87Brougham

I have a th200 4r and I am trying to pair it up to an Oldsmobile 350. I can't seem to find any torque converters that would work - maybe I am looking in the wrong places. The engine has an Edelbrock 7111, 850 cfm AVS2, forged aluminum flat top pistons, bigger cam (forget exact model), and big valves.
If anyone has any recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.

Fun71

Knowing the cam specs is really critical to choosing a torque converter, but I would think a factory style ~2400 RPM D5 (I think that's the number) converter should work well with your setup.

matt69olds

Any transmission shop could order a rebuilt stock 200r4 converter, or any decent converter company can build or offer a new converter. The 86-87 Grand National and Olds 442 used the D5 converter which would flash to about 26-2800. A aftermarket converter could be built with just about any stall speed you want. Call Coan, Hughes, ATI, TCI, for something custom, or summit and JEGS offer off the shelf converters

87Brougham

I found the cam box, it is a Comp Cam duration 268/280 and lift .485/.490 with duration @ .050 224/230 and lobe separation 110.
XE 268H-10
The thing is, I see a bunch of TH350 and TH400 converters for the 350 but can't find a single one for TH200 4r. I guess if I call Summit they can set me up.

bccan

Coming through CT any time soon? I have one I’ll give you, has low miles, if interested I’ll dig it out & try to identify it better. I know it’s somewhere 2200-2600 w/ lock up, likely a rebuilt D5. I don’t know that it’s worth shipping.

87Brougham

No, but thank you for the offer. What exactly is a D5?

87Brougham

https://summitracing.com/parts/ape-48402

Would this work? I am just confused because they all seem to say Chevy. RockAuto has one for only like $180 but it only has a 2000 rpm stall.
What is the difference between a 12 inch and a 10 inch? I don't want to get one that's too big.
Please excuse my ignorance on this topic - torque converters seem like magic to me, don't understand them at all.

Fun71

matt69olds

Everything is chevy at summit or JEGS!!! Model year 84 and earlier 700 used the same 27 spline input shaft, the 200r4 used 27 splines the entire production run. Starting in 85, the 700 went to 30 splines. I’m guessing the ad says chevy because the 700 is a chevy bellhousing only.

Torque converters can be confusing. They are engine torque and load sensitive. Say you have a stout 496bbo making 650 lbs-ft of torque, in a Olds 98 weighing 4500, and 3.08 gears. Converter “A” has a max stall speed of 3500. Put 4:10 gears in it, now the load the converter sees is lower, and the stall speed drops to 3200. Put the complete drivetrain in a Omega weighing 3000 pounds, now the converter stalls at 2800. Pull out the 496, install a weezing 260, change nothing else, that same converter might drop the stall speed to 2200. These numbers are just examples, unless you know exactly what combination of pump, stator, and turbine a converter has it’s really difficult to predict what a converter will do in a particular application. That’s why it’s so important to have as many details in regards to the engine, gear, weigh, etc when having a converter built.


I’ll say it again, a quality converter won’t feel mushy driving around town. Since a converter is load sensitive, unless your on the throttle hard, the converter won’t go to max stall speed. The D5 converter I mentioned previously was the factory converter used in the turbo Buick and Olds 442. No way GM would have picked that calibration if it would have resulted in drivability complaints. And in the case of the 700/200r4 trans with a lock up converter, there is ZERO slipping when locked.

87Brougham

So are you saying that I would be Safe to go with that one that I posted a link to earlier? They are listing it as Chevy because it is applicable to both the 700 and the 200, even though the 200 had a bell housing for all BOP and chevy in 1987?

69CSHC

Kyle, the D5 is factory perfection. It is part of the high performance G-Body set up.

I have a 1987 442 with stock drive-train but dual exhaust (currently garage parked). It will smoke my 69 even though it has 50 less HP. The set-up is killer. If I could put the trans, converter, and rear, in my 69 it'll knock 1 full second of my ET... It explodes off the line.

Here is a link that may help familiarize yourself to the D5.

http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/tran...onverters.html

87Brougham

Thank you, that was a very informative article.

oddball

The bolt pattern is the same for Chevy and Olds, so don't worry about that. Your flex plat likely has two patterns anyway. The only difference is true Olds converters used bolts going into threaded bosses on the converter, while Chevy just put ears on the converter so you have to use bolts and nuts. The work just fine in an GM application.
(I might have some of the details backwards, sure someone will correct me)

You just need to get a converter that's built for your trans - the specific input shaft configuration (*) and whether or not the trans is built for lockup - and then choose a stall range that seems about right for what you're doing. Don't sweat the car or brand application stuff - that's worthless.
(*) Generally, every trans within a certain family is the same. e.g., all 200-4r's used the same input shaft. But 700-r4's had an early and a late input shaft.

olds 307 and 403

All the 2004R converters have the lugs like Olds V8's need, instead of bolt and nut like sbc's. I have a 2200 to 2500 stall PATC converter, flash stalls at 2300 rpm. I had a Oregon Performance 2000 to 2600 stall the imploded at the track, flashed at 2400 rpm. Expect the stall to be around half way, except Hughes which would stall near the bottom of their rating.

87Brougham

Hey guys thanks for the help. I purchased this https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a...RoCgbwQAvD_BwE converter. It is a 2200-2800 stall.