How to tell if a transmission has a shift kit in it?

[Neal Zimmerman]

OK, I bought a core 727 and Im going to rebuild it myself. BUT how can one tell if it has been kitted before? I don't necessarily want a shift kit, but I need to know. I know kits go into the valve body so any telltale signs would be there, but it would only be a hole drilled through the plate, a checkball or a spring change but that's nothing I can tell just by looking at it.
Help,
Neal Zimmerman

 

[Geoff 2]

I think it would be hard to tell if the trans has a shift kit. There are a few different brands of SKs, so where to start...

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Floor it in drive from a dead stop and see if it really barks the tires going into 2nd gear

 

[Rebelrouser]

I have rebuilt transmissions since 1976 and even for me it is tough, because there is more than one way to do things in a valvebody. What I do is save instructions for different shift kits in a binder for reference. usually, the giveaway is the orifice plate in the valve body the holes are almost always drilled to a larger size. And I have run into on occasion that when one type shift kit is installed on top of another the transmission will not shift at all. On a 727 I prefer the transgo shift kits.

 

[dvw]

Missing check balls, drilled walls in the upper half of the valve body, restrictor cup plug placed in the high clutch feed orifice in the trans case would be tell tale signs.
Doug