Scott S.

I know what you mean... The steering wheel isn't meant for the "ham handed".... lol I too went with an Amazon product, but chose a hard shell finish instead. Stitched the seam together as well, and you're right. Taking it off was the best way to work with it.

I had to move my cross member back 6", but there are holes already drilled in the frame for this. The frame was used in several drive train configurations, so G.M. planned ahead. The only other issue may be the balancing collar on the yoke interfering with the 200r4's tail housing. But that can be trimmed for clearance.

On mine, the previous owner rerouted the washer lines to a new aftermarket pump. But he used the same wiring harness. The black/purple wire ties into the power to the washer wire... looks like a factory connection,(like a rubber wrap) and the low fluid light comes on only when I turn on the wipers. Seeing as it was only on the '70's, I'm wondering if it wasn't and engineering afterthought ??

'83 & '84 had a 3 speed, '83's had a split bench seat as well. The 4 speed in '84 was an option that became standard in '85.

That's not to bad for mileage in 3rd gear. (1 to 1) Mine runs about the same, so with the 0.67 to 1 overdrive, you should be able to get about 17-18 miles to the gallon..... Keep in mind, American gallons are 3.8 liters whereas Canadian gallons are 4.55 liters, so one can go farther on a Canadian gallon.

The '84 I owner came with 3.42 to 1. As did the '86 T-Type. They must have dropped the ratio on the Montes in '85-'86.

Found this on a fellow Classic Chevrolet site. It's for those who are still using the factory original tach with an HEI ignition. Just in case anyone was curious.

An "old caveman" with fat fingers ? lol

Yeah..... But I'm getting older, and they usually travel in groups of 3 or more.

The "non locking" torque would be better, so I've read, for longevity and street racing..... But you won't be using the O.D. much in those conditions anyways. The "locking" is meant for highway usage and fuel economy. Once the torque locks, it puts less strain on the transmission pump. Runs cooler. Setting the kick in higher should lessen the lugging problem, and depending on the torque converter lock up rpm, make it a smoother runner. But just as a "rule of thumb", I tend to stay in third gear (1 to 1) anywhere but on the highway. Reduces the wear and tear.

Monte SS's and Buick GN's/T-Types came with 3.42 to 1 rear gears.

It's not that bad if you're just looking for a "cruiser" in the city and stay in third gear. But it gets very interesting on the highway when you're running at 70 mph and only pulling 1500 rpm. Stepping into the throttle at those speeds and having the tires chirp is something only my T-Type ever did.

Some places like Princess Auto might even have the colour correct lenses with built in reflective backing. You'll probably have to cut them to fit.

I went with the electric (ignition powered) lock up with all the workings built into the transmission. A "switched" power source was also recommended, due to voltage flux during engine start up can damage the internal selenoid. It works well, the only issue I discovered was the non disengagement when decelerating in overdrive. The transmission tends to surge and lug right around the lock up point when there's less torque being applied to the converter, so simply manually downshifting solves that problem. I've asked a couple transmission guys if this is normal, and the consensus tends to lean towards setting higher overdrive shift points. Or just don't do "stop and go" driving in overdrive. If I remember right, early Chev/G.M. operator's manuals (78-86) mention this issue and can void the warranty if damage was caused in this way.

Yes, positive and negative effects the speaker.... There are diagrams available in the "electrical tech" menus.

Hey Frank, I ran into the same issue with my transmission swap. I simply trimmed the yoke back about 2" with a set of pipe cutters. Also had to trim back the shaft collar about 3/4", but everything worked out fine. Trimming the collar didn't effect the balance at all.

If you can find any assembly line videos (there's a few out there), you might get an idea of where the markings go.

It'd be nice to find the big mirror with the map light, Not sure if there's any still out there.

It's a tricky cable to set.... Wound up getting my transmission rebuilder to do it (he'd set up a few already). Not to forget the ignition power to the overdrive either. Missing that will roast the trans in a hurry too...

That moulding is probably dried out and won't go back together, but it does open. Found that out the hard way when I took mine apart to try and fix the light inside. Not sure if you can find a new one, wound up just getting a smaller new one. (with no light.)

I recall a post on here where someone was setting up a TH425 for drag racing because it has a really deep first gear and a tailshaft brake. Wonder how that worked out.

Yeah, sorry about that.... The 700 was more of a "universal" Chev transmission, which included their use in trucks. Another bonus to the 200r4's is the higher overdrive gear. They don't dig as deep off the line, but are nicer on the top end.

700's are the prefer swap. Heavier duty and more commonly available. They also all come with the "BOP" bolt pattern. 200's are getting hard to find because they were such an easy install into "G" bodies.

Had an '86 T-Type.... That's where I fell in love with the 200r4. The one I had rebuilt for Montelishi is from an '84 Cadillac Fleetwood, but I got the builder to set it up to the GN specs and heavy internals. There's a difference pre/post '85 transmissions. The newer versions use a different selenoid internally.

After my swap, I still had the 2.73 gears in Montelishi..... Crusing the highway at 1500 rpm's was nice, but stoplight to stoplight sucked. Went with the 3.31 12 bolt and it's been perfect. She'll even chirp the tires in second gear.