Can I ask why a 4l80? I've done a few of the 4l60 based conversions and there was no need to completely remove the tunnel. In fact, in the B body conversions, you just need to massage the pinchweld and that's all.
I'm still confused by folks upset with brand X parts in modified cars, but that's another thread.....
why the 4l80? i have a buddy that owns a trans shop and this is what he suggested. more on this later...as far as the removal of the tunnel, the tunnel is just tight on a-body. i have been in touch with someone building an e-body with a 4l80, no cutting was necessary.
Isn't that gonna be kind drafty with that big hole in the floor? :-D:-D:-D
How much you think that setup is gonna cost you in the end?
drafty? might be, but i guess i could always a stack of blankets....how much, well, here is where having a friend that owns a trans shop comes in. i have a 300 gallon aquarium set up that i no longer have a need for, i will be getting the trans and convertor for the aquarium. i found a controller that will work with the fast efi that i wil be running on ebay. controller/harness was $500 shipped, about 1/2 the cost of a new one. both parts looked like they were never used. the quicktime bellhousing was about $550.
OK, the first question I ask all my customers when they say they want overdrive for gas milage is "How much gas can you buy for 3,000 dollars?"
The GV unit is a very good OD. It will take alot of abuse and your combo shouldn't be able to kill it. I haven't done one on an A body, so you might still have some interference with the driveshaft tunnel. As said earlier, you need to pay attention to your cruise rpm vs. converter stall speed. It's not tragic, just something to be aware of.
The Mopar OD's (518s and whatnot) from what I have seen, are pretty big and require surgery to install.
The GM ODs require conversion bells. In the case of the 4l60s and 80s, it's not a biggie. They have bolt on bellhousings to start with. The 200r4, from my understanding needs its bell cut off and a conversion bolted on, or an adapter plate is used. (I haven't done this one on a non GM. I know Art, if you want, I can ask him.)
Seeing how we've seen what it takes to put a 4l80 in a car, I'll guess that one is out.
The 4l60 is a smaller trans, but it stands up well to daily abuse. It will require some cutting in an A body, not huge, but still some cutting.
The 200r4 is the smallest of the OD's. Art Carr can build a really good unit for a very reasonable price. (In the GV neighborhood.) It also doesn't require any external electronics like the 4l60/80. I've put this trans behind the Chevy 572 several times and haven't killed one. It does have the advantage of a lock up converter, too.
Of course, there is always the 5spd sticks......
it is not always about saving gas. 3000+ rpm on the road gets old real quick, for me. my last toy, years ago, was a Ford Ranger 4x4. Put a 302/c4 in it. 4.56 gears and 31" tires= 3300 rpm on the freeway. burnt up 2 motors in 70k miles. the bellhousing on the 4l80e, at least the one I got, was not removable.
i have spoken with several shops about what I will be doing. 572 Hemi, F.A.S.T. EFI on a crossram. Motorguy, Tim at FHO, is saying 800 horse or so, with 650-700 pounds of torque. and this is what starts the problem. I want to be able to take the car to the drag strip and have it perform like it should, but i also want to be able drive the car from my place, an hour+ into town to the cruise spots. i live where most of the roads are 55mph plus, so this would equal alot of rpm on the road. so i need an od. the tko 5 speed, well, no thanks. Tim has had several customers try them, and while they might live behind a crate Hemi for a while, throw another 2oo hp at it and it will die. next choice, the Mopar 518. Doug, my trans guy, just laughed when I mentioned this. Said it would take a boat load of parts to get it to live. Not much available in the way of valvevodies nor convertors. And not a big fan of toggle switches for od/lock up. Final nail was Doug has built a few 518's, cost was high, compared to the 4l80, and they were failure prone. next choice, 727 gear vendors. Spoke with Len at Ultimate Convertor about this. There is a guy in Vegas trying to run a Hemi/727/Gv combo in his Dart that Len is working with. When they get enough stall so the car launches hard at the strip, it slips on the street. The od is keeping the motor at 2200 rpm or so on the road, and there is just not enough fluid in a small convertor to keep it form slipping behind the torque of the Hemi. When a lower stall convertor is used, car wil not launch at the strip. So a compromise must be made. enter the 4l80. only needs a few parts to live at 1200 or so HP. And it having a lock up convertor will solve the stall issue mentioned above. and please keep the lock up convertors are junk comments to your self. Every diesel truck has one nowadays, and they just flat out work. I have one in my Duramax. Have had close to 10k pounds on the trailer and in the bed, full throttle going up Fourth of July/Look out pass in Idaho and have had the convertor lock up without failure. And I will NEVER let the lock up come in my car under full throttle. If you check out
http://www.fastmanefi.com/TheMPGPage.htm , this just has me wondering. i have emailed Rich about his, and he said that with the proper tuning of the EFI it is possible, you just need to figure it out. Not to insult anybody, but stepping out of the 1970's in not necessarily a bad thing. Sure this stuff is expensive, but what are you going to do.
