I just got done swapping in a GMPP 350HO engine into my 89 bird, and it sounds nice! It went from a TBI to a carb too. With the engine swap came many aftermarket parts. The car runs fine, but doesn't shift fine at all. When I hold the pedal down, its like the tranny goes into neutral while dropping the engine RPMs, then puts it into second. The TV cable is from Lokar, so there is no button to push in and just hit the gas pedal. I have to pull the cable all the way out, then hold the throttle wide open, and secure the end of the line. I have done that, but it shifts awkwardly. Before the swap, it had nice firm shifts, and I played with the TV cable after I installed (and later removed) a space for the TBI, so I know how it feels when the geometry is messed with. The only other thing I've installed is a Edge TC with a stall of 2500-2800. Does the tranny need help since now I've more than doubled the horsepower it originally came with? I know everything behind the engine will eventualy blow up, so I'm in the process of finding and putting new pieces in. I think an LS1 rear end is next in line, since these 2.73 gears are helping me at all. I'm afraid to drive it cause I don't want to blow the tranny yet. I'm thinking the the distance of travel of the carbs throttle might be greater than that of the TBI, so perhaps the throttle linkage mount should be adjusted somewhat. Details below

GMPP 350HO
Edelbrock 1411
Edge TC 2500-2800 stall
stock 700r4

 

do you have an adjustible throttle bracket, I had to use one when I switched from tbi to carb.

 

umm...those 700's arent good for much power stock. that 350ho engine puts out 350hp right? well if your tranny is too old, the clutches may just slip.

*honest suggestion here* take it to a tranny shop and ask them. tell them your situation and ask them if there is a problem. if they tell you that its too much power and all your clutches have worn out...id believe him (the trans is 20 years old and the oil prob never changed).

another thing you may be doing is putting too much or too little pressure on your TV cable. if its not adjusted properly then itll cook the trans. also...it may be possible that your converter never locked up before, and now it does...i just got my trans back from the shop, it never locked up before and now it does...its SUCH a weird feeling...i had to take it back to say something was wrong...they tell me "thats how its supposed to be"

 

The throttle bracket is just bolt on. The cable is the only adjustable part.

The tranny has 109xxx miles on it. It has B&M Trickshift fluid in it since the engine swap.

It never had a smooth shift until I swapped engines in, and it hasn't had a firm shift since the 305 was in it.

It's tough for me to diagnose the engine with any problems or feeling off, because I've never worked with a 350, this much power, or a carb. I can tell the tranny feels like its slipping when it shifts in the upper RPMs.

It feels like it shifts late in the lower RPMs too.

I adjusted the tv cable like your supposed to, so there's no slack in the line at WOT, and the throttle does open all the way.

 

I have shifting problem also and i also got the GMPP 350 HO deluxe, for me, i found the kickdown of the tranny too hard to get, i always need to put the foot on the floor and most of the time it takes about 2 sec to downshift...

I have an Homemade bracket for the kickdown cable on the carb, that is the problem..... its getting the job done but not perfectly.

The quicksolution is that Holley is manufacturing a bracket specially for GM TH700R4.

There is 2 part :
The Transmission Kickdown Bracket (Holley P/N 20-121),
The Transmission Kickdown THROTTLE CABLE Bracket (Holley P/N 20-95)

Here are some pictures

And the link for Holley WorkPackage.....

Carb Installation and adjusting Instruction :
http://www.holley.com/data/Products/...199R7948-5.pdf

Bracket installation instruction
http://www.holley.com/data/Products/.../199R10345.pdf

 

I made myself those brackets . well the 20-121. wasn't very hard to do at all. and it is the exact deminsions (winthin a mm) of the original one. cost me all of 4$. One thing. the adjustable ones do not actually have it tight like that. with the lokar and non-self adjusting ones you HAVE to take it to a trans shop to have them adjust it where it needs to be. Because you have to adjust it by pressure readings at that point. the adjustable ones can benefit from it too, but it is not as needed. All holley carbs HAVE to have that little bracket on the throttle plate, else you WILL fry your trans in a few thousand miles if not sooner.

on that note I used a specter throttle/TV bracket. worked just fine.

 

I tried those Holley brackets and IMO they suck compared to the one you can get from Bowtie Overdrives. If you want a fail safe setup on a Holley carb I'd spend the $100 and get a BO setup. Just my 02 but a tranny rebuild costs much more than $100.

 

Well, got the TV made EZ system from bowtie overdrives. It fit on and worked alright, not perfectly for a while. Now there's extra slack in the line like it fell off the hook at the bottom of the cable, but is still stuck down there. The shifts are way off, and it pisses me off that this "perfect" system sucks. Could that piece fall off down there?

