BIG Tranny Post

[apstguy]

I'm soon going to order a Stage 2 700R4 from Bowtie Overdrives. I will be upgrading parts along with it.

I'll be getting a cooler. What do you reccomend? I want a stacked plate design. One with a fan & thermostat maybe? It gets hot here in CA.

How do I connect it? I have seen Mikes article at 73-87.com but I don't want to run lines down to the tranny. Too expensive and don't need it. Can I bend the stock lines or will they break?

I want a new tranny pan. Here are the ones I am looking at. Which do you like the most?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...t=TCI%2D378000
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...t=HUP%2DHP3780
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...rt=BMM%2D70260

Favorite Tranny fluid? I'm thinking about synthetic.

What kind of starter would you reccomend? I'm thinking about a high torque one from Powermaster.

Flexplate - TCI? 153 or 168 tooth? ('85 305 TH700) Internally or externally ballenced?

Torque Converter - Stall for mild 350?

My speedo is also off. Where is a good site to recalibrate it and find what tooth set I need? Tire size is the only thing I have changed. I have 275/60 R15 tires. I have found one site that says I need 19 tooth drive 42 tooth driven. What do I have now?

[79BIG10]

I wanted to do Mike's setup as well but I compromised. I got steel tubing from Summit and got teh same stack plate as he got. I'm working on the install right now but hit a snag since my grill supprt is different. But other than that the steel line is all new and will be a great upgrade compared to my rubber lines now. the lines cost $20 or so and you can get different styles including stainless and aluminum.

[mike reeh]

I just got my stage 2 up and running again the night before last. Tonite Im going to go fine tune it.

Cooler. Hmm something big & high quality. If you have a few extra bucks to spend, get one with AN fittings and buy the appropriate fittings to connect it all.. it really is worth it. Bowtie overdrives will almost demand that you connect the aux. cooler in line with the radiator's built in cooler.. Dont need a thermostat or a fan if its going in front of the radiator.

tranny fluid: I like chevron or valvoline dexron III.. I wouldnt bother with synthetic, even bowtie overdrives will tell you dont bother with it. In their words: buy whatever is cheap, and change it often. Good advice, IMO.

flexplate: get a 168 tooth SFI APPROVED one. trust me on this one!

as for the converter, I would probably go with a 2200 stall.. I got the 2400 stall, and I like it but any higher would be too much. If I had to do it again I would probably go with 2200-2400 stall. If the 700 didnt use a lockup converter I would definately not like the 2400 stall.. Again, I recommend 2200

as for the speedo drive gears, I would talk to the techs at bowtie overdrives. They should be able to tell you exactly what you need and they probably have the parts in stock and will probably install them for free before you get your tranny.

good luck, you will love the b.t.o. 700r4

mike

[TIMSPEED]

Tyler, as I said before, there are quite a few local shops that can build a 700R4 up to the specs that you want, for a lot less than BTO.
For a tranny cooler, I recommend B&M Supercooler, with the 24kGVW rating.
For the converter, I recommend a 2500rpm stall TCI/Hughes/Yank.

[TIMSPEED]

Originally posted by apstguy
My speedo is also off. Where is a good site to recalibrate it and find what tooth set I need? Tire size is the only thing I have changed. I have 275/60 R15 tires. I have found one site that says I need 19 tooth drive 42 tooth driven. What do I have now?

Why is your speedo off? If you're thinking it's off because you swapped from the 237/75 15 to a 275/60 15, don't worry, it's only off by about 1mph, nothing to go and spend money over.

[mike reeh]

Originally posted by TIMSPEED
Tyler, as I said before, there are quite a few local shops that can build a 700R4 up to the specs that you want, for a lot less than BTO.

Might I ask who & do you have a complete list of what work is done, and a price? Or are you just talking....

mike

[swervin ervin]

Tim,

I see you don't read my user text much. You are always telling folks about something cheaper, but just as good. Cheap and good don't go together no matter how hard you try. Been there and done that many times.

Anyway, I agree with Mike 100%. With a lockup tranny, 2400 rpm stall is not too much. But I would quickly ditch the 3.08's and get some 3.73's. I've pondered GM's thinking many times but I still can't come up with a good reason on why they thought 2.73's or 3.08's were a good match for a 700R4 tranny. There is not wonder so many of the early 700's went south. With high gears the tranny spends 90% of it's time locking and unlocking. This quickly killed the early 700's. Then combine this with towing and it's like sticking dynamite in the case. Although they did recommend towing in D, most owners never even thought about what they were doing.

