I have a few questions pertaining to swapping out the meager 700r4, to the TH400?
With the amount of 88-95 2WD half ton trucks out there, I'm sure that this swap has been done several times?

I have to ask if anyone on here has ever done it? If so what did you do for a drive shaft? Did you have one made, or pilfer a unit from the junk yard? The original unit is only shy a couple of inches, (my truck is an extended cab, and has a steady bearing) I have wondered if I can use the front half of a drive shaft from a early 80s truck? Would that work?

I also wonder what most people did for a speedo? Back in 88'-91', some 3/4, and 1 tons had the TH400 with the electric VSS, but there a discontinued part, (Of course) and really hard to find. Some companies make aftermarket ones, but there way to expensive. I also wondered about a 4 prong connector that was on top of the 700r4? It only has 3 connections, but I have no freak'n idea what it was 4?

So in conclusion I could use some help.. I might just get a drive shaft made, but the speedo thing has me perplexed.. I might just have to put an aftermarket cable speedo in it, but want to finish this project on the cheap.

I already have a B&M aftermarket kickdown switch, and it would cost me about $200 to have a drive shaft made.

Some help please..

 

look for an 88 or 89 chev as alot of the 3/4 and 1 tons came with the th400. get the trans, torque converter, flexplate, crossmember, and driveshaft, and shift linkage/cable. be good to go for swap then.

 

Not sure if I want to convince you that a 700R4 could be built to handle almost all things on the street.But it can and if you want more details,post to let me know.

 

Well I actually have a trans already. I stole it from an 86' 3/4 ton. (I believe it has a lock up style torque converter?)
And I did know that some trucks from 88'-91' had the TH400 with VSS. But I pilfered every junkyard around here, and came up empty handed..
I went and bought an aftermarket mechanical speedo, and strapped it to the steering wheel. That's good enuf for me. Still have'n drive shaft issues though.

As far as building up a 700R4, I know you can build them to handle 500hp.. But in all honesty they still suck, and building a good one costs way to much. The only promising 700R4 kit I've seen is the monster in a box.. But unless you had the right tools to build it, you would still have to factor in shop cost.. (That can get pricey fast)

I thank both of you for replying though. But I think I got it all under control now..

 

Yeah that Monster stuff is real junk.Common mod is a Trans-Go shift kit,05 boost valve,and vett servos.Better quality you go to TCI kits.

Common sense says that by the time you do the conversion,mod the 400,and then over time lose the gas mileage by not having O/D-in the long run the 700R4 is in fact a better deal.We've had 10 second cars use them.

 

Well I'm not going to get into a debate on weather or not you can build a good 700R4 (I know you can) I just found parts for them to expensive. That was the second one that I blew up!
For the price you can pick up a TH400 for, the cost savings payed for the swap (it cost me just over $400, with the driveshaft, kickdown switch, and new speedo).
I'm not worried about fuel economy, and I guarantee that you'll see a lot more 10 sec vehicles running a TH400 or a power glide than you'll ever see running a 700R4.

But in the long run, I did this swap so I can pull my holiday trailer. The lack of a lock up torque converter in the 700R4 sucked.. The fact that I couldn't pull it in overdrive sucked.. And it seemed to heat it up real bad in 3rd. (even with an external cooler).
I did like the lower first gear, and overdrive was nice, but it just had to many negatives against it.
So no more 700R4's for this guy. If in the future I wanna save fuel, I'll buy a Volkswagen.. lol