700r4 transmission

How are these transmissions? I am thinking of pickup one up for my 54. I will be using with a SBC 350.

 

I like them, they're plentiful and cheap in the boneyards. Think about getting the kit to allow the overdrive to work without the computer, money well spent in my book.

Bob

 

i putone in my 77 vette and i like it and if you got to www/700r4.com this is the bow tie overdrive website they have all the parts you need and great technical articles on how to hook them up

 

got on my A, 2600rpm=100mph in overdrive, at 80 I'm getting 25ish to the gallon, I also tow a camping trailer with no probs...with a high stall converter it's also running 13sec quarters!! over the last 4 years I have given mine a bunch of stick and it's taken everything with no probs. The only 2 issues you will have is over heating, if it gets to 225deg its cooked so fit a trans cooler and you will need to set up the throttle valve correctly (there's a thread on here that explains how so do a search!) if you don't you will end up with a box full of broken bits really fast......even so I would use one with no hesitation again!

 

700R4 does not need a computer to make the overdrive work.

But it does need the lockup wiring set up to work in your application.

 

Had one in a Camaro I had & loved it. Second the info on the kit that bobss396 said!

 

Had one in my 4wd s10 with 350 in it, bought the kit to stand alone, just make sure
you run a good cooler with it. otherwise I liked it

 

What's not to like? Even has a lower first gear so you get better take off thrown in the deal.

Lots of info here:

http://700r4.com/faq/faq.shtml

 

No vacuum modulator. It's kind of tricky to get it to shift just right....probably part of the reason they revised the design constantly during it's production life. They had a lot of durability issues too, but a good builder can make one last a long time behind a powerful engine, if you want to spend the money. There are a lot of good parts for them available now.

Make sure you get the TV cable adjustment right the first time.

 

Along with Headers and change of Carb, the 700 r4 changed my gas milage on the hiway to about 21 from 12, in my 84 El Camino /305.

 

These are great transmissions. The TV cable is very important to get set right, otherwise you could burn up the trans right away. I have one behind my 6 as we speak. I got 29 mpg the 1st year out before changing my gear ratio.

 

I have a 200r that I was planning to put into my '51 Chevy coupe, but I am having second thoughts and considering a turbo 350 with a 2.56 or 2.73 rear instead. Here's why: about 10 years ago my wife had a '67 Cougar (roughly the same weight) with a healthy 351 Windsor and a Ford AOD trans and a 3.25 rear end.
The drop between third gear and overdrive was huge, and if you were driving at less than 75 mph it just sort of lugged down the motor.

Any words of advice with the 700 or 200 GM trans? Best I can figure, with a 3.42 or 3.70-ish rear end first gear becomes useless for anything but towing or drag racing, and with a 2.73 or 3.08 the overdrive drop in RPM becomes a problem unless you're flying.

I am not slagging on the overdrive transmissions, I'm just trying to decide which way to go. I'm not worried about overheating or longevity, but I am worried about not enjoying driving the car.
I'm hoping for words of wisdom from those with experience with these transmissions.

 

TH350 has a vacuum modulator, it shifts nice. Would you be happy with the acceleration with 2.5:1 first gear ratio, and mid-high two rearend gears? Is your engine set up to pull good from 1500-2000 rpm? If so, then overdrive is not really necessary.

Newer cars/trucks have the benefit of engines that are designed to run smoothy and with torque at low low rpm, so overdrive with mild rearend gearing works pretty well. With our typical modified street engines, you need to run those steeper rearend ratios to make overdrive pleasant. But you'll be able to get some scratch when you take off. That isn't always a bad thing, you know

 

700R4 is the new "350" , I put one in my 51 Pontiac. Theres no call for spending good money buying anyone's "kit" to make the converter lockup. I've been doing it for 25 years ..and not one penny for after market stuff.

 

I have had two over the years. They were both great and I had no problems with either one!

 

It´s a great transmission, in terms of offering both the options of a snappy take-off on low gears, and yet low RPM and economy at freeway speeds. I guess in the realm of a retrofit, the key to reaping both said benefits out of it would be a matching combination of a cam-profile and final-ratio gearing, though...The cryptonite to the longevity of these transmissions is of course HEAT, and more specifically, the most crucial element being the proper adjustment of the TV (=Throttle Valve detent)-cable(=the steel wire running from Your throttle linkage down to the top front end of the passenger -side of Your valve-body -casing.

