When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
JUAN J SANCHEZ
Notching the detent plate to be able to select 1st gear is a piece of cake. All you need is a dremel, patience, and maybe a hand file for fine tuning.
That being said the only reason I've ever gone into 1st gear on my 200-4R is to ensure that I can do it. HOWEVER, if I had not done it, then it would be on my list of things to do.
Anyway -- easy, peasy, lemon squeezy:
See here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1604916531
Originally Posted by JUAN J SANCHEZ
I have a 700R4 for my friends 81 L82, that has a lock-up TH350, I know the 82's with crossfire had 700's so it should bolt right on. Now, he argue's with me that the shifter is the same but I disagree, the 700R4 has to have an extra slot in the shifter and I doubt it was included in the 3 speed (th350/th400) set-up's. Can anyone verify this? Also does the crossmember also have to be from a 82? Any info on this swap would be greatly appreciated!
The bracket should resemble this. I don't think this one is exactly correct, but it is similar, and I don't have a photo of mine on the car. And you don't need the vertical bracket that is bolted to it. Just the part that bolts to the crossmember and supports the rear of the trans. If you can find a parts book for an '82 you should be able to look up the correct number. I don't think they are available from the aftermarket. I got mine off eBay a long time ago. And remember all of this requires you to have the correct tailshaft housing for a Corvette.
Also further to the shifter, when GM put the 700R4 in the '82 Corvette they did not develop a new shifter. They used the same one and marked the indicator 2-3-D. There are two ways to modify the shifter to access all four gears. Some guys modify the shifter witth a dremel to add a detent for first gear. There is (or at least was) a kit available from Shiftworks to modify the factory shifter for the 700. That is what I did. It works great, although IIRC the kit did not include a new indicator as I remember having to have one made. But it has been a long time and the details are fuzzy.
My suspicion is that the shifter is probably the same.
I got an Automatic shifter from earlier C-3 with a Turbo 400 and it all lined up beautifully to shift my 200-4R that I installed.
The parts below look like the parts for my Manual Muncie M-21.
If going to the 700-r4 then that extension to hold up the Muncie MAY not be needed....it wasn't needed for my 200-4R and the 700 is even longer.....but I'm not sure about that. Looking for 1982 tranny mount pics ....
Somebody that has an 82 will probably have some good pictures.
Originally Posted by drwet
The bracket should resemble this. I don't think this one is exactly correct, but it is similar, and I don't have a photo of mine on the car. And you don't need the vertical bracket that is bolted to it. Just the part that bolts to the crossmember and supports the rear of the trans. If you can find a parts book for an '82 you should be able to look up the correct number. I don't think they are available from the aftermarket. I got mine off eBay a long time ago. And remember all of this requires you to have the correct tailshaft housing for a Corvette.
Also further to the shifter, when GM put the 700R4 in the '82 Corvette they did not develop a new shifter. They used the same one and marked the indicator 2-3-D. There are two ways to modify the shifter to access all four gears. Some guys modify the shifter witth a dremel to add a detent for first gear. There is (or at least was) a kit available from Shiftworks to modify the factory shifter for the 700. That is what I did. It works great, although IIRC the kit did not include a new indicator as I remember having to have one made. But it has been a long time and the details are fuzzy.
Last edited by carriljc; Apr 14, 2026 at 09:31 PM.
I installed a 700R4 trans in my 78 C3 about 10 years ago. I used the stock C3 trans crossmember, but had a helluva time getting the exhaust to clear the trans pan, especially on the passengers' side, took a whole lot of pie-slicing of mandrel bends to get that sharp bend right at the crossmember to get around that corner of the trans pan. Driver's side is not as tortured. But it's do-able. Like I said, it's been 10 yrs since, many miles later, no problems.
I did have to skootch the parking brake pulley mount over a little bit to clear the trans tail-shaft housing (from a Caprice), cut and re-attach. Trans mount was fabbed up from some angle-iron and flat-strap steel.
Look here. This is allegedly a 1982 crossmember. All good and well but I'd buy an aftermarket one instead of a stock unit. I snipped some pics below the link so there's something to view when the link dies:
That's a bit of work. Good Job.
I was having the same issue when installing my 200-4R and so I decided to make my own "exhaust pass under" crossmember" instead of waiting for an aftermarket crossmember to be available for purchase.
I like it all around better than going through the stock crossmember exhaust holes. You can see it here in after painting. Mine was a manual so I had to fabricate the mounts.
Originally Posted by rpoL98
I installed a 700R4 trans in my 78 C3 about 10 years ago. I used the stock C3 trans crossmember, but had a helluva time getting the exhaust to clear the trans pan, especially on the passengers' side, took a whole lot of pie-slicing of mandrel bends to get that sharp bend right at the crossmember to get around that corner of the trans pan. Driver's side is not as tortured. But it's do-able. Like I said, it's been 10 yrs since, many miles later, no problems.
I did have to skootch the parking brake pulley mount over a little bit to clear the trans tail-shaft housing (from a Caprice), cut and re-attach. Trans mount was fabbed up from some angle-iron and flat-strap steel.
I installed a 700R4 trans in my 78 C3 about 10 years ago. I used the stock C3 trans crossmember, but had a helluva time getting the exhaust to clear the trans pan, especially on the passengers' side, took a whole lot of pie-slicing of mandrel bends to get that sharp bend right at the crossmember to get around that corner of the trans pan. Driver's side is not as tortured. But it's do-able. Like I said, it's been 10 yrs since, many miles later, no problems.
I did have to skootch the parking brake pulley mount over a little bit to clear the trans tail-shaft housing (from a Caprice), cut and re-attach. Trans mount was fabbed up from some angle-iron and flat-strap steel.
Yes those are both significant issues with the 700R4 installation that I had forgotten about. Moving the parking brake pulley was no big deal as long as you can weld. As for the exhaust, I modified the crossmember to move the hole for the exhaust on the passenger side farther outboard. About 1 1/2" works well if I remember correctly. Just put the crossmember in a bandsaw, cut it in 3 places, and welded everything back together. Much more elegant solution than trying to fit the exhaust around the trans pan.
This is not the greatest photo but it was the best I could find. If you look close you can see where the crossmember was cut and rewelded:
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
