700r4

[Waylon]

Will a 700r4 bolt right up to a 307? I assume it will but thought I would ask the experts. I found a good one for $275, sounds like a good deal to me.
Will the drivehsaft have to be shortened or something?
Thanks!

[RedZ71]

man im gonna be watching this thread all day, as this is the same thing i would like to do.

what has to be done as far how the column shifter connects to the 700r4? or does that not really matter, just connect it up, and pull it into gear?

[metalmassfab]

Well, I cant say for sure if it bolts right up, but if not Advance Adapters will probly have what you need. $275 is a good deal, and the driveshaft will need to be shortend. Also, a new trans x-member will be needed, you can find nice tubular units for around $50. If the 700r4 does not have a T.V. cable and carb bracket/linkage, you'll need that too. Hmmm...more parts!

[Ole Blue 68]

That's a good deal so long as its in good shape. What you gotta think about is how much its going to cost you in other parts to do the swap as Ryan mentioned. Checkout http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/index.shtml to get an idea of what you'd be in for.

[metalmassfab]

Column shifter...get a Hurst pistol grip shifter! Course they cost durn near as much as the tranny!!! I am not aware of any upgrade parts for the stock column shifter to work with the 700r4, it needs 4 forward detents. Interesting though, I'll check around. I put a 700r4 in my truck behind a 510 hp 383, and even with 4.11 gears she got just over 16 mpg! Thats up from the old worn out 350s' 9 mpg! Gotta love OD. I'll look around and see what turns up...

[metalmassfab]

Originally Posted by Ole Blue 68

That's a good deal so long as its in good shape. What you gotta think about is how much its going to cost you in other parts to do the swap as Ryan mentioned. Checkout http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/index.shtml to get an idea of what you'd be in for.

Ahh... Bowtie Overdrives. I think all told I spent right around $2200 for their stage 3 trans, lockup converter, x-member, Lokar T.V. setup, matching Lokar trans dipstick (yeah, I'm an idiot, its a work truck c'mon!), pressure gauge to get it dialed in...It was a bit more involved than I realized, but well worth it. If you guys will be installing these 700r4 trannys yourselves (I assume?) you'll want to get the required info for the proper T.V. cable setting and pressure. Bowtie says they are picky about the pressure. In fact, they wont warrenty their tranny until you get it hooked up, do some fun tests like 'put it in first, floor it, shift to second, let off floor it....' lotta fun, but hard to hook those 510 ponies! I think I've still got my instructuions from Bowtie...dig through some paperwork time.

[Waylon]

I just called the guy to tell him I would buy it and he said someone called and told him to hold it for him till this afternoon, I knew I should have called this morning when I saw the ad, he said it works great it came out of a '84 Suburban. It's a reputable mechanic shop that has it. I'm going to call back this evening to see if the guy actually came to get it. I hope he doesn't!

Even after buying the kit and everything from bowtieoverdrives it still seems like a good deal.

[Robznob11]

well before you buy you might want to check out the artical in hot rod this month, not all 700r4 are equal, early ones are junk and it said even the later ones will likley fail if you throw more than 350 ponies at them. just a thought, ive heard of people installing them behind big engines and not haveing problems guess it depends on you driveing style, im shure i would trash one quick, also remember that even though the first gear is lower than a th 350-400 there is a wider jump between the follwing gears, hence you will lose more rpm during a shift or it will bog a little more, should be well suited for a daily driver though...

[Waylon]

It'd probably be fine for me. I don't have a big HP engine and don't plan on putting one in. Just a good dependable driver is all I want......of course there is the occasional gettin' all up in it...but not too much.

[cameeks]

I installed one last week. I used to have a power glide so the rod and link to the transmission were diffrent. I got on out of a 80's model truck in a junkyard and it bolted right in. P-R-N-D are in the same area and in the area for D-1 all 4 forward gaers fit right in. Go figure. I'm still using my original x-member. Just moved it back.

[metalmassfab]

Originally Posted by cameeks

I installed one last week. I used to have a power glide so the rod and link to the transmission were diffrent. I got on out of a 80's model truck in a junkyard and it bolted right in. P-R-N-D are in the same area and in the area for D-1 all 4 forward gaers fit right in. Go figure. I'm still using my original x-member. Just moved it back.

the reason we all love chevy!

[70GMCer]

Vendors sell the P-R-N-D-3-2-1 lens for our auto columns. I have one. Will need to shorten the drive shaft 3 inches. 700R's bolt up to any Chevy V8's and you can use the original xmember.

[cooters]

a t350 with a 9" tailhousing has the same yoke and length as a 700 tranny so you dont have to change the driveshaft. However the mounting on the 700 is back about 1 1/2"

[Longhorn Man]

Cooters... these trucks didn't come with that tranny, so most of them would in fact need the shaft cut down.
Now, if you have the correct short shaft TH350, a 200 4R will bolt right in witht he original drive shaft and yoke, just move the crossmember back to the TH400 position.
Don't forget the lock up controller, the proper kirt for the TV cable and all the money you'll have wrapped up in it.
My tranny guy could do up an overdrive, to live behind my caddy motor, and it woulda cost about 300 bucks with converter. A rebuildable case shouldn't cost more than 25 bucks, so in reality, an old 700 from a truck (last place i'd want a used tranny from) of the worst years, for 275 doesn't seem like too much of a deal to me. Granted, my tranny guy works cheap, but I'd be willing to bet a punch in the gut there's some old coot workin out of his garage somewhere fairly close to you that can do the same deal.

[cameeks]

Originally Posted by 70GMCer

Vendors sell the P-R-N-D-3-2-1 lens for our auto columns. I have one. Will need to shorten the drive shaft 3 inches. 700R's bolt up to any Chevy V8's and you can use the original xmember.

where did you get the lens from?

[cooters]

what length of tailshaft did the t350 come with? All trucks in mid 70s till 87 came with a 9" tailshaft so i had asumed 68-72 did also, did the 68-72 come with 6" tailshaft?

[Tx Firefighter]

yes, the earlier trucks came with 6 inch tailshaft TH350's.

[rust!!whatrust?]

Hi I just boght all I need to install a 700r4 in my 70 C10.
Here's a run down of part number from Lokar and TCI. I chose this route as aposed to the Bowtieoverdrive.com route simply because I work at a shop where we are a distributor for these brands.
TCI universal lockup kit prt#376600 TCI TV cable prt# 376800
I used a Holley carb. so TCI TV bracket for Holley carb. prt# 376705
TCI geometery corrector for Holley carb. prt # 376715. And a Lokar ACA-1800 shift rod so I can use my stock column shifter and be able to reach first gear. Then I selected a firewall mount dipstick. I'll upload pics when I get time to install this.

[Longhorn Man]

69 to 72 actually... powerglide and TH400 was all that you could get in the 67/68 if you didn't want to shift gears on your own.

[cameeks]

Originally Posted by rust!!whatrust?

....And a Lokar ACA-1800 shift rod so I can use my stock column shifter and be able to reach first gear...

Im not sure if it is the same as an 80's model chevy but I used stock parts out of a Suburban and I can get 1st gear spent $10 at the junkyard.

[rust!!whatrust?]

Cameeks I see you have a 700r4 backed by 3:73 gears. I haven't installed my tranny and engine yet but I just checked my rear end and it was a 3:73. What rpm are you turning on the highway? And what's your general take on this gearing package?