Boss lost reverse in his Caprice

Hey guys,

My boss has an 86 according to him Caprice. I have long loved that this guy has this car because you would never peg him as owning anything like this. For the record he could probably drive whatever he wants, but chooses to keep this old girl. He bought it decades ago when he lived in NYC, and has held on to it ever since. It's not pretty, but gets the job done, and I would love to have it myself just to make a cool sleeper cop car clone out of it. The thing is it is just a simple V6, and I swear the last time I looked at it I noticed it had TBI on it which I think I've asked the forum in the past if that is possible on an 86. I think the consensus was that it wasn't available, but I swear this car has TBI.

Well long story short he called me today to ask my opinion on what he should do about the lack of reverse. I said I would just fix it by rebuilding the trans, or buying a newly rebuilt trans. Of course I would just do the removal, and replacement myself, but he isn't capable of doing that. I imagine this sort of job shouldn't run too much, and he seems of the mind that it is worth fixing as he doesn't drive it much, and would love to get a few more years out of it. Even if it costs him $1k plus he figures he's still ahead of a monthly car payment, and I agree.

Any help would be appreciated.

Would you guys just get a rebuilt trans, or rebuild the one in it? I assume it is just a simple 3-speed non-OD trans, but I don't know.

Get it rebuilt with a warranty. Most remans are junk and come with a one year warranty.

86 should have been a computer controlled carb from the factory, not TBI. I know an 86 with a 305 has a 4 speed auto (700R4, IIRC). Not sure what the V6s got for a trans though.

Could be a 3 speed or a 4 speed, the shift pattern will tell you (lack of OD mark=3 speed). If it's a 3 speed google seems to indicate it's a TH200C, these suck (weak) but can be rebuilt, TH350 drops in AFAIK but you lose lockup, there does exist a TH350C (C=lockup) that would probably drop in as well, but I don't know anything about them, better than a 200 for sure though. If it's a 4 speed, the 700R4/4L60E is probably the most rebuilt trans ever, like most trans shops will have one or more rebuilt and on the shelf for exchange. I would go with a shop rebuild over a reman unit.

EDIT: Common to see heavy factory TH200 cars with a 350 already swapped in early in it's life, count the trans pan bolts and look for a lockup wire to confirm what's in there.

Interesting that they'd put a TH200C in the Caprice, when the smaller G-bodies got the TH350C with a V6 in 86.

rslifkin wrote: 86 should have been a computer controlled carb from the factory, not TBI. I know an 86 with a 305 has a 4 speed auto (700R4, IIRC). Not sure what the V6s got for a trans though.

Would this computer controlled carb look a lot like a tbi unit? I know it's a 4.3 litre V6.

The computer carb looks like a quadrajet, with the primary mix adjusted on the fly by a computer. Easy enough mistake if you're used to seeing the typical holley on top of a pushrod V8.

1986 V6 should be a TBI. The trans could be 3 or 4 speed and will have a lock-up converter.

The V8 CCC was a quadrajet with some electronics grafted on. Not sure about the V6s in a Caprice. Same year Buick V6s were a computer controlled 2bbl.

rslifkin wrote: The V8 CCC was a quadrajet with some electronics grafted on. Not sure about the V6s in a Caprice. Same year Buick V6s were a computer controlled 2bbl.

Like a dualjet, or a Rochester? I thought the only GM computer carb was the quadrajet.

BrokenYugo wrote:

rslifkin wrote: The V8 CCC was a quadrajet with some electronics grafted on. Not sure about the V6s in a Caprice. Same year Buick V6s were a computer controlled 2bbl.

Like a dualjet, or a Rochester? I thought the only GM computer carb was the quadrajet.

Not a clue what it actually is. All I know is it's a computer controlled 2bbl something or other on a Buick 3.8 V6 in a friend's 86 Cutlass Supreme.

He's obviously attached to the car. Get the trans fixed.

Then get some 22" wheels and rubber band tires and jack it way up so the wheels fit. Paint it without doing too much body work. Get a stereo that makes normal people want to shoot at it.

Let me know if he decides to do a rebuild, I may be able to hook you up with a transmission guy.

the Monte Carlo had a TBI unit on the base 4.3 V6 starting around that time with the electronic carb on the V8 engines, so i don't see why a Caprice would be any different. if it's an overdrive, it could be either the 700r4 or the 200-4r. probably the 700r4. either way, a rebuild would be fairly cheap.

