Auto Conversion

[Screwy]

guys,

Just a question, if i wanted to go from manuel to Auto...

Behind a chev pattern V8..... Id drop in a Turbo 400 or Turbo 700 and buy a transfer case adapter and T case to suit my shaft correct?

my question is, Is Turbo 400 or Turbo 700 the better option behind Patrol with V8 on 40 plus inch tyres??

and how old? the newer ones are computerised with torque converters etc etc... but the older ones are not...

what is the better option to go with?

cheers

Screwy

[jessie928]

go the 700 built properly every time.
why use old technology?

JEs

[slosh]

I'm keen to find out same thing. From what I can tell so far, T400 have been popular because they are strong. One engine guy I talked to said don't put t700 behind v8, I assume he didn't have good experience with them.

[Bentzook]

you can get a lower gear ratio set for the th400

[meiamaro]

TH700 out of a VN V8 commodore,Beefier than v6 and no elects?
and performance parts avail, same as mid 80's corvette.
so i'm told.????

cheers Ian.

[bru21]

i was told by several specialists not to touch either as they are not strong enough and cannot handle being locked in a gear without serious mods. i was happy to prend 3-4 k and i stayed with my manual for fear an auto would fail. the speicalists that put me off are the ones building drag auto's too including ron hill automatics. if you are serious look into a gq auto with the full manual valve body and the other tricks they do for around 3k. i think they are more serious. also a gq transfer is a $200 item and the adaptor could be had for $900. it prob won't work out much dearer.

i have seen many auto's cook in sand driving etc, its funny people expect the pathetic oil cooler to even remotely work. just look at the size of the radiator to dissipate 30-40% of the engines power, whereas the auto oil cooler has to do similar amounts during sand driving and is often less than 1ft square. i would be looking at an a/c condensor as a cooler.

Just what are you expecting to do with your chev powered weapon on gu diffs with 42's? is it just woodpecker etc or are you doing any long winch events with long mud pulls etc (i know 42's are no good for winch) just interested in your plans

cheers bru

[Screwy]

i was told by several specialists not to touch either as they are not strong enough and cannot handle being locked in a gear without serious mods. i was happy to prend 3-4 k and i stayed with my manual for fear an auto would fail. the speicalists that put me off are the ones building drag auto's too including ron hill automatics. if you are serious look into a gq auto with the full manual valve body and the other tricks they do for around 3k. i think they are more serious. also a gq transfer is a $200 item and the adaptor could be had for $900. it prob won't work out much dearer.

i have seen many auto's cook in sand driving etc, its funny people expect the pathetic oil cooler to even remotely work. just look at the size of the radiator to dissipate 30-40% of the engines power, whereas the auto oil cooler has to do similar amounts during sand driving and is often less than 1ft square. i would be looking at an a/c condensor as a cooler.

Just what are you expecting to do with your chev powered weapon on gu diffs with 42's? is it just woodpecker etc or are you doing any long winch events with long mud pulls etc (i know 42's are no good for winch) just interested in your plans

cheers bru

Someones been paying alot of attention to my plans for my coming up build...... its just about ready to start, just peicing togther parts...
Rock crawling and Tuff truck type events is its aim....
My current patrol does it too but has weak componantry in comparison.

screwy

[6.5 rangie]

Give Wholesale Automatics a call (you'll find them in Just Parts or Parts Peddler magazine), they build a range of boxes called Extreme and they may be able to help. i believe the 4L80E is the strongest box for what you are after, its a stronger version of the turbo 700 but electronically controlled.

[jessie928]

the origional GQ auto box is a piece of JUNK. they are heavy and they are weak, and proper performace bits for them are non existant.

the th700r4 4 speed auto however out of a VN-VP commodore is a strong box, that is modifieable beyond recognition, and they are oh so light!.

They have them behind 454 big block chevs. Whoever tells you they are weak obviously doesent know how to build them. IF you put a standard 700 from a CAR into a 4WD you will of course have issues, you have to first add the correct components to the 700 to adapt it to the required application.

Cheers,
Jes

[bru21]

what do they change that makes them stronger than in the car they came out of. surely the gears are the same, shafts are the same, all the lockout castings are the same strength, solinoids the same. i thought they just drill here and there to change shift firmness, swap lockout plates. i just fail to see how the strength changes (i know nothing about autos as i have only ever worked on manuals although i have a auto coon)

secondly my mate with a jeep broke the housing on his turbo400 at the neck which is very narrow. there was no way i was going to run dual transfers with such a narrow neck. even if its supported all you need is 1/6 rubbers to fail and a broken neck is on the cards.

how do see a way around this, a tranny support across the tranny to hold it together?? I am really interested in what you think

the reason i said go the gq is its cheap, mods are 2k i think from a guy on here and the neck is stronger, and the ratio's would be better suited. please extend the knowledge by saying what is weak etc.

its easy to say any box such as the 400/700 can be made strong, or suitable for drag but at what $$$. not being snappy, honestly interested

cheers bru

[Bartso]

my GQ auto been rebuilt and beefed up so to speak with all the parts from wholesale automatics
http://www.automatictransmission.com.au ... ewsId=8169

it is a little bit costly i think i spent $4000 all up including rebuild i have been told the parts in a GQ auto are really strong its just the valve body that makes them weak it must be stronger because i used the standard auto for a little while with my V8 and it blew the auto after a few races

now its still good as new

[bru21]

thats where its at. thought the gq would be strong. good shit bartso, i wish i had seen that befor i ordered my chev kit. i saw the fella one here like 3 days later but thought fark, not going to depress myself by reading that.

[jessie928]

with the 700, here are some of teh parts that are different

torque converter, valve body, clutchpack , servo's, drum and output shaft

there is probably other bits aswell. a well built 700 would comfortably sit behing blown 454 big block, and wont coast you the earth.

In the states, the 700 did not only come out in cars, they came out in big arsed trucks behind small and big block chev engines, we only have the sedan version here, so you have to beef the buggers up.

Where the 700 bolts upto the transfer adapter is quite beefy, i cant see anything breaking it, but you could always throw the housing in an oven and weld up some braces aswell.

The gearing in the early R4's is quite good actually, 1st gear is ideal, a stump puller... its overdriven at a good ratio aswell, and when you put it behind a v8 it behaves nicely with the correct ratio diff's for the tyresize.

the origional nissan box has drama's coping with the 4.2 when you flog it, so behind a v8, it aint gonna last long at all, especially if you use overdrive alot, it kill the nissan box quicker.

[slosh]

I talked to a couple of transmission guys, both said their choice behind chev would be t700- the non electronic one (VN - VR commodore v8).

They also said there is no difference between the v8 sedan version we get in Oz and the truck version they use in the States.

[Ruggers]

there is a difference in the 2 700's the one in commodores 4l60 is like a t350 and the one in trucks suburbans 4l80 is like a t400 much more beefer although the car one is still fairly strong on ly problems i have ever had was blowing 4th gear when towing.