700R4 and Hooker Headers

[fasterthanu]

I have a 1976 Stingray, L-48. I am throwing a 450hp 383 stroker in my baby in late March, and possibly upgrading to a 700R4 Trans. My question is this: Will this trans fit in with the Hooker Header/Sidepipes? I have heard people throw this trans in 80's camaros, and needing to cut the trans to clear the headers. Has anybody out there thrown a 700R4 Trans in their 70's vettes with header side pipes? Does it fit, or do you need to cut the trans case?

 

[Radar]

Take a look through the 2001 issues of Corvette Fever magazine. In one of the editions (not sure which month but I think it was before June +-), they ran a major piece on installing a 700R4 in a C3. There was some major work needed to the crossmember. They show this in detail. The drive shaft also needs rework. They also showed how to do that too. Shift linkage and speedo gears need attention. The exhaust seemed to be the easiest part! It was alot of work but very much worth the effort.

Radar

 

[bohaslup]

Several years ago I installed a 700 in my 80 vet which was equiped with a 350 trans. The swap is simple and easy to complete. Hooker Comp. headers clear the trans with plenty of room. You will need to modify your crossmember and shorten the driveshaft but you will also cut the final drive RPM by almost 1/3. I still have the car and it is driven whenever the weather permits. If you have any questions that I can help you with contact me at bohaslup@aol.com

 

[fasterthanu]

www.700r4.com sells the crossmember, and the kit to adjust the shifter =) I appreciate the help guys. Just kind of worried me when I heard some cars, none vettes, but figured vettes are pretty tight under the hood, needed to cut the trans case. I wrote the company about it, and they didn't know, but could send me a cut on out of a monte. I want to keep this to a weekend project. I figured I am taking both the engine and trans out for the engine swap, that is the time to switch transmissions =) Out of curiosity, bohaslup, what is your rearend in your vette? Before the swap, what did you have, a TH350? Noticable difference in pulling power off the line thanks to the new 1st gear ratio? It's funny.. I have a 3.08 or 3.23 I think in mine, and I was wondering why these camaros were jumping me so bad off the line. I know they have 3.73, but that should only be like 3/4 of a car.. Did the math... Their 3.73 with their first gear, was equivelent to me running a 4.56 gear with my TH350... 3.08 vs 4.56.. I wonder... hehe.

 

[JCL]

" Sidepipes..........."

Fasterthanu. The HH sidepipe primarys tubes come out in behind the front wheel and should be no problem for the 700R4 trans. Another possibility would also be the Stahl Sidepipe Header set up. I have several people I'm making baffles for their sidepipes for this installation. The only draw back is they cost more than the HH. Don't get me wrong I like the HH system (it's on my 79,383), but if I had it to do again, I'd do the Stahl. JCL

 

[bohaslup]

I installed 3-70 gears orginally had 3-08. it made a huge difference and with the 700 trans you can drive at highway speeds.

 

[Scott81]

Yes the trans will fit, definatley get the crossmember from BowTie Overdrives along with some of their other goodies. I'm doing a 383 install now, have the HH-sidepipes, I already had the crossmember and got the braided lines, 2400 stall convertor, new speedo gears and TV cable setup.

I have 3.54 rear gears and took a trip from Florida to Kentucky with that lunatic Brutus, got 20+ mpg and I know he was speeding while I was sleeping.

Now that I think about it, does the 76 have the solid crossmember? If so it will probably make the job a bit tougher but I would imagine it would still fit. Call BTO, they are great to work with. The other thing you will have to do is to either cut your driveshaft 3" or get another one made.

One other thing you might want to look into is getting the heavy duty U-joint caps from Van Steel, they are CNC'ed out of a solid block and replace those cheap stamped ones. You'll have to drill & tap for bigger bolts but this should beef up your driveline nicely with the increased HP you are getting.

 

[Brutus]

Re: Re: 700R4 and Hooker Headers

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I have 3.54 rear gears and took a trip from Florida to Kentucky with that lunatic Brutus, got 20+ mpg and I know he was speeding while I was sleeping.

Let me know what 3,200 rpm in OD equates to will ya? :eek


From what I know about this stuff ... all automatics have the removable X member.

 

[fasterthanu]

with a 3.54 rear end and overdrive, at 3200rpm, with 27.04 inch tires (255/60/r15), you should be traveling at 103.8mph... http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html
or you can go to
http://www.smokemup.com/utilities/calc/mph_range2.cfm

 

[Brutus]

And we survived

Thanks...I love to know what speed I was doing in someone else's Vette while he was asleep in the passenger's seat. Especially in a strange LHD car in the middle of the night while it was raining pick handles in a 65 mph zone.
It's a pity I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open! :eek When can we do it again Scott?

 

[Scott81]

Re: And we survived

Thanks...I love to know what speed I was doing in someone else's Vette while he was asleep in the passenger's seat. Especially in a strange LHD car in the middle of the night while it was raining pick handles in a 65 mph zone.
It's a pity I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open! :eek When can we do it again Scott?

NEVER! At least with me sleeping that is. 103.8, I'm sure that would look nice on a speeding ticket in the middle of bubbaville. I can assure you that 3200rpm will be tame in a few months.