Well, as the popularity of the 200-4R transmission has soared, its weak points have become well known and can be overcome with the right parts and a skilled rebuild. So reliability behind a 400 hp engine is no longer a fantasy. Sure, they're more expensive to rebuild than a turbo 350 or 400, and gas prices alone could justify the extra cost. But the lower revs on on the interstate are my main reason for wanting to go back to an overdrive transmission. The 3.73 rear end gears kept the tach around 3200 at 70 mph with a turbo 400, the overdrive trans drops the tach down to about 2300 at 70 mph now. Much quieter, and 1/3 less revs on the engine doesn't hurt either. Here's the 200-4R, ready for installation:

I had the rebuild done by Jimmie's Performance Transmissions, in Mundelein, Illinois. Jimmy has been doing 200-4R's for the turbo Buick boys for some time, and has a great reputation for solid, reliable 200-4R's. I also asked Jimmy to have a new driveshaft made, and he also works with a converter manufacturer who rebuilt and reinforced my original GM converter. The driveshaft is a monster, 3.5" thick wall tubing with heavy duty u-joints, and the converter kinda looks like a key lime jello mold, don't you think?:

Since I'm still running the original ECM, the lockup converter functions as intended. I never hacked up the original wiring, so the 200-4R went back in pretty easily. As easily as a trans swap can be using jack stands and 2 floor jacks, anyhow, lol. Here, you can see the back of the trans, the driveshaft, poly trans mount and shifter cable:

And finally, here's a shot of the trans and converter:

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