okay first of all my name is Ross, im 23 and i am new to this site so hello everyone. long story short i sold my long time project 1980 firebird today and bought a sweet 91 rs. i have a 350 small block and i was given a 700r4 but its a 4wheel drive tranny. i dont know much about transmissions but i wqs told id have to swap the tail shaft and remove the transfer case. im on an extremely limited budget and i let myself get lowballed out of my firebird so any help or advice would be great. the motor has had some work done to it so it will be putting power down but im just looking to cruise it. would i be better off buying something like a turbo 400 or if i change transmissions will i have to get a new drive shaft made? my thought was that since 91 rs came with 700r4 i should be able to put one in and use the original drive shaft that came with the car and it would bolt right up. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you're on an extremely limited budget, eliminating overdrive (TH400, TH350) costs gas money ultimately and you should go 700-R4 so it fits the vehicle with the least surprises and can get reasonable mileage.

The changeover from 4WD 700-R4 to the 2WD output shaft requires significant teardown of the transmission, which is why you were "given" someone elses problem. On the bright side, it's not that tough to find an operational 2WD 700-R4 used. 88-92 models from cars, not trucks would present the least issues for installing in your car.

Keep reading here and you'll know more.

 

ive been looking around and i cant find out if the 91 rs came with a short shaft or long shaft 700r4. anybody know?

 

A TH400 trans will add lot of weight to the vehicle.