want to rebuild trans dont know what route

I'd love to get mine done for $500, is that offer still available??, if not it's ok, seems like it was a shot from the hip offer to help out the original poster and quiet some of the comments that were tossed around. Mine has been sittin outside for years and I was told it had bad pump, car wont see street and may see 11s(praying...) but 12s more like it. Love to try the tbrake! does it make a difference in the build if its not a street car?
 

X3!! The whole time reading, I was wondering when someone would say they would jump on a rebuild for $500. Obviously the guy was willing to eat part of the cost to build the guy in need, something that he would brag about once he installed. Smart business move you ask me. I just bought one but would love to have it overhauled for $500.
 
He's not offering a $500.00 rebuild. He's offering to do what he does,as one of the few 2004R specialists in the world,for $500.00. HUGE DIFFERENCE!

I didn't mean to put down David at all, i understood that he was offering a much better tranny than what you can normally get for 500 as an advertisement. I wasn't specific and had jumped back to his local rebuild for 500$ that he had referred to. "considering a stock rebuild from a very reputable and always hundred percent quality precision work for my cost around 500??"
 
soo lol where am i going with this?


i dont want to be the one to like be the guinea pig with testing his transmissions

lol i just want a transmission thats going to built with my goals and power level and keep it reliable

if i gotta spend more i gotta spend it thats how my attitude is im not trying to cheap out of anything but than again i dont want to buy a transmission built for 9s

can some one just recomend a good transmission for me lol im about to just go with lonnies but what stage 1 or 2?

im putting my mods back up soon

te44 alky 23psi

dd
 
u are not a guinee pig with Davids transmission, i have not met him, but have read many good things about his trannys on the board recently. You cant go wrong with one of Lonnies either. It looks like his Stage 1 setup would be just fine in your setup.
 
Thanks for the call Lonnie and explaining this miscommunication. Lonnie is a great guy and he knows his stuff. We have compared notes and it seems we are on the same page as each other with the 200-4R transmission. Glad to see someone other than me does it right.....

As far as me doing the trans for $500.00 bucks, its wasn’t a problem and it offended many others into complaining. Money is not an issue, I was proving a point, but my reputation means everything. So you would have been getting my best, which is most likely one of the best you can buy. My stuff does work, always has and always will. Being the first to have many reliable low ten second trans in the early 90’s is quite an accomplishment on my part after reading some of the posts up above that say its not possible to do today….do more R&D I suggest. I am only human, so I am not perfect, but I do my best to build the best, and if you pay for certain parts, you get them parts….

I have done much testing; I put over 140,000 miles of pure abuse on my GN to give my customers a proven product. I have been doing this longer then anyone here and I have it correct since the early 90's. You do not need upgraded parts till you are in the low 10’s and high 9’s most of the time, it depends on the setup. How do I know, hundreds of trans builds over 16+ years and only a few problem children. I try to educate my customers to every aspect they need to know about the 200-4R trans, from installation, break-in and to driving it correctly. I offer my services and help to anyone who has asked for it. Everything I have done has been developed by me and I give thanks to my mentor and good friend Pat Barrett. I am no a guru of someone else. I developed what I do thru extensive R & D.

I do not condemn upgraded billet parts; I do welcome them when needed. I developed the first billet forward drum back in 1996 for our lock-up customers, but the cost was too high for a complete billet drum, and I didn’t think the cost of them would be acceptable to my customers, I was mistaken some.

I took a leave of absence for health reasons; I come back to a parts frenzy and a seriously confused Buick community. But I cannot educate those who have been brain washed by all this Hype. I understand how it has come about, business is business.

I don’t believe in being lucky, so those who think it is just luck just cannot get it right…….

You have passed up a great offer, maybe I will offer this offer to someone else……who knows…….I don’t need the money or the work…..a guinea pig, you need to do some research and speak to a vendor, you seriously have been mislead by all this bull**** by non vendors who like to chime in with B.S. to stir the pot. Welcome to the new world of Turbo Buicks…….

New quote to ponder for the day

"The Universe is a contest between engineers making things idiot-proof and God making bigger idiots. So far, God is winning by a wide margin."
 
like i said i would love to take you up on that. If it can be done in a day i would drive on out, not in a rush so could meet when you feel..??
 
I'm about to just go with lonnies.
The worse thing that could happen would be to spend money you don't have on something you don't need and be unsatisfied with the results. If you do bussiness with Lonnie you're going to spend money you don't have on something you don't need and get just what you're loking for. PRICELESS!!! Once the money is removed from your bank account the only thing that will matter is that you're satisfied. If I were a betting man,I would bet that you'll be very satisfied with Lonnie's transmission. Again,that's all that will matter in the end and you realy can't put a price on that. DO IT!
 