 

onlychevrolets is exactly right!! I have posted this several times about NOT needing any wiring to make lock up work on a 82-88 700R4. If you want to use Bowtie-TCI-B&M or any of the other big corporate stuff, go for it. But its NOT needed. We ship these things all over the country w/ excellent results. DAVE

 

"Any words of advice with the 700 or 200 GM trans? Best I can figure, with a 3.42 or 3.70-ish rear end first gear becomes useless for anything but towing or drag racing, and with a 2.73 or 3.08 the overdrive drop in RPM becomes a problem unless you're flying."

The 700 and 200 have a whole different gearset. The 200 is more of a close-ratio trans (2.74, 1.57, 1.00, 0.67), the 700 has a much lower 1st gear (3.06, 1.63, 1.00, 0.70). So it stands to reason - 200 for a light car, 700 for a heavy car. 3.42 or 3.73 works well in either case.

 

They are made for a 350, good cruiser package, I have one -stock xmission-in my Cheeby coupe and it changed the whole car (was a 4 speed).
Word of advice, buy the later one, I think its from '89 to 93, they have the stonger guts. Mine is a 93 and I just changed the oil and filter, put it in and it works fine now after 4 years.
cooger

 

There is no wiring required for the lock-up if you get one from a pre 1993 vehicle is there?

 

Had one in my old 57' Poncho - worked great and actually go 28mpg with a mild 305 and 3.31 rear gears. 70mph was just over 2000rpm.

 

THADS...77 VETTE. DUDE are you lost? NAA forget about the n700r4, and get a turbo 400. now that's a badass trany...POP.

 

pre-93 you do need to wire up the converter lock up, it can be as simple as installing a pressure switch in the valve body and running a few wires, then connect a power wire to the trans.

93-up 4L60E requires a computer to make it even shift at all.

 

Rebel Wire has what you need: http://www.rebel-wire.com/acckits.shtml

- Joe

 

700r4 is a good tranny if you take the precautionary measures of adjusting the TV cable correctly with the correct Geometry off of the carb and I highly recommend a cooler, and don't overfill or underfill with fluid. Those 3 things can kill a 700r4 if not correct. I am using a high-dollar lockup kit where I can adjust at what mph I want it to lockup at....not necessary at all as mentioned in previous posts.

 

I beat the hell out of one in a Suburban with a 2.73 gear in it (who ordered that one?!?) towing stuff; all I did was add a cooler and keep it full and it lasted until the truck got too rotty to pass inspection. Once had something like 7500 lbs behind me with it. I've been running it as a lot truck but I'm going to put it and the 350 in a '50 Chevy hopefully this summer. Only has just shy of 100K on it and I ran about 45,000 of those miles myself.

I would just make sure to get an 87-90 or so (90 or 91 they go to an electronic speedo drive), as they were the most advanced design wise before going to the computer version.

Apparently GM thought enough of the computer version they put one in my 1-ton van -

 

I've got a 700-R4 in my 4,000lb Jag, and a 200-4R in my 2200lb roadster. Both are idealy suited for the weights of the cars they're in. BTW, the the old '77 Jag gets 28+ MPG at 70 MPH back and forth from FL to NY...

 

TCI now sells a valve body with a modified circuit that eliminates any concern over messing up the TV cable adjustment. It will not allow you to burn it up that way.

I built a couple using the Trans Go kits and ATSG books. It's very easy to do a bulletproof 700R4 and tuning them is easy with the right info. I suggest getting the ATSG book first, read up, then select the parts you want from Trans Go.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/TC-'Valve Bodies'-0.aspx
http://www.atsgmiami.com/
http://www.transgo.com/

 

I run turbo 400 in my 49 chevy. I had 3.08 gear and it seemed too low on the expressway. I put in a 2.73 so we'll see how that goes.

 

Yep, there is. It's a simple deal though, I did mine myself. I think TCI or one of those transmission places that build custom stuff has a web site that tells how to wire up a 4 pin connector and hook it up. I used that, put it on and never looked back. Don't be fooled into buying one, its the same deal with a mucho pricetag.
cooger