Any chance you can convince him to do a 4 speed swap?

rslifkin wrote: Interesting that they'd put a TH200C in the Caprice, when the smaller G-bodies got the TH350C with a V6 in 86.

I noticed that when working for a Chevrolet dealer and I had to pull the transmission from a 6 cyl. Camaro.

A quick look at wiki listed the 4.3 as being TBI starting '85. Tranny could be either 3 or 4 speed.

+1 on a tranny shop having one in stock and a quick swap.

I can't imagine one being anything but a Swiss cheese tetanus-mobile, the rust belt has jaded me.

iceracer wrote:

rslifkin wrote: Interesting that they'd put a TH200C in the Caprice, when the smaller G-bodies got the TH350C with a V6 in 86.

I noticed that when working for a Chevrolet dealer and I had to pull the transmission from a 6 cyl. Camaro.

The 6-cylinders in Camaros all had the 60* bell housing bolt pattern, and none of the motors in the caprice had that pattern, so a v6 Camaro transmission is not possible.

That transmission is probably a 200r4, maybe a 700r4, and just a tiny chance of it being a th350. Any of those options should be easy for any transmission shop, and any good shop is going to have one on hand.

rslifkin wrote: 86 should have been a computer controlled carb from the factory, not TBI. I know an 86 with a 305 has a 4 speed auto (700R4, IIRC). Not sure what the V6s got for a trans though.

Late 86 could be TBI. I had an 86 half ton that was TBI. I guess it could have been "upgraded" by the previous owner, but I bought it with only 60k on it.

Tranny is a crap shoot. Three speed is likely THM200C. It really isn't worth the rebuild money. If its a 4 speed, most likely 700r4 but I have seen 200-4rs in chevys. Do a googles for tranny pan identification for figuring out what's in there. You can also look at the bellhousing patterns. 200-4r and 200 would be dual-fit bellhousing so there would be four extra empty holes. 700r4 would be just chevy.

The good news is that there are a few options of replacement. If its a 200 or 200-4r, they are interchangeable with each other and with TH350s. Same length, same output shaft... its a bolt-in. You just move the crossmember to one of the pre-drilled holes in the frame for that tranny. There are different combinations of kickdown methods; vacuum, cable, or a combination. You should also get the shift rod and bellcrank from the donor as well as they have different throws. Putting a 350 in where a 200 was will put the detents in the tranny a lot closer than the shifter has.

When it comes to GMs of this era, I honestly do junkyard trannys with a warranty. Probably done 5 or 6 and only had one dud which they gladly replaced. In fact, if you find a Caprice, (or other GM B-body) you can just get whatever you need to swap in whatever tranny you want. Most of the other GMs use a 307 Olds with a dual-fit bellhousing. So if you wanted to go from (for instance) a 700r4 to a 200-4r, just snag the tranny and longer driveshaft.

Short story: if its a 200C, don't bother rebuilding it for two reasons: 1) it will cost more than its worth for a fragile transmission, and 2) if it lost reverse, you'll likely find shards of steel and plastic in the pan meaning its not just a rebuild, its hard parts too. Now, if he said he lost reverse AND second, then there is a hope that it just wore out clutch material. Either way, its a pathetic transmission and I wouldn't waste time replacing it given the ease of bolt-in options. If its a 700r4, 200-4r, or th350, it is a worthy transmission and I would just replace it with a junkyard unit unless you want to want to change something.

If I recall correctly, been awhile, revers is controlled by the band. Maybe it broke.

It always amuses me. A question about a transmission ends up as a carburetion page

I think you're right re: having a band. It applies for reverse and second, so if he lost both I would agree with the band assessment, but since it is just reverse I would guess something else.

Spoke with the boss yesterday, and his mechanic says it will be $3k to remove, rebuild, and re-install his transmission. He said that he is going to do it as he still likes the car and wants to get more years out of it. I think that price seems high, but I really don't know.

Holy crap. My co worker had his s10's transmission rebuilt for 1200 including labor for remove and replace. That was with a 3 year warranty. Things must just be cheap here.

$3k for an R&R with rebuild is definitely expensive. But then again, it depends on how thorough a rebuild it is and if there's any upgrades involved. If it's a thorough rebuild with some tweaks for durability, good parts, new torque converter, etc. it's not necessarily out of range.

I think I could remove it, and get it rebuilt locally, and re-install it myself for a lot less than that.