200-4r Tag Identification -- KCF?

[jwruble]

I am looking for an overdrive transmission to use in my current hot rod project. It is set up with a roughly stock 350, and I'm hoping to swap out the current TH350 for the overdrive.

Someone is selling a tranny that they claim is a 200-4r out of a Buick Grand National, but I'm having a heck of a time decoding the tag (KCF at top, full number is 233-862KCF1934). Can anybody help?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mikestertwo]

I think that trans is out of a Cadillac. The "K" designates Cadillac. If the tag is blue, it's a 86', if it's yellow, it's a 87'.

 

[jwruble]

Thanks for the reply! Indeed it's blue, so it must be an 86. I'm not familiar with what Cadillac this transmission could have come out of. Do you have any more information on what the parts of the tag number mean? Or do you by chance know if the KCF transmissions are reliable for street rod applications?

 

[turbofish38]

I'm showing that code is an 86 Cadillac with the Olds 307 and a 2.73 rear gear.

 

[mikestertwo]

All the 200-4R's are basically all the same. The only main differences are the programming and the size of the intermediate servo. With a decent rebuild, upgrades and converter to match your motor, it will hold up just fine. How much power do you plan on putting to it? That will determine what upgrades you will need.

 

[INEEDAGN]

The big thing here is how much does he want for it? Genuine Grand national and other performance cores go for quite a bit of cash, considering we are talking about a 20 year old burnt up transmission. They are worth it for some applications, others could get by just fine without. If he thinks its a GN trans and is asking big money for it then you should walk away. KCF is not a hard to find core. The only provision here is if somebody stuffed the GN valve body, governor, and servo into a KCF case which is entirely possible.

Not trying to confuse you, but more info would help. How heavy is the car? How much HP? How high do you want it to shift? Big sticky tires out back or pizza cutters? What does he want for the trans? Is it supposedly a good working one or just a buildable core?

Hope this helps.

 

[jwruble]

Thanks to you all for the great info. As far as my car's set up goes, it is really just inteded to be a slightly meaty daily driver (modified '47 Plymouth P-15 Special Deluxe). I'm still in the process of rebuilding the engine (350) but I'm anticipating under 500 HP. It won't have big sticky tires on the back, but I am upgrading from the original pizza cutters. Wheels will likely be 7 or 8 inches wide. So nothing rediculous as of now.

The seller is asking $100 for the transmission, but the catch is that there is no torque converter included. So I would need to find a replacement lock-up torque converter. He said it was a working transmission when pulled, however considering it's missing the torque converter, I'm not entirely sure he knows the whole story. Hard to tell.

So is the general consensus that the Grand National cores are probably the best suited for higher HP applications, however many of the 200-4r transmissions can be rebuilt to work just fine?

 

[mikestertwo]

With a few exceptions, any core will work with the proper mods ie. intermediate servo, band, clutches, shift kit, etc.