Hi all, new here, did a quick search and didn't see any answers. If it's answered already my apologies. My son is restoring a 67 RS with my dad. I am trying to help them with research. The motor: sb350 with a 400 crank, it needs a new tranny. I believe it has a 3 speed auto at the moment, they are keeping it auto but most of his driving is highway so I am encouraging them to upgrade to a 4 speed instead of having the existing tranny rebuilt.

Do any of you know of a no drama 'plug and play' tranny options/ kit for this? If more info on the car is needed i will add. Much thanks in advance.

 

You can buy kits that have little to no drama but you will pay for them. The 2004R is a direct replacement for both 2 speed and 3 speed transmission. There are still two sources of drama installing 2004R the shifter itself, there are a lot of options on there including stock looking shifters that will fit in to a floor console. The second issue is the lock up converter. This can be a toggle switch on off just do not forget to turn it off as slower speeds. A controller would be better and safer for a young driver. Imagine a panicked driver trying to stop a car that will not come out of gear. This options is also the easiest to return to stock if you or the next buyer decides to return it to stock. That may be a selling point for you sons Grandfather.

Sample Kit
https://www.monstertransmission.com/...an_p_5054.html

I like Monster you can just tell them weight of the car estimate of torque of the engine and they tend not to over sell and they give an unconditional warrant. It has been my experience transmission places want you to "prove" you did everything in the install was correct for any claim. Did you blow out the line going to the trans? Did you pressure test the radiator? If you answer anything wrong they will deny your claim without even looking at what broke in the transmission.

The 700R4 is another option its name changed 4l60 and then 4l60e. There is drama galore, You can still buy a turn key kit. You would need a drive shaft and a trans cross member in addition to all the stuff you need.

Are you thinking new or used? There is some pitfalls getting used. First off a stock 2004R is a very weak transmission it its stock form. The trans is from the later 70's back when a 150 HP was a fast car. Aftermarket builds can handle 500+ HP. There are levels of builds

 

That is awesome info thank you, I am looking for new. I will look into the monster unit you mentioned. Also, are there any auto 5+ speed trannys that reasonably mate to this car?

 

You can make anything work if someone sells a kit. The "e" at the the end of 4l60e means electronically controlled. Those came out in 1994 ish. GM also stopped using the Gen 1 engine bolt pattern late 90's. Long before they came out with any other transmission other than a 4 speed. So any kit you would buy would have to include a adapter between the engine and the transmission. At that point you could use any transmission from any manufacture. as long as they make a kit.

As you can imagine as the transmissions get newer the more they rely on the computer. The more they rely on the computer the more the computer needs to know what is going on in the engine. On the plus side this is a first gen camaro. If anyone makes a kit the first kit they would make will be for a first gen.

I am out of my depths with a 5 speed auto conversions. I have never heard of one. That does not mean there is not one out there. You will just have to google or dig through other boards for a kit and if you find one dig in the research. With the newer stuff it is easier to do Engine/transmission/Computer swaps as a unit. There are a few first gens with a modern ZL1 drive train in them. This way the computer has all the inputs it needs to control the shift points.

Back in the day you could get a manual valve body. They are very simple but you have to switch gears with your shift leveler. Think of a manual without a clutch. In more resent years I have seen controller for computer driven transmission to make it just like a manual valve body. These controllers are very simple and should be cheap. Are they out there for new transmission ? I have no idea.

The very early electronically controlled transmission are more electronically assisted or fine tuned. They still have a valve body and a governor to adjust the Line pressures. These transmissions can have aftermarket stand alone controller. The good ones with have optional plugs for a few sensors.

 

Awesome thanks for the info!