Short version: I am attempting to assemble the world's first (to my knowledge) 200-4r with a proper nailhead bellhousing (no other adapter or crank spacer needed) and I am looking for someone in the Kansas City/Omaha/Des Moines area or therabouts who has a late (65 style) nailhead that's not currently in a car, so I can bolt it up and check fitment/converter clearance/etc. BEFORE I build the trans and before we take apart an original 65 GS to do the swap. All I'm asking is to show up and bolt a bare case with pump and converter to your engine, measure a couple things, and maybe leave some adult beverages for your trouble.
I have a bare 200-4r case that is having the bellhousing machined off and fitted with an adapter to allow use of any existing 4L60E bolt-on bellhousing. This adapter already exists in small quantities and was developed for overseas use of the 200-4r in a Holden application. This should allow direct use of the existing nailheadbuick.com nailhead-to-4L60E bellhousing and is only marginally more expensive than the existing adapter, which hits the firewall/floorpan, requires a crank spacer and throws off driveshaft length. If this works, it allows a true drop in overdrive and will likely retain the original driveshaft length. The guy doing the case mods builds and ships performance 200-4rs for a living and could probably be coerced into making another run of adapters and could offer anything from a cut-it-yourself adapter plate to a fully built performance trans with case mods already done, with or without a trans core.
..but first we need to mock up the first one...
post here, PM me or email kochpdr at hotmail if you have an engine that could work for this or know someone who does.
thanks
Bob Koch
