I have a th350 with a 350cu in. in my 69 and I want to upgrade to a 700 R4. I plan on upgrading the shifter to say Overdrive, but for now I just want to keep the three gear shifter, can I do this? Will it cause a problem with shifting? Or will I have to have shifter that goes into a Overdrive slot.

this change in trannys is not so much for racing but for better fuel economy, but I am still going to get a raced prepped 700r4.

If you have the column shifter I don't think there is anyway to correctly control the trans. Obviously you have have one more detent with the R700 but only 5 positions on the column shift. You could connect the shift linkage to the new overdrive trans but it would be guesswork as to what year you're in. I would consider a floor shift conversion.

Actually the 700R4 works just fine with the column shifter there are no detents in the shift linkage the detents are actually in the transmission itself. The only thing you will have to do is get a different indicator so your pointer will show which gear you are in, this is not a big problem since most of the time you will have the gear selector in the over drive position. If you go with a floor shifter you will probably use a cable type the after market ones are sold with selectors (detent) for 700R4 or you can get one out of a Monte Carlo, Olds or Pontiac. Most of the 80’s models had 4R200 but the shifters work with either trans since the shift sequence is the same. If you want a good trans for the road without giving up acceleration you will love the 700R4. Go for it. Harald K

If the instrument panel indicator from a 5th Gen Elky with the overdrive trans is interchangeable with the earlier 3 speed auto (and my guess is that it is) then it is a simple matter to change the indicator assembly and/or lens, it didn't occur to me before. While the detents are at the valve body the instrument panel would only have positions for the 3 speed trans and it would be difficult to accurately select the gears because you would not have a position for all the gears. If you are the only person who drives the vehicle it would be easy to acquaint yourself but if other people drive your car on occasion (parking valets, family memebers) it could be inconvenient or even dangerous.
For your info I have converted floor shifts from 2 speed to 3 and 4 speed automatics and a company called Shiftworks makes conversion kits that I have used and they are very effective. Floor shifts unlike column shifts do have detents at the shifter.

I don't know about the column on a 69, but in a 74, there are "detents" in the column that match the indicator. That's why you have to pull the shifter toward you to shift from park to reverse to drive to L2. There is no"detent" between L2 and L1. Unfortunately, there isn't enough rotation in the column to get od, d, 2, and 1 for a 4 speed auto. When we put in my 700R4, we adjusted the linkage so that overdrive is at D. I drive in town in L2 on the indicator which would be D on a 700R4 column. The only problem is that I can't "lock" the trans in 1st gear and with 3.73 rears I really don't want to. When I want to "launch", I just pull it down to L1, which "locks" it into 2nd gear. She shifts from 1-2 at about 5000, which is a little low for my 396, but then I can hold to redline in 2nd and shift to L2 to get 3d gear. I preferred to keep the column shift and although it would be nice to have all the positions, this set-up works fine for me.

I guess there are different circumstances depending on the model year. I know personally that not being able to select every gear in my transmission without question would not be acceptable. Lokar and a couple of other companies have column shift linkage kits made for hot rods that could be used to make an acceptable gearshift arrangement. As for myself I prefer a floorshift.

I am looking for 700R4s in the paper. What years should I look for? Should I get a Lock-up or non-lock up converter? I want good gas milage but I want good pick up for the track, do 700r4s come with different gear ratios for the first, second, ect...or will all 700r4s have the same gear ratios?

