I have an 84 Z/28 H.O. It has a 383 stroker making over 400HP. The trans is the original 700R4. Its my daily driver, rain, sleet or snow and I street race and generally abuse the snot out of it. I'm going to install the (valve?) that allows wide open throttle 3/4 upshifts and a shift kit. I do not want to have to manually shift the car. I want to be able to drive it normally and just have it shift itself, but shift apropriately when I street race it. I bought a B&M shift kit from Advance auto, but the stuff I've heard is that it's not that good. So now I wanna know what you have tried and think about the B&M or any others kits you liked or did't like.

I wanna know what you guys have personal experience using and what worked for you and what didn't. I appreciate any advise and personal experience you guys have on any shift kits you've used. Thanks a lot.

 

If it's an original 84 trans and hasn't had any of the 86+ upgrades you're going to have problems with it putting that much power in front of it.

That said, Transgo and Superior are the only companies I trust on "shift kits". Most on here agree. Definitely don't run the B&M crap, it'll shorten the trans life even more.

 

Once again, people too lazy to do a

This is the kit that is gererally considered "the best"

http://www.700r4l60e.com/store/produ...&cat=65&page=1

Dana (the owner) will also include directions to fix the 3rd to 4th part thottle shift issues for free!

 

I did a search! I wanted feedback from personal experiences with individual kits. And info on why the B&M was no good.

What's wrong with the earlier 700s? The trans was rebuilt just before the engine gave out which was when I bought it and put the 383 in there about a year ago, so far the trans has been OK. You think it'll give out over time? I have another 700 out of an 87 Pontiac Parissiane that I know is bad. I'm saving it to get rebuilt in case the one in the 84 gives out. I just can't afford to get it done now. Whats different between earlier and later 700s

 

They say the B&M shift is too hard on the transmission, but running a 383 on a pre 1986 700R4, it's not going to last to long anyway. I honestly don't have any problems with B&M, and they've done my buddy's 78 Phoenix just fine shifting at 5500 RPM at the track.

 

The differences between the early 700's and the later models is another comon question that can be answered from a search. - There are several internal changes and the early units aren't very strong.

The B&M "kit" is nothing more than shims for the accumulators and a slightly stiffer pump pressure spring. Maybe $5 worth of "parts". Shimming the accumulators tighter to make shift firmness creates overly hard shifts at all rpm/engine loads and beats the pinion gears out of the planetaries. - B&M is an ok company if you need a decent old-school street trans(th350, th400, glide, etc). As of yet they haven't really came up with anything decent for a trans produced within the last decade or two.

The Trans-go and Superior "kits" will give you firm shifts all the time, but not kneck-snapping all the time. They will get progressively firmer the harder you're on the throttle.

 

Cool, thanks. I'm horrible at the internet, I can barely surf the web, and I do do searches but I'm never sure. And I'm ussually only looking for first hand advise. I think a lot of people just repeat stuff they have heard. I would rather hear from somebody who has first hand experience.
My tranny has held together for about a year so far, but I do have a spare I'm gonna get rebuilt. Thanks for the info. These forums have saved my *** several times.

 

I hope I'm not reviving a "dead thread", but I was wondering about kits also. I'm going to be installing a transgo shift kit, most likely the one mentioned above that comes with the 'vette servo stuff. But I was wondering if the 700 in my '85 iroc is considered the "older or newer" one from the 80s. I ask because on the website to get the kit, Dana has the years listed as 1982-1986, and i just wanted to make sure this would all work. Thanks!

 

TRANS GO is the only way to go...

 

and if you want a lovley wedding dress to wear driving your 383 someone even posted a link to it.
evidently he did not bother to consider that most of us dont wear wedding dresses.

 

lol yea dresses. But I was wondering, does that kit with the corvette servo from Dana basically contain everything in the normal transgo kit plus these extras? Because I want to make sure it's got all the normal kit stuff.

 

Dana actually combines 2 different Transgo kits, along with some of his goodies, into a kit. He includes instructions for the "mods". If you want the details, just call or send him an email.