Last questions re parts; rad, shifter, 700r4

I'm a month away from putting my 66 chevy G10 on the road, (and thank god, because my shitty Safari is about to die and the snow up here is clearing up now so I'm ready).

I have a friend putting the motor together for me and there are a few things I want to arm him with so he's ready to set it up right. Here are the questions:

- Shifter. I have put a 700R4 in and want to put a regular cheap shifter in, (probably mounted on a fab'ed dog house tunnel). It has to be a cable shifter. I was wondering if there is a standard shifter from some old car that most people have found is the easiest conversion and mount). I'm not looking for the best one right now. Just the cheapest, easiest to find and install. I want to send my buddy the details of what car and year shifter so he can call his scrap yard buddies to get one.
Is there one that comes to mind? Again, easy to find, and easy to hook up. Cheapest is the after thought I guess.

- Rad for v8 355 converted. My buddy says ideally it would be good to get a rad that has a tranny cooler built in. He is saying we need to have one made. But I remember reading about some other old car rads that work well to fit in the dog house, (I have the v8 dog house ready for conversion and installlation, and plan to fab a tunnel in front of it).
Do I need to have one made or is there one out there from the wreckers that is easy to find, fits the space in the dog house and possibly has a tranny cooler as well?

- Do I need to emphasize to my buddy about the complication of the TV cable hook up on the 700R4. He doesn't seem to think there is anything complicated about hooking up the tranny but maybe the TV cable problems with this set up is more complicated than he understands. If he does it wrong, will he kill my newly rebuilt 700R4? Just looking for links on this one in the event he may need some info.

As for everything else, I have done it. I fab'ed the tranny mount, and actually fab'ed ladder bars that attach to it to get rid of the spring wrap. I have removed and rewelded the axel mounts to set what I believe is the correct pinion angle for all these parts and at this point the engine is all wired up and almost ready to go. So totally stoked to get this thing on the road.

Any info for the above questions would be hugely appreciated. I'm about the scower the site for my own answers to these questions, but if there's anyone out there who has all the answers and can fire them down for me in a few mins, that's the ideal situation.

If I get this beast running, I'm going to finally get to tear down to one of these van meetings this summer.

Thanks,

Heavy

also, one more thing. the 700r4 has some electronic stuff hanging out of it. I think its the connections for the guages. is it a difficult conversion to hooking up the old school guages? or should I just get cheap electronic guages that hook up to this tranny way easier?

Read this = http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/index.shtml
there are many diff companys doing the 700R trannys - google them. The 700 is very dependant on correct TV adjustment - articles on web will tell u how. Try B & M trannys for shifters also - again look on thye tranny rebuilders site. Many shifters there. Radiator- EBAY- many new & if u dont see any specific to the van -email them - -also the 67 up vans had the crossflow raid's for the v=8's Yet as older might have to require a re-core?? Yes get the ones with tranny cooler in them - yet also add a aux. cooler to the front area - again routing fluid thru the aux cooler last prior to entering the trans again- Remember the outlet & inlet lines on trans are specific to proper fluid flow. Love to see some pics and esp.=ladder bars .

ebay radiator= http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/67-CHEVROLET-VAN-5-7L-V8-ALL-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-NIB-NEW-/400193108416?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d2d5e39c0
this is a 2 row - others avail- just email or call

Thats not a 67 G van rad on ebay.

I recomend the original cross flow rad , 4 core with a trans cooler . Thats what I have and its no problems. You will need the lower rad sadle to install it and you should make a closed in top rad sadle. I also recomend the 2 speed lincon MarkVIII electric fan.

On the trans you can get a speedo adapter to drive the old van speedo , If you can get an electric speedo that would be better. The other wires are the TCC lock up and you will need to change that up to what will be best for your van. It will likely need changes to wiring inside the trans pan (simple job) and then wire in a circuit in you van to make it work.

Scout arong here for ideas

https://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/m1dadio/

M1D

The electronics on the tranny will depend somewhat on what year it is from and possibly application. it can be stupid easy or you may have to go in the pan like M1 says. I didnt find setting up the TV cable to be all that tough on a 4 bbl carb, but My 700 is an 83 simple and weak ,,lol, big thing is getting a cable bracket you can use or adapt easily to get your starting points for the cables good. glad to hear your still on it . pics??

Just to let u know -the pic in the ebay is a generic pic. Also is a 2 row(price??) it does staye in the ad as fits a 67 vamn so Id just call them on that application. As for the crossflow radiator with lower & upper mounting being fabbed - this is a usual truck mounting and extra work. im sure there are many manfacturers that have a bolt in 4 core radiator to fit the van u have. The throttle valve wont present any problems -just get yourself educated from some of the tranny shops articles on the web-Happy vannin