i would use the 700 the money you would spend on a 4l80 and controller you could have a strong 700 r4

 

The 4L80E is a TH400 with an extra overdrive gear set. In stock form it is much stronger than a 700R4. It is also larger and heavier. It isn't clear which one is cheaper when set up the same, however.

 

Please don't waste your time, money, effort, or tears trying to keep a 700 running behind a strong 383. Just bite the bullet, buy a 4L80E and run it. Yes, it may be a little more money up-front but you won't have that achilles heel of a transmission behind the motor like a ticking time bomb just waiting till you are way far from home to decide it has had enough. You can buy a built 4L80E for LESS MONEY than a built 700R4. Why is that you might ask? Because it takes far less updated parts to make an 80E super-strong whereas a 700 will need 90% of it's internals replaced to even begin to be considered upgraded. Each time you break it, you will be replacing lots of parts..

You already know in your mind what the correct decision is and that's why you posted asking the rest of us. Maybe you just needed that little push to head in the right direction.. Well, I'm nudging you.

The controllers are not that expensive ($500 on the low end, up to $1100 or so for the Compushifts), and the wiring is super easy.

I'm sure there will be many people that will say they are running 700's, or have run 700's, and that they are great transmissions. And that may be the case for them. I build them every-day, all-day (12 hours a day) and all I see is the carnage that results from running them behind even mildly hopped up engines. So, my view point may be a bit tainted in that all I ever see is the broken ones.. Take it for what it's worth.

 

Please don't waste your time, money, effort, or tears trying to keep a 700 running behind a strong 383. Just bite the bullet, buy a 4L80E and run it. Yes, it may be a little more money up-front but you won't have that achilles heel of a transmission behind the motor like a ticking time bomb just waiting till you are way far from home to decide it has had enough. You can buy a built 4L80E for LESS MONEY than a built 700R4. Why is that you might ask? Because it takes far less updated parts to make an 80E super-strong whereas a 700 will need 90% of it's internals replaced to even begin to be considered upgraded. Each time you break it, you will be replacing lots of parts..

You already know in your mind what the correct decision is and that's why you posted asking the rest of us. Maybe you just needed that little push to head in the right direction.. Well, I'm nudging you.

The controllers are not that expensive ($500 on the low end, up to $1100 or so for the Compushifts), and the wiring is super easy.

I'm sure there will be many people that will say they are running 700's, or have run 700's, and that they are great transmissions. And that may be the case for them. I build them every-day, all-day (12 hours a day) and all I see is the carnage that results from running them behind even mildly hopped up engines. So, my view point may be a bit tainted in that all I ever see is the broken ones.. Take it for what it's worth.

Your right I know the 4L80e is a stronger trans but right now I am just trying to figure out if the added headache of converting a 1970 c10 pick up that's already set up for a 700r4 is worth it ie. shortening the driveshaft, stand alone controller, mating it up to a 2 piece rear main block etc.

So yes the 4L80e is worth it if after 1 year the built 700r4 blows up and no its not worth it if I can build a 700r4 to take the abuse of a 383 stroker like some guys claim. Also I have to think about how 3.40 posi will work with the different gearing between the 4L80e vs the 700r4. Just weighing my options thanks for the post

 

I back up what Kawabuggy is saying, it takes a bunch of money to beef up a 700...and still won't be as strong as a stock 400 or 4L80.

The 4L80E can also be set-up "brain dead" as a full manual valvebody if you have no problem doing all the shifting( and what real hotrodder doesn't :mwink thus avoiding the need for any electronic controller whatsoever.

The 700R4 is basically just an engineered offshoot from the Turbo 350, but weaker. Quite a few 700R4 parts will fit in a TH-350.

 

What I would recommend is for you to write up a budget as to what it would cost to do it RIGHT with a 4L80E. Then, if you go with the 700 start keeping your receipts, and tracking costs, to keep that 700R4 working. What you will find, like the thousands who have gone before you and wasted their money, is that shortly, you will have spent more money trying to run an inferior transmission.

So, it comes down to Option 1: Pay a lot one time, or Option 2: Pay a little less up-front but a lot MORE over an extended period of time. It is that simple.

Since so many people start these projects and then lose interest, or do not have the financing to see them to completion, maybe it is better to go with the cheaper option now in hopes that you can actually get the truck finished. Get the truck back up & running, that is the biggest hurdle and I wish you the best of luck in getting it there as soon as possible. It seems the longer vehicles stay in a "project" mode the less likely they are to ever be completed. So, do what you have to do to get it running now, and then later you can decide to upgrade the trans, or not, depending on how long the 700 lasts.

Good luck with your project!

Vehicle speed calculator: http://www.crawlpedia.com/rpm_gear_calculator.htm
O/D Ratio for 700R4=.70
4L80E O/D Ratio=.75
A good article for you to read: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/transm...to/transmission-drivetrain/1306-performance-guide-to-the-gm-4l80e-transmission/

And lastly, if someone is telling you they can build you a 700 to last behind your engine, then you need to ask for a copy of their "warranty limitations" and read through them thoroughly before you purchase. Make certain there are no exclusions that would allow them to void your warranty for any type of abuse. If those limitations are there, buyer beware. Bear in mind the money is in your pocket now, and someone trying to sell you something may do immoral things to get that money from your pocket into theirs. Not that those types of people exist in the transmission business right?

 

I decided that I am going to run with the 4l80e seems like the rational choice, just needed to do the homework first. Going to try and snag one off Craigslist if not I'll pull one out of the junkyard and rebuild it myself if need be. Gotta to say after looking into it I am pretty impressed with the 4L80e and what can be done with the TCI standalone controller like setting shift points, live data, diagnostics etc. Kinda makes a 700r4 and its T.V. cable look like a dinosaur.

 

ive done a lot of retro fit trannys i donot like the tci controller the one i use at my garage is a HGM trans controller it works nice and easy hookup i seen gmpp makes a controller hadnt used one of them but that should be the best one since its from GM
as far as the 4l80 rebuild u really do not have do do any major modifications to them they work very good when i do a rebuild on them i change the pressure regulator boost valve and tcc apply valve and set clutch clearance to min side of the specs and they work fine

 

I won't argue the fact that 4l80e is a much stronger trans. an can take a good deal of abuse but if you drive normal 90% of the time a 700 would work an live. When I built mine it cost me around 1300.00 just in upgraded parts, labor was free. I don't abuse it either except for a few blast up to 120 but not often. All in all I dropped about 1600.00 to get it in my Camaro an drive. Its been the biggest upgrade I've done an the most enjoyable also. Why I didn't go with a 4l80e was because It was going to cost at least 1000.00 or more. If your going to do a bunch of 1/4 runs, burn outs, smokey tire crazy stuff then you need a 4l80e. It depends on how you drive. My 700 is pretty close to TH400 standard, not quite there but almost.

 

Chad, I'm glad to see you came around. I promise you that once you get an 80E you will NEVER regret it.

As others have mentioned, there are many after-market controllers available on the market these days. Many people do not like the TCI. From an installation stand-point, they are fairly simple-IF YOU GET ONE THAT WORKS. Unfortunately I have had several of them brand new, right out of the box, that did not work. TCI does not make it easy on the customer either as they want you to ship it back to them and then you have to wait while they do their testing, or repair to it. For that reason alone, I'd recommend you run another controller.

Baumann makes a good unit. Compushift is another one but is very high on price ($1100). GM sells their own stand alone controller as well. Some of the units you can actually set up different programs and shift back & forth between the programs quite easily. You could have 1 for the track, or more aggressive driving, and then another for daily driver mode, for example.