Tv cable on 700r4

Hi guys.
Im almost done with swapping a 700r4 into my chevelle. It has been pretty straight forward so far. I have one question though, i bought a kit to make the tv cable fit my edelbrock and i have mounted everything including the correct bracket for the trottle shaft. I have the pan off and im trying to get the tv cable adjustet, but i cant get ti to a point where it is fully extended at wot and fully released at idle. If i have it so its fully extended at wot, i have a little tension on the cable at idle. If i release it so it dosent engage in the trans but just about starts to pull the pin, it dosent extended fully at wot. I have been looking at the mechanism that push the piston in inside the trans.

Does it make any sense what im asking? Should there be a little tension in the cable already at idle or should it be slack like if the cable was disconnected? Im guessing its ok that the cable is not totally relaxed at idle as long as it is fully extended and tight at wot and then i can fine tune it when i can get it on a test drive to see if it shifts at the right mph.

Im just afraid to do it Wrong cause i know how importent it is to get it right. Right now its adjustet so it gets guitar string tight at wot but doesent release the piston totally at idle. I hope someone here can point me in the right direction.

Other than this little hickup it havent been to difficult to swap in a 700r4. I have bought the shiftworks kit to modify the horseshoe shifter i put in when i first restored it, and a kit to control the lock up. This makes it a little easier, and im getting exited to see how it drives with the new trans. Thanks in advance for any advise.

Regards from cold Copenhagen.

The way you have it should work.  It absolutely must be fully extended at WOT.  That's rule #1.  It can be not fully retracted at idle. I am not aware of any actual issues with running this way.

How much difference is there?  I had some difference, and I used this:

Spring extension

This allowed me to have it fully retracted at idle, and actually be fully extended prior to WOT, and the spring absorbs the rest of the play in the throttle throw.  However, you can only have as much difference as the spring will absorb at WOT or you run the risk of snapping something.

Sounds like the radius might be a little short, but a little tension at idle won't hurt anything.

Hi and thanks for the advise. I bought the Tci kit with the correct geometri bracket and so. But it seems it is not doing what it supposed to do. I Got it to a point where i almost have full slack at idle and full extension at wot.  Im going to leave it as is and see how it runs.

I am a little bit upset with the parts i have gotten for this build, and i must say it is not the first time i have had these problems. You buy a kit or a part that is supposed to work, but most of the time it is either not wery good or not working at all. The Tci kit supplied me with a cable that was Way to short for any application i have ever seen, the bracket var cheap and apperantly not working correctly.

I also Got the Wrong filter kit from Tci even though it says 700r4 on the label, it looks like it was a 200r4 filter. I bought a lockup control kit from BM and it looks like i will work as it should, however it look Real cheaply made and the buttons is flimsy so will see how long it last. The kit from shiftworks to modify the horseshoe shifter was ok and seams beefy and strong, however i needed to open the holes for the bracket or it could not be mounted on the trans. And the shifter feel has gone from easy and smooth to harsh and it takes some effort to move the shiftlever, but i get all gears and ill try and look into hey it feels so tight now. Might be an adjustment issue, however i dont get why the trans bracket needs to be bend at an 45 degree angel Towards the Ground and not just straight, in Line with the shift bracket on the trans.

It seems alot of the parts you can buy for our cars at summit, opgi, classic industries and such is not that great quality. I wish they would actually make stuff that can be used right out the box without mods. Am i the only one that has it this Way. I mean i dont buy the cheapest stuff i can find, and im not by any means a Rich guy. So i get a little upset when parts dont fit right, or when my new expensive seat covers from opgi starts to rip at the seams after 2 years of sunday driving. But im not able to afford super expensive custom parts or upholstery så i guess i have to make do with whats on the market. Also the instruktions in the kits are far from usefull. If they had put usefull instruktions in the carb tv cable kit, it would have Shown in detail exactly how much tension and so on there should be on the cable.

Sorry for the long story. I was just a little tired of trying to accomplies this task and i feel sometimes parts are fighting me instead of making it easier. Im at a point where im ready to turn the key and see if she will fire up, and hopefully not puke oil all over the floor. Or blow something up.

I Thank you all for your help. This is the best forum ever.

You will be fine with a little tension on the cable at idle. I went and checked mine today. The cable is pulled about 1/8" at idle, tight at WOT. other than some converter problems, I've had zero issues with the trans over the past 10 years.

And yes, alot of the aftermarket stuff is poorly made. I had a TCI cable bracket that would flex under WOT. I cut and welded some factory brackets and made my own. It's alot stronger and doesn't flex. I'm also using the factory self adjusting cable that came with the trans.

It sounds like its ok then. There is 4 groves in the piston inside the trans. They are all visible when the mecanisme is not under any tension. When i hook up the cable i can clearly see 3 groves and almost the last grove, so im going to leave it and see how it runs. I Got it fired up today and she moved under own power about a foot. I get all gears and i went into gear instantly, i had the engine out to and detailed it. And put in a new oilpan, that of course fit like crap. But im happy it seems she is leak free at this point. All that is left is to adjust the gear shift a little and put the hood and lights etc back on. And she should be good to go. I need however a little better wether than snow and rain to testdrive it. I hope it lets up before november 15 cause my insurence conditions prohibits i drive it after that, and i cant wait til march before i find out how it is with the trans.

Thank you for the advise again.