I'm sure there are many shops capable of building fine 700R4's and maybe some would be cheaper than BTO, but BTO have done their homework and know what works and what don't.

After saying this though, I won't buy one from them. I had a slight disagreement with them a while back and I guess hold grudges too long.

[mike reeh]

swervin: I would love to hear the story...

the late Steve (owner/operator) was a very very outspoken hard headed person.. Before I even committed to the b.t.o. tranny, I talked to him many times and got into phone conversations consisting of a who-can-talk-the-loudest contest.. at one point I was going to tell him to take a flying leap, but I could tell that behind this hard headed dude was an excellent businessman who put his heart and head and soul into his product/business/reputation.. that, and their nearly flawless reputation was all the convincing I needed..

And you know what, Ive had a few issues with my tranny (ones that werent necessarily BTO's fault) and they handled them like champs, and of course were free of charge. My next 700/200/4l80e that I buy will be from them.

mike

[76HighSierra]

Originally posted by swervin ervin
Tim,

I see you don't read my user text much. You are always telling folks about something cheaper, but just as good. Cheap and good don't go together no matter how hard you try. Been there and done that many times.

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but isn't that a common thing today? Someone always trying to get better for cheaper . I like a bargain as well, but I also know that when you want quality, it costs. When I go looking for new parts online, I'm more attracted to the vendors who provide adequate descriptions and seem to know what they're talking about, rather than econo vendors that couldn't find their own a$$ with two hands and a flashlight . In Tim's defence, I've seen some instances where a cheaper item was of equal quality as a more expensive one, but it doesn't happen often. It's like the old saying: "You get what you pay for."

[apstguy]

I don't trust most of the local shops. If I JUST wanted it rebuilt, my friend's father (a tranny mechanic) said he would do it on the side for $300. Cheap enough for you? I want a good quality tranny. From my research, they are well built. I do see on the site that you must buy their install kit or they won't warrenty it. That put me off but I can see where they are coming from. Mike - please tell me what happened so I may avoid it or at least be aware of any situation that was negative involving the company.

I really think my speedo is off on the freeway by 10 mph. I drive the Tahoe and everyone is going 70 - fast lane 75. When I drive my truck, everyone is going 75 - fast lane 85. I don't think it is my mind playing tricks. What else would cause it to read higher than normal?

[TIMSPEED]

Originally posted by apstguy
I really think my speedo is off on the freeway by 10 mph. I drive the Tahoe and everyone is going 70 - fast lane 75. When I drive my truck, everyone is going 75 - fast lane 85. I don't think it is my mind playing tricks. What else would cause it to read higher than normal?

Hey Tyler, how about we compare Speedo's, cuz I think mine's WAY off too. (and since we have the same size tires, haha)
Also, Tyler, are you planning on putting a badass small block in there or what?
I have a 700R in the vette, along with a 2600rpm lock-up Yank Stealth Converter, with 3.07 gears and 26" tires, and I drive it on the street everyday just fine...also pull 1.75 60's at the track...

[swervin ervin]

It wasn't really a big deal.

Back when I was messing with my self built lockup stuff, I needed a normally open/pressure closed switch for 4th gear lockup. I searched everywhere I could find for a GM part number so I could get it at the dealer. Anyway, BTO listed the switch but no part number. I gave up and ordered from them, knowing it would probably be a little higher.

When the part arrived, it was a stock GM part, nothing special. I called the dealer and they still sold the same part. It cost me $20.40 from BTO. The very same part from my local dealer would have cost exactly $4.00 total.

Well, I fully understand why BTO would need to get more for a part since they had to buy it too, but come on. That percentage is nothing short of crazy. Now I know it's not a large amount of money, but I felt like I was being ripped off. So I email BTO and politely tell them I didn't like it one bit. They email back in a week or so and even though I can't remember now what exactly they said, it really got under my skin. They never offered a refund if I wanted to send it back or anything.

So, I email them back and tell them and this time not so politely, that if this was their business practice, not to worry. But one thing is for sure, they won't have to worry about me anymore. I will not be buying anything else they sell. I don't care how nice it is.

That has got to be the biggest markups on a part I've ever seen. Even LMC doesn't mark up the GM parts this much. I'm guessing BTO could have bought the part cheaper than I could. The price I got was with my 25% discount from list.

Most will think this is silly and maybe it is, but I'm the type who don't like being taken advantage of. Sh!t me once, it's your fault, sh!t me twice, it's my fault.

[apstguy]

I see where you are coming from. Thanks Mike. I think I know what you are talking about - a set of speedo gears from them w/ the correct collar is $50. The collar alone is $47. I can see big markup right there.

[apstguy]

ttt