i was looking in to rebuilding the 700r4 i have lien around and put it in my 71 lemans but i saw i would have to shorten my drive shaft and convert the speedometer and buy an adapter to accept bop bolt pattern. but i was thinking of maybe a 200r4. so what is the 200r4? a 4 speed with over drive or what? i have a rebuild kit for the 700 lien around but if its more worth it to just build the 200 i might just do that.
It really depends on you budget and skill level. But I've been told the 200-4r can up shift into overdrive at wot and the 700 can't. Also the 700 first gear is really low so there's more of a drop in rpm from first to second. Does this help any?
<pre>Gear 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TH350 2.52 1.52 1.00 TH400 2.48 1.48 1.00 200-4r 2.74 1.57 1.00 0.67 700r4 3.06 1.62 1.00 0.70</pre> The 200-4r shares the same overall length as the TH350, uses the same yoke, and is a BOB/Chevy universal case pattern. The 700r4 is Chevy only, comes in either a SBC/BBC/V6/Diesel pattern and the 2.5/2.8/3.1 bellhousing. The 200-4r is more of a "bolt-on". There's a few desirable codes to look for on the housings that indicate what the trans was used for. As typical, the one used in the Grand National and T-Type Buicks would me most desirable, as would any built in the last few years of production since they "reportedly" incorporated the enhancements developed for the GN, and was eventually phased out of production after 1990 with the last cars using the trans being the B-Body series with the 305 V8s.
My 700 shifts into OD @ WOT and with a 455 and the 3.42 gear ratio the drop in RPM's is a non issue. The 88 to 92 700's are the way to go because of the auxiliary valve body and other updates GM did. The yoke is 27 splines the same one the T350 uses. You will need the adapter plate and the drive shaft will probably need to be shortened. To make it easier to connect the 700R4 to the cross member you need this tail housing as pictured here: You can buy them from http://www.transmissioncenter.net/?gclid=CM7rt5GpmbQCFQ45nAodMz8AQw but I thought the price was too much. I found one in a junkyard for $10. With that tail housing I had to elongate the slots on the crossmember because the tranny mount bolt holes are further back and I didn't want to drill holes in the frame. That took a couple of tries. The 2004R would overall be a easier swap. One thing I see brought up a lot is the subject of strength, well I think they both are plenty strong when the good parts are used which =:dollar: My 700 has been behind a stout 455 for about 2 years now and I've had zero issues with it. The 200 is also ran with some very strong motors.
Something to consider, if you're willing to pay the cash, is if you decide to use an adapter plate and mods necessary to install a 700r4, you may as well get a a 4L80e or 4L60e and an aftermarket stand-alone shift computer. If I had the cash and time, that's what I'd do, unless I could get a T-56 cheaper...
4l60e wont really net him any more strength over the 700. i used to fool around with gas gm trucks alot. so i cant see the extra cash for the controller to use the basic same trans only electric over manual. 4l80e is about as strong as you can get besides some of the big diesel trans but its huge and takes alot of power to turn it. i think bop to chevy adapter plate is 40 bucks from jegs. 200 4r would be my number one pick for a car. if i was above its limitations 4l80e would be my choice. 4l60e or 700r4 i would use basically if thats what it had oem or i had laying around,the price was right or it just fit perfect without mods which it doesnt in the a bodies.
