Regarding a budget overdrive transmission, the best solution is a 200-4R automatic overdrive. These transmissions are continually overlooked, which means they can be purchased used for a decent price. According to all the performance transmission builders we have spoken to, the vote is unanimous when it comes to the 200-4R as a durable, performance overdrive automatic even over the 700-R4. You can find these four-speed automatics in various late-'80s GM cars, and the best part is that it is the same length as a Powerglide or a TH350, which means all you have to do is relocate the crossmember rearward, and the trans should bolt right in your Nova. The 200-4R offers a 2.74:1 First gear ratio with a 0.67:1 overdrive Fourth gear. This means that if you had a 3.55:1 rear gear, in overdrive the effective gear ratio would drop to 2.38:1 for highway cruising. This is especially beneficial for better highway mileage when used with a lockup torque converter.
S-10 Autocrosser
Carl Chatman, San Antonio, TX: I have a '90 extended-cab S-10. I want to take it road racing and on the occasional autocross. I need ideas on the best rear suspension for my purposes. I also want the truck to have a static drop of 4 inches in the front and rear. I want a mild-steel rollcage for it that ties into the rear half of the truck frame. I have just one problem: Since my truck would also be my daily driver, how would I get the bars that tie into the rear frame to seal, as they go through the window? Thanks for your help.
This is an exploded view of an Eaton Truetrac where you can clearly see how the three smaller pinion gears intermesh with the larger sun gear. One advantage to this design is the gears tend to deliver more consistent performance than limited slips using clutches or cones.>
Jeff Smith: Your S-10 is part of the first generation of S-10s, which began in '82 and ran through '93. The front suspension is very similar to most GM front-steer front suspensions, meaning that the steering linkage is ahead of the front-axle centerline, much like an early Chevelle. This makes the front suspension mods easy. Before we get into that, you mention that you want to drop the front suspension 4 inches. We're assuming that is for appearance's sake, but front ride height also affects the camber curve of the front suspension. Lowering the truck will certainly help, but 4 inches may be more than what is ideal.
'CC Quickies
Let's start from the beginning. The best approach with the front suspension is to assume that the ball joints, upper and lower control arm bushings, tie rod ends, and especially the idler arm are all junk. Good-quality Moog parts are the best. We'd suggest looking at Rock Auto for them-Rock has good prices, and our experience with shipping parts is excellent. Rather than stock rubber control arm bushings, we'd recommend going to Global West's Del-A-Lum bushing. It's aluminum with a Delrin insert that has excellent wear characteristics and does not deflect like rubber parts. Global offers an outstanding warranty on these bushings, and I use them on all my cars. They aren't cheap, but I think they are the best in the business. The part numbers are 1023 for the uppers and 1027 for the lower bushings. We'd recommend the billet upper shaft as well, which is PN 714.
Increasing the front spring rate is an excellent way to improve handling, and that's what the Eibach Pro-Truck system does. Eibach doesn't publish its spring rates, but our best guess would be somewhere in the neighborhood 500 lb/in, assuming that we're dealing with a 4.3L V-6 truck. Eibach offers several springs based on ride height, from 1 to 3 inches lower than stock. You can purchase the front springs separately (PN 3823-520, $145.95 at summitracing.com), or you can go with the complete Pro-Truck system, which includes new rear spring mounts and shackles that can lower the rear by up to 3 inches (PN 3823-530, $189.95 at summitracing.com). This is a much better way to lower the rear suspension on any leaf-spring car. The cheap way out is to use lowering blocks, which create a leverage effect between the leaf spring and the rear axle pad, and that is not a good idea even just for street use.