Guys,
I admit I know really nothing about transmissions. I am looking for a 700R4 to put into my 71 chevelle. It has a 350 which I'm looking to get rougly 350 HP out of it this winter. I want a street car and will hit the strip a few times a year. I'm young and would not mind firm or hard shifts under WOT. I'm not sure about "full manual reverse vavle body". I ran across this ad. Can you guys tell me what all this means? What does it do with shift patterns?

"you are bidding on a early 90's 700r4 with full manual reverse valve body. TV cable has been deleted and runs at a constant near 200psi. This trans has alot of work done to it with the previous owner and i have put around another 600 into it for upgrades. It is also coming with a 3000stall lockup converter. This trans has lockup function with the lockup solenoid wired already. This was in my Impala SS but am now going to a th400 for the track. Great trans for race and cruise with the 4 gears with the 700r4. "

It reverses the shift pattern, in order to get to neutral, you must go all the way down through 1st gear. Not what you want in a street car.

I have been doing a little more research. Does this also mean you have to shift the car "manually". Like from 1st to 2nd and so on. This seems like a real hassle. According to the forum here it will actually flip the gearing. So what was 1st is now 4th? How does this work because I had a TH350 with a colum select? So you only had RN321. But the 700R4 gives you an extra gear.

It will be PRN1234, that's why it's called a reverse body. You will have to shift it manually. You will want a shifter made to accomplish the task.

I really appreicate the info. That explains most of what was confusing me. I do not think I really want a trans like this. It would be fun for a few hours, but after that I think it would loose its luster. I guess I will continue the hunt for a 700R4 in the Illinois region.

Well I have read the back and fourth debates on 200R4 and 700R4. My car will likely never see more than 350-375 HP. It is mostly a cruiser. I found a 200R4 near by at a decent price. I'm leaning towards this because it wouldn't have to change my drive shaft......... correct? Ya or Na's?

I replaced a TH350 in my Studebaker with a 700R4 and didn't have to change the driveshaft because the TH350 had a 9 inch tail. I love my 700R4's, and I've found that by telling my builder what I want to with it and what vehicle it is going in, I've NEVER had a problem with any of them. I pull a 6000lb trailer with my 402, 1 ton pickup and have for over 5 years, and I never shift out of overdrive with it. It has a lot to do with the way it is set up and built.

The 200-4R is about the same length as a standard TH350, the 700R4 is about 3" longer.

If I went with the full manual 700R4. What sifter do you recommend because it is obvious you do not what to continuously be shifting on the tree. I have a bench seat.

Back to a diffrent 700R4. I like to make things confusing.
1) How can you tell if a trans has a locking torque converter (because the ad does not say)?
2) I'm looking into putting it into a 71 chevelle. Obviously it isn't wired for the locker. How do you make them work?

This is a cheapie I'm looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHEVY-CHEVROLET-1989-IROC-700R4-OVERDRIVE-TRANSMISSION_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33727QQihZ 008QQitemZ180160203449QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

i took my 700r4 out of my 71 chevelle. I'm putting in a tko600. My 700 felt firm behind my 383 stroker with just over 450 ft lbs and around 420 hp. When i took apart my 700 the electronic lock up wries were cut. So my trans didnt have a lock up at all. I believe this is bad because it can cause extreme heat levels in the fluid. I didn't even have a trans cooler either. I'm lucky i had no problems with my 700. I'm not really sure if i should install new wires or just leave as is, throw in the rebuild kit and sell it. I was running a stock stall converter which probably saved me from overheating the trans. I'm not really sure what im going to do with the lock up situation. Sorry if im stealing this thread, i just thought of this while typing.

Running with no TV cable and full pressure all the time is a band aid for drag racing but generally a bad idea for street use. Full line pressure at all time will shorten the life of the pump and put every shift at max hardness even at part throttle.
If it does not mention the lock up then it is probably not running one. Kinda defeats one of the advantages of having a tranny with lock up if it is not used.
Full manual gets old in daily use. And if you want, you can manually shift a proper automatic anytime you like.
Lock up can be handled a lot of ways. One easy one is just a hot wire to the pressure switch on the valve body through the lock up solonoid. Some cars need a disconnect off the brake switch, some don't.
700r4's are neat trannys but be careful buying unknow stuff. The 3-4 clutches are always suspect and especially on used ones coming out of something relatively light like a Camero and going into our full metal beast.

Don't worry about stealing the thread. Its open to everyone as far as I'm conserned. I've read that you can hardwire the lock-up. I'm just avoiding making a big mistake. I already lost a bunch of money on the chevelle by "not mentioning all the details" in e-bay this March when I bought mine. I want to avoid making the mistake again.