Oh, and Bgstk I have been told that what you did on your 74, will work for my 69.

thanks everybody for your info and comments.

you need to find the later model 700R4 from 87 up i think. it has a 30 spline torque convertor and an auxilliary valve body. also you want the lockup. will reduce your rpm's even more. all 700's have the same gear ratios, no choice there. 1st gear is awesome even with 3.08 gears in the rear. the tv cable linkage is really tricky and must be set right by someone that KNOWS what they are doing. tell them how you want it to shift as there is a little flexibility in this but one click on the adjuster can be the difference between life and death for the tranny. i would recommend you get gm pn#24502513. this kit comes with a different spring for the throttle valve, a plug in for the lockup that you can wire into a switch, and other stuff that you will not need. i have found the plug in elsewheres but not the spring. this spring is for carbuerated applications and no computer control. all in all, if you take the necessary precautions you will be very impressed. if i can help anymore, shoot me an e-mail or pm. there are also some improvements you can make simply, without even dropping the valve body, that may be more to your liking or suit your engine or driving style better. bob

thanks greasy5thwheel,

I am going to start looking now, if I find one I'll tell you and the board.

I am looking forward to the swap, and its kind of cool that you mentioned 3.08 rear, because thats the ratio that I have.

If I run into any problems with the swap, you all can be sure I post again.

Actually the shop that built my transmission prefers to use 89 of newer cores the 89 has some additional modifications that made the trans much stronger than previous versions. Also when you get one check the speedometer gears both driven and drive if you want your speedometer to work correctly there are a number of programs on the web which can calculate the right gear set for you. It is easier to see the drive gear before you install the trans. in some cases you may have to change one or both to get the correct combination. I like my lock-up converter but did install a switch that can be used to disengage the converter comes in handy when you want to do a bit of dragging. It was very simple to install I ran it off the brake switch. It makes the trans think you have applied the brakes as when you disengage the cruise control. If you intend to do some drag racing you need to have the trans built for the task they make some very good kits for this purpose. A used 700R4 with up-teen thousand miles on it just won't hold up for long.

Why not find a rebuilt th200r4 since they don't require as much to install?

Tommy's correct the 200-4R is a great transmission and easier to install as long as you have an 84 or newer El Camino you do not have to have the drive shaft shortened but you do have to move the cross member back and the 83 and earlier frame was not modified with the extension on the drivers side frame rail. Also 200-4R transmissions are getting some what hard to find since they were used mostly in the G body and not much beyond the 88 model year. Have you noticed what most of the yard are crushing. The 700R4 was used in almost all GM cars and trucks until the changed to the 460LE by the way you can use that one as well but you have to change the speedometer drive to a cable drive or change your speedometer to electronic. Harald

Well the tranny swap isn't for my 86 its for my 69. and dont 700r4 handle more power plus have lower gears. I already have a 200r4 in my 86 and it handles ok but when I talk to people about overdrive trannies at car shows they always tell me to get a 700r4 for cruising and racing.

Well the tranny swap isn't for my 86 its for my 69. and dont 700r4 handle more power plus have lower gears. I already have a 200r4 in my 86 and it handles ok but when I talk to people about overdrive trannies at car shows they always tell me to get a 700r4 for cruising and racing.

My opinion about the two is the 200R4 (stock) is a little weaker than the newer 700R4s are stock. The 200R4 has a much better 1-2 and 2-3 step than the 700R4 and a lower Overdrive or final drive gear. the 700 according to most sources is about .72 final drive and the 200R4 has a .68 final drive, or something very close to that. So the 200R4 is better if built correctly for street racing and highway cruising.

If you only talking stock transmission then I'd do the 700R4 for the extra strength and its easier to adjust the TV cable than the 200R4. If your talking about built transmission then my opinion is the 200R4 is better.

But that is just my preferences. I like them both and the 700R4 is a much better transmission than the 350/c.

I also think the 200R4 is a better choice--better gearing and easier fit. As far as being strong----a properly rebuilt 200R4 is very stout. Buiok GNXs used 200R4 and they had more than 300hp.

the 200r4 has a lower first gear than the 700r4s 3.06:1(I think thats right) ratio? wow I may have to look at the 200r4s but here in missouri there isnt a high supply and demand for them, most companies sell 700s and in the paper most used overdrive trannies are 700s rather than 200s. well I guess I will keep my eyes open.