Turbo Buick Performance

Just wanted to chime in and give my experience.
I have a stock 87, with a TA49, 009, reds 93,downpipe and exhaust. Very mild from what I see on the sites, but like you I drive my car.
Dave built my transmission and I took it the next weekend to Englishtown and the car went into the 11's. Best of the day was an 11.62, my first day to the track with this car but not my first day on the race track. Most important was that I drove home with all my parts.
I have only owned the car 2 yrs and with Dave's help the car ran into the 11's with ease. The best the last owner did was a 12.02, needed some tweaking and a trans. \P.S. only 36K on an unopened motor, and believe me I drive the car when ever I can and always put it to the test....
Not tooting anyones horn, but just my experience.
 
so for my setup again

what are my options

i didnt say anyhting negative to dave i just havent heard ANYTHING at all about him.

i guess it was just an advertisement thing or word of mouth but from what im hearing now i would have to say he knows his ****.

so for my setup again te44 alky and 23 psi

a stage one from lonnie

or how does dave go by, stages?

i just wanted to know my options

what about ck?
 
I've just saw this posting and read the comments. I ran one of Daves Trannys for several years of street/strip abuse with no problems at all. My best run was a 10.90 ET at 121.57 mph with a Precision L/U TC, stock rear and 28" Nitto DR. This tranny used a stock pan, filter and Daves Secret Parts. His rebuilding approach might be different than other trans builders but it worked for me. This is my experience with Dave and isn't meant to besmirch any other trans builders. I'm heard good things about other builders trans listed here and don't mean to compare anything. I shipped my trans, (from Minneapolis to NY by air freight) and back. No problem as it came on my designed pallet with plywood that was bolted to the trans bell housing. "Proper break-in" is a procedure that must be followed or problems can occur; Daves Detailed Instructions covers this. Hope this might help your decision. Gene PS. No 2-3 shift flair ever!
 
One thing I know is: leave the tranny, engine builds to the experts. The 2004R needs special attention to make it last and/or work right, like mentioned. I have one now built by a Pit Crew Member of a well known drag racer, no name. Results a POS, no second gear shift, pump leaks etc. I'll leave my tranny to the Experts next time. Don't waste your money on a novice rebuild, like me. Remember changing one part can cause other parts to not work right, the package approach is the answer. HTH Gene PS. Dave does build a great engine too. He built Red's Trannies in the past.
 
I don't race, and I don't plan on beating my car up every other weekend at the race track. I'm not a builder, I don't even know how to change the oil on my car and I would advise any and everybody to over build, especially when it comes to the tranny. My tranny just went out on me and I spent roughly $2500 on it, now maybe if I would of spent a little more money at that time(2 yrs ago) on a better/stronger piece ($500-1000) I wouldn't be spending $3700 on a whole new build. But I'm a glass half full type of guy and I have the money to spend which isn't the case for everybody now a days.... " Dig deeper in your pockets now and put some stronger parts in it and that will give u room for performance upgrades, and might save u money on another build down the line".
 
X3!! The whole time reading, I was wondering when someone would say they would jump on a rebuild for $500. Obviously the guy was willing to eat part of the cost to build the guy in need, something that he would brag about once he installed. Smart business move you ask me. I just bought one but would love to have it overhauled for $500.

not to change the subject but I had to ask... How do u like those Metco control arms? I really like the way they look.
 
Trans

To answer your question, Dave never spoke about stages. He tailored the transmission to compliment the application. I have a TA49 and running 24# and no billet parts and I use a pro torque 12". Through many years of drag racing experience though not with buicks, combination is everything. Over doing it is not going to benefit et or driveability. Bigger and billet is not always better though more expensive and nothing is bullet proof. I have seen 45K dollar motors burn up on the dyno! Set a goal, keep it in sight and before you start, make sure not to change your mind. The bottom line is "you can only go as fast as your wallet allows" and any car guy/drag racer knows this to be the fact..... Good Luck, hope this helps.
 
My tranny just went out on me and I spent roughly $2500 on it, now maybe if I would of spent a little more money at that time(2 yrs ago) on a better/stronger piece ($500-1000)
Did you spend $2500.00 on a trans that didn't come with a billet forword drum?
 
He tailored the transmission to compliment the application. I have a TA49 and running 24# and no billet parts.Billet is not always better though more expensive.
He builds all his trannys the same. The most common problem with these transmissions is burnt clutches and bands. I don't care if you use cryptonite clutches,they will burn up if they aren't applied with enough force all in one fell swoop. These wide spread burned clutches aren't something you see with 350 and 400 trannys. The only real difference in the 2004R is its variable volume pump. When you do a,b,and c to a 400 you always get d. This isn't always the case with the 2004R. When you do a,b,and c to a 2004R and don't get d,I say it's because the pump is unable to produce a sudden and instantanious increace in volume that is neede during a shift. 350 and 400 pumps always put out maximum volume.For the last 5 years I've read threads from very dejected people who've done a.b.and c,as have I,and have never gotten d. It's not because they did anything wrong. They/we did exactly what they were told. The things they were told weren't true. They are the people who now have 400 tranys in there cars. This saddens me to no end. I and manny others have never been helped by the so called experts on this site with any information that worked. There are never any specifics. It's usually " So and so built mine and it works great". This does absolutely nothing to help those of us trying to get our trannys to shift right. I dare anyone to tell those of us in this boat something we haven't tried,something different. Yes,as far as billet parts keeping you from burning clutches, they're not better. As far as billet parts being stronger and everything else being the same,they are always better.
 
Top