Right now I have 3.55 to 1 gears in the rear end and I'm thinking of adding a Gear Vendors overdrive or swaping the TH400 out for a 700R. If I went with the overdrive I'm also thinking of changing the rear end to 4.11. What do you guys think? Has anyone here done either?
Hi Bob, I know that Werner Jonas put a 700 in his 66 and is happy. Another buddy put a 700 in his 67 Grande Parisienne 327 car and he is thrilled. Warren changed from a powerslide to the 700 this year. Cost him about $2,300 for rebuild and install. I don't know anyone who has done the gear vendors install.
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1967 Parisienne 2+2 1967 Grande Parisienne
1967 Laurentian 1967 Strato Chief
Remember, "The Government" only has money confiscated from us.
Check the gear ratios. With the Gearvenders I think it's only a 20% drop while the 700 is more. PLus with the 700 the first gear is steeper so you won't have to change the rear gear.
I have a 700R4 and a 3:55 rear gear in my Acadian and it is great. The lower first gear really gets it done. According to the guy I bought the car from the 700 has a 3500 stall converter. While at a cruise or sometimes around town I just put it in 3rd gear and it is fine up to about 55 mph. On the highway at 70-75 the motor is turning about 2600 rpm's in overdrive.. I have just under a 25" tire on the car also. I can't be exact with the numbers because the tach is mounted in the clock position of the guage cluster and it is so small I have a hard time reading it at a glance. Also, according to my GPS the tire size causes my speedometer to be off by 2-3 mph and again reading it at a glance most of the time. I drove 1700 miles on the Hot Rod Power tour. The last half of the tour in Kentucky and Tennessee we were off the Interstate, driving on two lane twisting and turning, up and down, local roads. About half of the time it was raining so I just held the car in 3rd in order to respond quicker to the unknown roads. Otherwise I had to mash the gas everytime I wanted out of overdrive.
I've heard some grumblings about the 1-2 shift with the 700... the gear vendors peice can handle more power, you should also do some searching on a 200r4, better gearing than the 700 and same tailshaft length as a th350/400 so you woudnt need to shorten your driveshaft... most common tranny builders do not have experience with the 200r4 and would recommend the 700, both the 700 or 200 need to be built to withstand abuse (if you are putting it behind some hp/torque). both are just as strong as is...(both have different weaknesses).
I was thinking of an OD and would definitely go with the 200r4 if i decided to go that route, but the payback of the cost of an OD swap didnt make sense for the amount of mileage i put on, and 4:10s are plenty streetable for the city driving that i'd do...
I changed the the transmission in my malibu to the 700, with a mild shift kit, 3:73 gears. That was about two years ago, no problems as of yet. Like the way it shifts on 1st to 2 nd, very crisp. RPM drop at a suitable level around 60 mph in the final shift.
Thanks guys. I was thinking the 700R was the best route because it is less money but the Gear Vendors OD does provide you with six gears so I'm leaning in that direction. It would be nice to have a car to test drive before making the final decision so if anyone knows anyone in the Calgary area with the OD let me know.
Pretty sure the OD ratio on the 700s and 200s is .7 over so mulitply your 3.55 X .7 = 2.48 ratio in OD that equals GAS MILEAGE and Quieter too ! B&M makes a kit too with a dashcontrolled torque converter lockup thats pretty sweet. My employee did her 69 Impala Ragtop with one and loves it !
Thanks guys. I was thinking the 700R was the best route because it is less money but the Gear Vendors OD does provide you with six gears so I'm leaning in that direction. It would be nice to have a car to test drive before making the final decision so if anyone knows anyone in the Calgary area with the OD let me know.
