TH-200 Trans Tech

by Jeff Burk

Ralph Van Paepeghem's 2900-lb Camaro Super Stocker (above) went 9.04/157.72 with a McClay TH-200.

Street-legal racing series in general are populated with cars that are warmed over factory cars. The rules are generally written so that the cars retain their stock appearance, chassis and interior and in many cases an OEM type transmission. Most of the changes from factory stock can be found in the engine compartment. The result of all of this is that the racer is saddled with a race car that weighs over 3000 lbs with a heavy engine and trans forward of the driver. The result is a car with a big percentage of the weight on the front tires. Getting the weight percentages so that at least 50% of the weight is on the rear wheels can be an expensive and time-consuming proposition. And this problem is not just limited to the "Detroit Iron" classes. With the increased popularity of import cars in drag racing many of these racers are faced with the problem of finding a transmission that will handle the increased horsepower without putting too much weight on the front of the car.

One solution that many of the "street" and "import" racers have used is the venerable powerglide transmission, but the drawback to using that transmission is that it only has two forward gears. A heavy car on narrow tires or a light car with a motor that turns a lot of rpm needs an additional gear to really perform. One solution would be the GM 350/400 three-speed tranny, but using that transmission comes with a weight penalty.

Now there is a third option that may solve these problems. Scott McClay of Scott McClay Engineering offers a highly modified GM turbo-200 transmission. McClay originally built this transmission for use by NHRA Competition, Super Stock and Stock Eliminator racers. Generally these cars are somewhat similar to those found in "Street Legal" type racing. They are restricted to a narrow tire, stock chassis with bolt on traction devices, and very often weigh over 3000-lbs with engine. They have engine combinations that deliver up to about 800-850 horsepower and 500 ft. lbs of torque.

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