That is one sweet car but with all the work that has been done on the car why wouldn't you update the brakes. These cars just do not stop on those 9" drums. I also don't see a mention of the rearend in the car. I do agree with the steelies and dog dish caps. Love the sleeper cars.
I understand with a 700r4 that the overdrive can be on a toggle switch and turned on for overdrive/ shutoff for passing that way you don't need a computer to read the rpms and tell it to kick down just a thought
i think it depends how much and where you drive the car... the 700r4 apparently has a not too desirable 1-2 gearing, the 200r4 has better gearing and is the same length as a glide or 350... but the cost of rebuilding an OD by a shop is pricey (starts around $12-1500) ...and shops around here dont understand the 200r4 ...i might switch to an OD but it would take a while to pay for itself for the limited mileage i put on... with a mild motor you could probably just use an OD off the shelf if you dont abuse it too much... gear vendors for those with deeper pockets is the way to go...
that car is nice looking in black, but i agree that the wheels dont do much for it... dog dishes would look nice, or maybe some American racing daisies or something... a nice light car too thats probably pretty quick...
700's are very weak, and prone to troubles, also complicated with beakable plastic parts. And yes, very expensive to fix/rebuild. Granted they do work well, i'm not arguing that. I drive these old beaumonts everyday in Wpg. I run either Stock P/G's or TH350s(mostly th350s). The short shaft th350 is a direct bolt-in conversion. You can usually get a th350 rebuilt for around 400 dollars, and they are readily available used in the buysell for about 100 bucks. Pretty indistructable for daily use and have great gear ratios.(if your P/G car has no power, put in a TH350, it probably doubles the "get-up-and-go")
As for the mileage/rpm factor. I just got back from a 1200 mile trip to the states with my 64 with a stock 350/th350. running a stock 1964 2gc 2barrel carb. I ran at 80 mph for 14 hours at just under 3000 rpm with a stock 3:08 rearend on the busy freeways. Gas mileage was a very respectable 18-20 mpgallon US. (i get 25mpg with my 64 283 car set up the same way). If i was 500 miles from home with a broken trans, id rather it be a th350 over a 700......2000 dollars later "your 700 is fixed"
P.S. oh yeah, stock manual brakes too....just realize you wont stop as fast. no problem in that. If your power booster blows on the highway, good luck ever stopping.
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Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
