Hi Friends,
A new Barry T's Garage video is now live!
On Ed's bench sat an early 700R4 transmission from a Camaro. It had already delivered one surprise—a heavy steel coupling in the back was broken clean in half.
How does a solid piece of steel get broken that bad?
Ed explores one possibility. Could the car have been struck from behind hard enough to twist the driveshaft and break the coupling? The exact history remains a mystery, but that discovery was only the beginning.
This 700R4 was being rebuilt for another life in a hot rod.
That raised a different set of questions:
How can the torque-converter lockup be controlled with one wire?
Why does Ed limit the lockup to high gear?
Could an old-style dimmer switch be used to control it?
Why does the TV cable change transmission pressure as the throttle opens?
How does Ed shorten a long factory dipstick for clearance in a hot rod?
One wire changes how this early 700R4 works in a hot rod.
“In the hot rod business, we run a single wire.”
Ed opens the transmission and traces the system piece by piece. He explains what converter lockup feels like on the road, why touching the brake pedal releases it and how moving the trigger switch keeps the lockup in high gear.
Then he turns to the mechanical details that make the installation fit and drive the way he wants.
The factory dipstick is too tall for this hot rod, so Ed shortens the tube and dipstick by four inches. He also explains the TV cable and how pulling it farther raises transmission pressure as the throttle opens.
That cable is not just another connection to hook up and forget. Its position affects pressure, shift timing and shift feel. Ed gets it close, road-tests the car and adjusts it until the transmission responds the way he wants.
This is not simply a rebuilt 700R4. It is a look at how an experienced builder adapts a factory transmission to a completely different life.
Ed shows the internal controls as he buttons it back up.
Ed shows the internal controls that turn throttle movement into transmission pressure.
The new video goes live Wednesday, September 16 at 8:00 AM Arizona time.
Watch Hot Rodding a 700R4 Transmission | Ed Smith with Barry T: https://youtu.be/rRocl7ws4Os
What transmission would you like to see Ed open up next?
Barry T
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