I am trying to find out if it is feasible to swap a 700r4 from an '89 caprice into my '89 formula 350 ws-6. The only difference i think that i know so far is the caprice tranny uses a speedo cable and the formula uses an electronic vss. Can this be converted and if so how, and is it a hassle to do?

use your stock speed sensor, and if the caprice tranny has different rear gears then you need to use not only your speed sensor, but also your speedo gears to calibrate your speedometer.

yes it will work

how do you convert from cable to VSS ?? very important to find out asap, as i am needing to put an 83 700 into a 92 with VSS but ran into this particular snag


thanks

i would assume just take the speedo gear (so speedo can be accurate)and vss out of the old unit and put it in the new one. also changing the tailshaft and be done with it.


sorry for the run on. hahaha

tailshaft also ? uhh that aint cool



what about swapping gears ?

not the actual shaft, the cover(tail shaft housing is what i should have said)..... opps sorry if i didn't make that clear. since the caprice doesnt have a provision for the torque arm that the f-body uses. so it's not what u thought. so it's pretty easy. no more than a 20 min job. good luck

ok i feel better now,.,, phew !!

dont care about fbody stuff in regards to these two 700r4 trannies because this is 83 caprice to 92 caprice swap

ok thanks :d

and thanks for anything further on this subject !

i heard a rumor that theres no way to clip mechanical type drive speedo gear onto the VSS output shafts, is this true ? or does it require a special clip or can i just use the 83 clip ??

so what about the "short shaft" vs. "long shaft" trannies i've heard about? i just checked out the caprice tranny and the tail looked nothing like the one in the formula. are there some versions that are not compatible?

the only 700's that are shorter than third gen truck caprice ones are the vette ones, thats it, all other vehicle models use long common 700r4

the tailshaft housing in third gens is different from all other models of 700r4's, caprices use smooth housing that doesnt use torque arm like trucks too

the formula and caprice 700r4's are same length and spline and all, just different tailshaft housing, you will need the formula housing for the caprice 700 so it wil bolt to the forumula torque arm

When changing from vss to geared speedo.
(edit) If it has a gear drive you just install the cable drive housing and gears. Some vehicles, C type pickup trucks, had a metal reluctor instead of the plastic gear. )
You must press/drive off the steel reluctor. There may still be a hole in the shaft for the metal clip. Use the original tail housing from the recieving vehicle.
That reluctor is on there pretty tight. And its a long reach for regular puller jaws. If you are lucky, you could drive it off without tooo much trouble with a long dull chisel and hammer, or fabricate a puller. Drive it back on with a length of pipe.

good deal, now we're gettign somewhere, ok now is this safe to do with output shaft installed in tranny ? IE: pressing VSS gear onto the output shaft ?

thanks
R

A 1989 Caprice does not have the metal reluctor ring. It has a normal speedometer drive gear. If it's a VSS style setup and not just a cable drive, the VSS is mechanically driven and has a plastic gear also.

so the shaft gear in this VSS style pic is not pressed on metal?

http://www.geocities.com/crosley_az/700spd.htm

excuse the pun, but i think im getting mixed signals here
heh

Like I said in this post or another, a 1992 Z28 A4 doesn't have the reluctor. Apparently you don't believe me.

On that page, Here is a picture of an early gear driven electronic speedo bullet for the 700R4. To replace this, all you need are the speedo bullet and gears to convert to cable.

That's what the VSS in one looks like.

I've already answered your question. Read the posts.

this isnt a 92 F body transm, this is a caprice one that does have VSS

boy we are just all over the place with this thread, wow!

i called GM and they said is no speedo cable for 92 caprice

so i dont have much answer yet......

my Q was whether VSS can be put on an 83 700r4, and if so then do i have everything i need to convert, or do i have to get something from GM or from a donor tranny ? or can i even press the reluctor deal off the 92 tailshaft, and if i ca then will it even fit or work on 83 output shaft ?

and my original question anyways was:

thanks for your time and info and patience

i say remove the reluctor off the 92 and remove speedo gear drive off the 83' and compare the two shafts. that way you'll know first hand what and if it will work. the concensus around here is yes it will work.

thats cool,

thanks for your time