Hey guys, I'm new to the ls forum. Spend most of my days over on the corvette forum in the c3 section. I came over here because from reading old post, you all have a ton of 4l80e experience. I'm about to start a swap from the th350 to the 4l80e in a 1977 corvette. I figured you all could help. I purchased a 4l80e from extreme automatics, rated @1000 hp. It will be bolting up to a sbc 396 stroker. Here are some general questions

I'm leaning towards the quick 4 stand alone controller by us shift being that I have a carbureted engine. Anyone have this and how was your experience?

what is best location for my sending unit on the 4l80e for the trans temp gauge I have installed?

I've seen talk of the rear cooling line on this forum being an extended fitting. Does this apply for all 4l80e's?
Heres a side view. Im assuimg that the extended fitting goes into the rear brass fitting in the above picture?
choosing a yoke for this transmission, what's involved?

as far as flexplate is concerned, I will need a new one right?

Heres a picture of the car in question. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

I'm sure the pros will answer , but I have a later 80E and the return line is in the rear of the trans where yours goes through the pan.

I used these fittings on mine to give more clearance.
You can see from the pictures what I was talking about.

 

On the trans

 

Yeah, I've heard of those 90 degree fittings.

 

You'll probably need them!
I did, unless you want to cut up the floor.

 

1992-1996 Units had the cooler lines together like yours in the picture. 1997 and later had them spread apart with one cooler line further towards the back of the unit to feed the cooler fluid coming back from the external cooler feeding directly into the center support.

You can build the older units up by putting in later model parts, but most people/shops just start with the later ('97 & up) units as they had the internal upgrades from GM.

I've used TCi, Compu-Shift, Bauman, and 1 more that I can't remember the name of right now.. They all work well, just some have more/better options than others. One customer with the TCI unit likes to use the display while driving..

 

thanks. And what about the extended cooler line people mention. Is that required for all 4l80es or just 96 and up.

 

thanks a ton. Yeah I plan on getting on some. Did you fit your 4l80e into a c3?

 

No, it's the nova in my avatar.
Sorry. I got them in flea bay. Tell seller what year trans you have and if possible send pictures too. I think yours are cheaper.

I just came in from the garage. Had to lengthen the X pipe as the new cross member is farther back.
Fortunately I have a lift in my garage so it makes it real easy.

 

The extended fitting will not fit in the transmission you have shown in your photo.

It is only for the later transmissions with the fitting near the rear of the pan, more than 10" away from the other fitting.

You will probably be happier with the older case you have, the newer version has the rear fitting in a location that may not work in a C3 vette without significantly cutting the tunnel.

And be careful with your shifter selection. Some of the cheap ones don't have the gates in the correct position for the 4l80e.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Actually had people recommend the older case. I was planning on shift works for the shifter.

 

The TCI Fastgate is cheap and works well with the 80e.

 

I have a b&m quicksilver and it "say" it should work with the 80e I HOPE!
Can anyone confirm this as I will be ready to start it soon.

 

Did you get it in yet?
If so, how do ya like it?
I LOVE mine!

 

You CAN use the later 80E's (1997 & up) without cutting the floor in that Corvette. We put a 2002 80E into a 1980 Corvette without issue. We did not even have to use the banjo style cooler line fittings as shown in the post above. Yes, it is tight, but the lines if bent properly will fit without issue. We bend our own lines in-house with a Snap On bender.

In regards to the shifter-why not leave it stock? In the 1980 that we worked on the factory shifter worked perfectly and the customer could even get the 80E all the way down into L1 without issue.

If you have not started on this yet.. Let me forewarn you about one area you *might* have an issue with. The parking brake lever is attached to the transmission crossmember. Since the mount on the 80E is several inches further back, you will have to figure out a way to incorporate the parking brake pivot point onto your crossmember while also moving the mount location further back. Maybe you are using an aftermarket c-member that has the attachment points already?

You will see once you get it down. It's not a hard obstacle to over-come but there is a little wheel that the cable rolls around on that has to be set up correctly.

Good luck with your project!

 

not sure if it was said or not but your transmission DOES NOT HAVE a extended rear fitting, you have a old style 4l80e and it uses th400 fittings, DO NOT TRY A LONG ONE, use the normal style ones

for temp input there is a 1/8 fitting on driver side used for pressure checking that pretty much everyone puts the sensor there