 

With the throttle at idle pull cable and set tension so that theres just a slaight tension on it at idle use this for a base setting then ajust back and fourth as needed untill you get the desired shift , The geometry should work like this basically at idle the cable should be pulled aprox 1/4 inch but at the same time at max throttle it needs to be absolutly maxed out .

 

The B&M trickshift fluid may be your problem. It's basically thicker tranny fluid, and some say it's just ford type-F fluid. Any way you look at it messing with the vescosity of tranny fluid is not a good idea.

 

It worked for a month. The shifts were fine, but it's not perfect. All of the sudden, it won't shift til 3500 rpms. I look under the hood, and there's visible slack on the TV cable line. I pull the cable from the transmission, and it creates more slack. It doesn't just go back in, it stays outside the cable housing. So there's 2 inches of extra slack in my cable without pulling the throttle open. I pushed it back into the cable housing, and it worked for a while. Now it shifts late again. How could all of the sudden the cable just go slack?

So the thicker B&M fluid could be bad? I'm not very well versed in transmissions, so when a buddy told me to get it, I thought, "why not?"

 

You could have saved your money and bought Ford Type F fluid. The only difference would have been the blue dye and the "B&M" sticker on the bottle. It's not thicker, it just has different friction modifiers in it. The asbestos clutches in old Ford automatics couldn't handle gentle slippage into gear, so the fluid was designed to let them grab quicker.

In the end though using Dexron is probably best.

 

do you have a picture or actual link to the cable you used ?

 

Bowtie Overdrive's TV Made EZ for Edelbrock Performers

The braided cable

 

Would that cable work with a tpi motor.

I see they sell a tpi version.

http://www.tvmadeez.com/tpi/

 

Sure. My car still shifts like crap though. The Lokar adjustable cable worked better, just wasn't able to adjust based on transmission pressure.

 

Reading threads like this makes me think the EZ kit is the only way to go. I just dont want to have these problems and a search actually reveals this problem is alot more common than everyone seems to realize. I bet the people who dont complain dont even know that their TV is not working optimal and havent even realized it. I just realized I logged into a different account and used my same password. Thats really odd. My real screen name is shaggy56.

 

I hope you get this sorted out and its something else because i need a TV cable bad and dont know if the EZ kit is worth it. Did you use the spring in the kit supplied with the EZ kit?

 

could bolting the throttle cable to a different location on the throttle lever throw off the geometry enough to upset shift points? i've been experimenting with this thought but no results.

 

Sounds like identity theft..... Better post your bank account and pin numbers so we can check it out for you!

 

any new info on this matter?

 

Got some new info on the matter, and something interesting too.

After just having the car sit in an auto cocoon for months, I have been able to brainstorm what could be the culprit. I remembered that when I installed the TV system from BTO, it gave me a new Throttle Valve Spring. I remember that it ddn't seem like the exact same spring, but I thought it should be different with 100k miles on the spring. Wrong. The spring was not right for the application, or replacement.

I found a new spring in a kit from GM Performance parts in their 2008 catalog.

Part number 24502513

The kit is meant to update the 700r4 to be compatable with 4l60s from 93+. It has some wiring that doesnt do anything, but the spring is key. Paraphrased, "The 700r4 is calibrated for TPI and TBI, and if it is used in a car with a carb, you must replace the spring to retain proper shift points and feel."

Wish I wouldn've known about this earlier... Now that I've got the spring installed I need a new TV cable, since CSKauto.com gave me some bad info. I'm picking up part number CA-1970 (TV cable for carbs)tomorrow from Autozone and I'm gonna finish this thing once and for all! Until I install the new rear-end with better gears and disc brakes.

Ill post back when I get a test-drive with the new gear installed

 

word?

if i read your previous post right, you're saying the spring that came w/ your BTO kit is just a generic TV spring?

i have a TV made EZ sitting at home waiting for install once i get back from arizona...

good luck!

 

I don't know what the spring is for. I ordered the BTO kit for a 700r4/edelbrock 1406 combo, and the spring is way different than what GM calls for. TV made EZ made my life hell until I through all their stuff away.

BTW, the car shifts perfectly with the GM gear installed. I'll take the factory route next time...

 

yikes, shoulda held off on the BTO kit then huh lol...

thanks for the part number! seems since i gotta drop the pan either way i'm gonna give this BTO kit a shot.

still running a stock governor too? whats your light throttle shift points at? mine will not shift before 2300 RPM. it'll detent downshift fine though...glad to hear you got it running right!