is at 4000 rpm at 60 mph, you're in second gear!
I'll find the calculations if you like. With the 3.73's in third at 60 mph you should be at 2900- 3100 rpm depending on tire size. Find the problem and live with that trans untill you can get a six speed manual.

If you want to know what a six is like, take a ride in a car that has one. My '92 Vette posts 12 second quarter mile times and gets 26 mpg highway. Okay, so I really have to baby it to get 26, but it's for real. And with my oversized right foot and penchant for beating those wretched Mustangs it gets about 13 mpg around town.

A friend of mine spent about $1200 replacing the 700R4 in his third gen with a fourth gen six speed. He's never been happier.

Steve
 
3rd gear @ 60 is approx. 3000 RPM
3rd gear @ 70 is approx 3700 RPM
3rd gear @ 80 is approx 4300 RPM

if your only doin 60 on the highway, your gettin laughed at by geos

not sure what exact height of rear tires are but they are taller than stock
good idea about the 6 speed...may just save the camaro for town driving and take the prizm on the highway.
thanks
-JR
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top