Does adding a 700r4 add much in resale value??

[Markks]

Just curious if adding a700r4 would help in resale value to my 71 C20?. I know it would add value in driving, since it has the Eaton 4.56 rear end. And it is a daily driver even this winter. It’s a keeper, just would like to justify the expense,,

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by Markks

Just curious if adding a700r4 would help in resale value to my 71 C20?. I know it would add value in driving, since it has the Eaton 4.56 rear end. And it is a daily driver even this winter. It’s a keeper, just would like to justify the expense,,

If it's a keeper, why justify cost? With a working transmission it's hard to justify. If fuel goes crazy, maybe-but probably not. There is less wear and tear on the engine. Cooling system may not work as hard. Hard to quantify that in dollars. But really, unless you need a trans build, I would keep what you have.

[jocko]

It does not add resale in my opinion. It's one of those items wherein buyers never quite trust that the seller did everything right. Might be attractive to some buyers but overall it would shrink the buyer pool. Having said that I personally wouldn't put a 700R4 in a 3/4 ton either - they aren't exactly heavy duty transmissions, so I think it would be more of a detractor to potential buyers than anything. They CAN be made to be fairly strong, but usually at a good bit more expense. I also would not add one to a 4.56 truck. If resale is your goal (or if it's a keeper and you want to drive it) I'd swap out the rear gearing for something more driveable - 3.73 3.54 D60 etc. 4.56 will drive off most buyers regardless of trans, even an o/d. What is your current engine/trans combo? 350/350?

[truckster]

You're keeping it and asking this question? Well, then, yes, it will add zillions of dollars of value to your truck, and you can tell your wife we all said so.

You've got a nice-looking, clean truck. If it operates well, I don't think what transmission it has in it is going to affect value much one way or another. That's just my opinion.

[68bowtie]

If it’s currently a manual transmission, then changing to auto will definitely make it in higher demand, which in theory makes it more valuable. If it’s already auto, probably not.

[LNP]

I think to buyers wanting a oe stock truck it would make a difference as they would want the oe trans. But other than that buyers would prefer the 700r4 as it would make it more driver friendly. It will improve gas mileage for sure and add that overdrive comfort most people know and understand today. I switched to a 700r4 from a 350 turbo (oe) trans. Did help the truck out a lot in my opinion. As for the 456 gear if you're not haulin heavy loads or pullin stumps drop the gear ratio down. Easier on the engine as it wont tach as high for everyday drivin. Anyway thats my two cents.

[cj847]

Having owned a few jeeps that went from stock to wildly modified (with highly desirable mods), I can tell you that modifications do not add value. If you are going to keep it it doesn't matter. With 4.56 I would definitely opt for OD.

[Markks]

Sorry, yes it’s a 350/350, I just hate to see the tach at 2500 @ 55 mph. It does have a crate replacement. I’m guessing it might get 10 mpg if I’m lucky.

[dagnabbitt]

If the 700r4 was rebuilt by a good shop and you had the receipts, yes it would add value: for me anyway.

As others have pointed out the truck would cease to be of any use for towing, though.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by jocko

It does not add resale in my opinion. It's one of those items wherein buyers never quite trust that the seller did everything right. Might be attractive to some buyers but overall it would shrink the buyer pool. Having said that I personally wouldn't put a 700R4 in a 3/4 ton either - they aren't exactly heavy duty transmissions, so I think it would be more of a detractor to potential buyers than anything. They CAN be made to be fairly strong, but usually at a good bit more expense. I also would not add one to a 4.56 truck. If resale is your goal (or if it's a keeper and you want to drive it) I'd swap out the rear gearing for something more driveable - 3.73 3.54 D60 etc. 4.56 will drive off most buyers regardless of trans, even an o/d. What is your current engine/trans combo? 350/350?

I agree whole heartedly. I don’t care for the 700r4 in any form built or stock, definitely not in a 3/4 ton truck that gets used as such. Does your truck have rear leaf springs? If it does, I think I’d look at swapping to a later model 14 bolt full floating rear axle with a 3:42 gear set. I really don’t mind the Eaton axles at all, the only reason I even mention the swap is because you can’t find numerically low gears for the Eaton’s. If you can find a 1 ton sqaure body 14 bolt (has to be out of a one ton) then the axle perches are the same width as your Eaton and all you’ll have to do is move one shock mount to bolt it in. Even if you bought an axle and had to rebuild it, gears bearings and all you’ll likely still be into it way less than a transmission swap. The 3:42’s are a decent ratio for cruising while not totally killing your ability to pull or haul like 3:08 and lower would.

