Shift Kit.........or Not?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
From: Hillsborough North Carolina
Shift Kit.........or Not?
I am planning the rebuild of a 700R4 trans, to swap into my '81 Corvette. I had planned on doing a rebuild with new clutches,steels,bands,seals,etc,etc. I had also planned on upgradding the 2-4 servo to a corvette servo,adding a Transgo shift kit,and about a 2000-2200 stall convertor. Now I have read on a couple of websites that the servo should not be changed and that a shift kit is not recommended in a 700R4. Can someone give me some tips on what mods are acceptable and safe in the 700R4? This is going to be a street car,that will see a little "spirited" driving but, probably will not make it to the track...at least not regularly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mike
Mike
Racer
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 355
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From: Valdosta Georgia
Re: Shift Kit.........or Not? (piratemike)
Mike, we put one in my son's 88 Firebird and as with most transmission shift kits it made a lot of difference. The 700-r4 had a very soft shift and was sometimes slow to downshift. After the install it had a more crisp shift and downshifted as soon as you moved the accelerator. We put this behind a 400 smallblock and ran it for over 5 years with no problem and this was with a basically stock trans except for the shift kit. The install took a little longer than say a th350 or th400, but still wasn't real difficult. Most shops upgrade to whatever Corvette parts they can in their rebuilds. I say, GO FOR IT. Hershey :D
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,310
Likes: 1
Re: Shift Kit.........or Not? (piratemike)
What were the reasons NOT to put a shift kit in? I've only dealt with my TH350, but everything I've read says all a shift kit is really doing is removing the from-the-factory-slip built into the transmission (for passenger comfort). Supposedly, any slip introduces friction, which introduces heat; both of which are BAD for a transmission.
