Shifter For 700r4?

Ok I need some transmission help here. I used to own a 5.0 mustang, had a C4 tranny which I have found out to originally be an automatic. That car also had a Hurst Quarterstick which let me shift manually. So here's my problem, I'm thinking OK if my 700r4 is an auto can I put a similar shifter on and have it work like a manual? If not then how was my C4 an automatic but shifting manually (it would never shift on its own i had to shift it myself).

yeah you have lots of different choices. check out B&M and hurst. they are the two main companys. you just have to make sure that the shifter you get can be used for the 700, mainly that it will work with a 4 speed. one that i know off the top of my head is the B&M pro ratchet. i thats what i have and i love it. they make it for either powerglides, the two speeds, or they have a universal model that fits damn near everything under the sun from three speeds to 4 speeds with forward or revers valve bodys. also i believe your C4 had a maual valve body on it thats why you had to shift it all on your own. now if you get an aftermarket floor shifter you will be able to do the same but also have to option of just putting it in drive and letting it shift like normal, unless the valve body has been changed in your 700. kinda like the best of both worlds. hope this helps

nice. now im wondering how this is going to affect my ETs. i would think that manually shifting this sucker is going to let me juice more power out of my RPMs and therefore move faster than a straight auto. also, was yours easy to install? did you have to cut anything or do any real custom work?

I dont think it'l affect your et's much, but it makes drivin an auto a little more interesting! If your throttle shift cable is properly adjusted, at WOT your tranny should be shifting at the ideal rpm to keep your engine in its powerband

if your going to manual shift it i'd recommend a shift kit. convert your transmission to a manumatic, it makes the shifting between gears a lot quicker which is kinda the point of manual shifting. also, a corvette servo would compliment both of those nicely

umm, its pretty easy to instal. it comes with complete instructions. the only thing you have to cut is a small hole, i think like 2 inches by 1 inch or so, just for the shifter cable. other than that the most time consuming part is mounting the shifter and when you hook the cable up to the brackets that go on the trany, you have to go through a process to make sure you have it set right. that involves puting it in a gear and making sure a pin moves in and out freely and adjusting acordingly. you have to go throught each gear probably 2-3 times. its not hard or anything just with me i didnt have anyone to help me so i had to go from under the car and then back up so i could shift and then back under and so on. but its pretty simple to install eveything. yeah like 4onfloor said, put in a shift kit, and a new servo would be good. a corvette one is the best factory one but i like the ones from bowtie overdrives. i dont remember how much better they are but you can take a look and see what you think. otherwise there are many companys that sell them also.

yeah other than it just being more fun to shift i also figured it would take that lag out between shifts, wouldnt that shave like a tenth or so off my time? kinda the point of getting a shift kit i guess (so why use shift kit with shifter?), just tryin to make sense of the benefits. if it will take that hesitation out of my shifts that would be great.

in other words, im assuming that if theres a shifter on it, and im shifting manually it should drop it in as quickly as i can do it, the stock automatic isnt bad for the first or so gears but after i get moving along it takes longer to slide in, so if its manual it should only take as long as it takes me to do it, right?

but its not totaly manual. its still an automatic trans. the only thing you do by putting a different shifter on it is make it easier to control the shifting. with a different shifter its just like having it on the column but its on the floor. puting in a shifter makes no difference in the performance of your trans. haveing a properly adjusted and working T.V. cable will do alot more than a shifter would. it just controls the trans a different way. a shift kit however will/should make it shift quicker between gears. but thats one of the things the T.V. cable is saposed to control. it should shift fermer at WOT than if your just crusing. with a floor shifter on an automatic you dont have a maual trans, when you put it down into say first all your doing is not letting the trany shift when it would, and then if you put it in second it will go throught first and shift on its own into second, and then same with Drive, it will go through 1st and 2nd all on its own and wont let it go into overdrive. all your doing is not letting the trans shift, and then when you shift into a higher gear then your just allowing the trans to shift, not making it but allowing it to, if it so chooses to. when you shift into a higher gear your not physicaly making a different gear move, all your doing is say to the trans, ok now you may shift. i hope this cleared up some of the confusion.

i guess it does. the c4 i had before must've been so responsive due to the manual valve body then, right? so with just a shifter on my auto its still going to shift as fast as the automatic can shift, so if i shift it really quickly im not going to feel it go into gear that quick its still going to lag a bit right? still wondering why that c4 was so responsive. if it had a manual valve body then what does that mean that i could do that to the 700r4 too ? but then its not automatic. im confused but i really aprpeciate the info its helping!

another reason i might be so confuzzled is because people always talk about puttin it in '1' or '2' and shifting it 'manually'. from what youve told me they arent technically correct by calling that a manual shift, its a manual-auto shift..hah

a good aftermarket shifter will improve your shifting speed a little because the stock shifter can be a little tough to speed shift with. if your it high enough rpm's, when you shift say from first to 2nd, it will go right into 2nd gear, but if you shift at lower rpm's the transmission will not let it go into 2nd until it's ready.
a manual valve body will still let the transmission shift automatically when it's in the drive or overdrive position, but when your shifting the gears manually it will go into the desired gear much quicker without the stall of the transmission shifting at what rpm's it's set to shift at.
it's like shifting with a clutch except there's no delay between the time it takes you to push the clutch in and change gears. i think an automatic starts to drive to gears at once right before a shift so it can do the transition smoothly.
is that confusing enough?lol

your corect about it not being technically corect. now for example, from a stop, say you put it in 1, the tranny will only be in first, and not upshift. now from a stop again, say you put it in 2, then you drive, as hard as you want, then the tanny will go through first and then shift on its own into second but it will not go past second gear. now from a stop again, say you put it in drive, drive is the same as 3, then you drive like before, it will go through first gear,(1), and then shift into second gear(2) and then into third gear(3/drive) but will not go any higher than 3rd gear.now say from a stop again you put it in 4th/overdrive, and then drive, your trans will go through all your gears just as normal. when you put it in a lower gear, say 2, the tranny will run thr the gears just as normal but will only go as high as the nuber gear you have it in, 2 in the example. now basicaly the best way to look at it as far as if its a manual or automatic is just like a gun, its semi-auto. if you want it to shift faster between gears i would say our best bet is to put in a shift kit and servo. hope this explanes more

thanks guys all the info helped alot.

i so with just a shifter on my auto its still going to shift as fast as the automatic can shift, so if i shift it really quickly im not going to feel it go into gear that quick its still going to lag a bit right? . im confused but i really aprpeciate the info its helping!

To answer your question simply, Yes, your tranny will still have the same shift lag.. An aftermarket shifter will not allow it to shift any harder, no matter how fast you are...

If you want your tranny to be more responsive and shift harder and faster... Do, as everyones suggested a few times, A shiftkit and a servo.. Corvette 700-R4s are popular and cheap to buy.. If you want even more holding power get an aftermarket billet servo

You can get everything in a kit, check this out
http://www.transmissioncenter.net/Shift_Kits.htm

Good luck