[kwmech]

Putting a 4L80e in the truck would be a better upgrade not a 700. For me having a 700 in a truck would be walk away.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Markks

Sorry, yes it’s a 350/350, I just hate to see the tach at 2500 @ 55 mph. It does have a crate replacement. I’m guessing it might get 10 mpg if I’m lucky.

If it helps you decide - here's a comparison of TH350/4.56 vs 3.54 D60 rear axle swap vs 700R4/4.56 vs GV o/d (all for a 30" tire). Any of these approaches would be a significant improvement over your current combo. 700R4 drops your cruising RPM approx 200 more rpm than the 3.54 axle swap would, which makes sense (i.e. .70 o/d essentially makes you 4.56 a 3.19 in o/d). Personally, I'd rather have a D60 3.54 than a 700R4 in a C20 - you could still do everything you do today with your TH350.

Another option that hasn't been mentioned is that for the approx price of a well-built 700R4, you could simply add a Gear Vendors o/d unit to the back of your TH350. It is shown in the 4th set of numbers and the result is almost identical to putting a 3.54 D60 (but only in "4th" gear - i.e. you'd retain the same driving habits in 1st thru 3rd. You can also use the GV o/d as a gear splitter and your TH350 would function as a 6-speed, but I think most generally use it as an o/d 4th gear). GV units are just about indestructible, so would not be the weak link in your drivetrain.

One last thing to consider that tends to fall between the cracks in 700R4 discussions - the rather deep 1st gear, which would only be exacerbated by your 4.56. In other words, with a 13.95:1 final drive ratio in 1st gear, you'd probably be shifting into 2nd about halfway across any intersection from a dead stop. But you could pull out some tree stumps - at least until the 700R4 toasted itself.. )

I also really like 57taskforce's and kwmech's suggestions - great options - 3.42 in a 14 bolt FF or 4L80. 3.42s would be great for highway - but you will eventually start to erode your 1st gear acceleration (only slightly more than the 3.54 option though, it does the same thing) - and the 4L80 is a .75 o/d, so your RPM numbers would fall somewhere in the middle between the last 2 pics below - but you'd retain you 1st gear stump pulling ability. All depends what you want to use the truck for. I like both options - but the 4L80 upgrade actually improves on your driveline's overall strength - it would NOT be the weak link, stronger trans than your TH350 and much stronger than a 700R4.
Anyway, just some different perspectives, food for thought.

[TwoFiftyShifter]

Care to elaborate, jocko?

[notsolo]

Most cost effective seems to be rear gear swap to 354, can you get away with just changing the driven gear on a th350 to keep the speedo correct?

[DeadheadNM]

The 700r4 in my K20 is built to handle 450 hp/500 ft lbs of torque and makes the highway driving nice with my 4.10 rear axle gears. That said, were I able to go back in time I'd look hard at adding a Gear Vendors overdrive with a TH350. The swap may not add much to the resale value but probably some to a knowledgeable buyer. If the swap will afford you a better driving experience then go for it and build it to handle your needs.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

The 700r4 in my K20 is built to handle 450 hp/500 ft lbs of torque and makes the highway driving nice with my 4.10 rear axle gears. That said, were I able to go back in time I'd look hard at adding a Gear Vendors overdrive with a TH350. The swap may not add much to the resale value but probably some to a knowledgeable buyer. If the swap will afford you a better driving experience then go for it and build it to handle your needs.

The gear vendors is a great suggestion as well. I’d love to have one behind my 4 speed. The ability to split gears and always stay in the power band is a huge plus.

[Markks]

Thanks guys!! Appreciate the info, I would rather just swap out rear ends to a 3.42, or even a 3.08, I won’t be using it to pull anything other than what I can throw in the bed,
It has the trailing arms and coil springs, what swaps are available for this setup??

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by Markks

Thanks guys!! Appreciate the info, I would rather just swap out rear ends to a 3.42, or even a 3.08, I won’t be using it to pull anything other than what I can throw in the bed,
It has the trailing arms and coil springs, what swaps are available for this setup??

If you can weld, you can buy all the trailing arm brackets to add too a leaf spring rear, simply strip the old brackets/perches off, set your trailing arm brackets/ track bar mount, and shock mounts on the axle and your pinion angle is the biggest part of it.

[DeadheadNM]

If you go through with the axle swap lmk - I'd like parts off that nice HO52 axle

[ChevyRacefan]

Most of these trucks are not driven daily, or allot, so lack of o/d isn't that big of a deal.

[Myself]

Justify the cost???? I guess you don't have any friends that are 'minitruckers' lol!