Bowtie Overdrives rocks my '59
Well the deed is done, my new 700R4 is in my truck and I drove it home from the trans shop last night - feels great! WOW what a difference in performance and feel over the tired TH350 that I originally installed (which was free)
The completeness of the kit made the install super easy, the trans shop had ZERO mods to do, which they tell me is rare; they were actually delighted with how easy the install went, as was my wallet. The install kit supplied included both a pressure gauge and temp gauge, now to find a home on my dash for another gauge.
The 700 shift points were set up perfectly following the instructions from Bowtie Overdrives, and the TV cable setup is real nice. I skipped the install on the TV adapter plate cause the lokar-style TV cable supplied bolted right up to the Lokar SRK-4000 bracket I already had. I may tighten up the TV cable a bit as I got used to the super-firm shifts from the 350, but I will drive it for a while before doing anything. The upshifts are so smooth you almost don't know it shifted if you are not paying attention and she drops into overdrive and locks up around 50mph, give or take, via internal pressure switch that triggers going into 4th gear - real nice setup.
BO supplied me with a relay to unlock the converter that triggers off the brake switch so you don't stall under heavy braking, and since I am not running a mechanical brake switch a bosch relay was supplied to be installed inline off my brake light switch, otherwise they supply a gm cruise control/brake switch to do the job - BTW this is a warranty point for them so the lockup safety switch must be installed.
Along with the new trans I got a new, higher stall torque converter. I opted to go with a 2000-2200 rpm stall, which gives a firmer, higher rpm launch over the stock converter I previously had; another nice plus to get my engine into it's RPM band before engaging. Another plus my driveshaft fit exactly without modification, so besides having to relocate my trans cross member, it was really an easy install.
If anyone was considering upgrading to a 700R4 or OD trans, all I can say is start saving your pennies. Sure I could have gone to a boneyard and pulled one, had it rebuilt, sourced all the install materials and hoped for the best, but for $2224 installed I don't think I could have done better myself. I really did research this aspect of the project for quite sometime so I really felt my efforts were well complimented by the quality of the components and instructions supplied by Bowtie Overdrives; dollar for dollar this was probably the single best upgrade (besides the motor) I put on this truck. In all reality, it feels like driving a modern vehicle now; except for the solid front axle.
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As far as Bowtie Overdrives was concerned, +100 to them, great product, great support and great instructions/support - I recommend them 100% and would not hesitate to buy from them again.