Trying to get the right converter for my current set up and not have to change it when I put in a different cam......latest plan is to put 200R4 into 71 SS454 Chevelle currently with stock cam, 4.10 rear, and some bolt on things like high rise manifold, headers, MSD, 27in tires. Question is which stall to go with? Car is street fun only. OK with that....if I change to cam 218/228 or 240/246 will that same converter still be the right one? What is the max "nice sounding cam that I can go with and not change converters? As always, thank you all for your help.....OORAH.

I'd say a tight 10" 3500 stall would get the job done, give ATI,BTE,Coan a call, they'll know what you need.

Thanks RR! Checked out their websites and will give them a call today!

Your best bet is to get a clear idea of what you are going to do and then talk to these guys that Rapid Robert mentioned. They will do the best they can to fix you up right, and their best is pretty darn good so no worries. Another thing, if we are talking about a mostly stock motor, I would scrap the idea of a 240 degree camshaft. I dont know if thats just a number you threw out for sake of comparison but thats way to much cam for probably stock heads and relatively low compression. Now a cam of about 218 degrees can work under stock heads and with lower compression, but its still adviseable to do the best you can to get that stuff up to par as well. Finally, in reality the same converter wont be optimal for a 218 cam and a 240 camshaft. Their useable power curves will begin at different rpm, the peak power rpm will be at a different rpm, and the cruise rpm that is most suitable to the different camshafts will be at different rpm as well, so although one converter might work with both cams, one converter wont be optimal for both camshafts. One benefit you have that many dont is the overdrive tranny, and also the easy option to run a lockup converter. Assuming this is a stock cam, its best cruise rpm will be low. But, if you are going to a larger cam eventually and get a larger converter now to be ready for your future plans, its possible that the stall speed of the new converter might be rated higher than what your best cruise rpm is with the stock cam. This can be bad cause it may create too much heat if you are cruising well below your rated stall speed and the converter is sorta floating cause it isnt locked tight at low engine rpm. But, the lockup function will fix that by stopping the slippage in the converter and effectively decreasing the potential heat while your cruisn round. Those tranny guys will probably bring up these issues and explain them in further detail, but I figured Id put in a little of my input to get you started.

Thanks!! I talked to both of these guys and both were extremely helpful - as are you. I'm back to thinking about just keeping my TH400 - I feel like a flake.....But thanks to you experts I am learning alot and trying to exactly decide what it is I am looking for as well as the many trade offs that exist between performance and driveability. I got the cam numbers from the Edelbrock dynomatched sets for the intake/carb sets that I have now as well as the intake/carb combo that I might change to. They are posted in the Edelbrock catalog. Thanks very much. I know I am spinnning in circles, but my circle is actually moving forward...... smile.gif