66 Vette

I have listened to all of you and have gone on various GM car sites to gather as much information as possible before I made my decision today. Every site I went to mentioned the difficulty of installing the TKO due to tunnel clearance issues, plus the 2nd to 3rd shifts. I ordered a Keisler RS 600 this morning based on this input and information. I hope the wait is worth it and look forward to receiving the RS 600 Transmission kit as soon as it is available.
I thank all of you for your input.

babbah

Please keep us posted as to when you receive it. And how the install went as well. I think you made the right choice.

FastEddy

Jeff, Those minor changes on the Tremec I see in the pics might have been enough to solve my clearance issue - Nice Job. The edges of the silver plate are ground off, just like I did to mine, and the change in the front/top plate is great !! - I ground off the edges of that plate as well to help with the clearance, but that is a much better solution! I did leave my tunnel insulation in the first time the trans went in, btw. Bought mine 6-7 years ago, and it even survived the car being totalled 5 years ago. (car is rebuilt now)

I also shift above 6,000 rpm constantly - usually shifting at 6,500 when going hard (peak power is at 6,300) and if I'm distracted I'll see 7,000 in first gear before grabbing second - never noticed any problem with the shift vs RPM. Even have a little 9 minute demo of some, uh, gear rowing.... for your enjoyment watch for the 3rd gear shift stumble I was talking about a little bit after the u-turn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYh-fqwya8

FastEddy

and in this economy, hardly anyone is building up speculation stock...of anything it seems. In my business everyone is complaining that "parts" that were always readily available in the past, are at times on nationwide backorder these last few years...it's frustrating for everybody.

Frankie the Fink

Watched the video and I've developed pretty much the same TKO shifting technique...you just can't bang the thing forward into 3rd like throwing a punch....more finesse is required; of course my original '61 won't hang with your car by a long shot. I have shifted at 5,800 RPM on 1-2 occasions but I have a rev limiter now set at 5,500 which I rarely hit at this point.

Personally, I wouldn't post a video of myself intentionally speeding for any reason....Internet postings are forever.

KeislerSales

That's a bad *** ride! I kept waiting for a navigator to pop up in the passenger seat and start pointing out the upcoming turns. Fun video!

I'll put the link on our facebook page.

KeislerSales

Exactly! I've talked to many vendors at shows and hear pretty much the same thing across the board. Nobody is carrying much excess stock anymore due to the economy.

We just have to hunker down and ride out the storm, this is a STRONG hobby and a huge market. People who aren't even "car" people love classic cars and guys (and gals) will never stop building them.

65air_coupe

Nice video, thanks for sharing. Curious about your 'hood ornament' that's blocking your view And you seem to have a bit of traction problem, getting rid of what that is on the hood might help rectify that!

qwik-tripp

Jeff, is the milled down area shown in the close up a must? I am interested in installing this trans in a C-2. It is a TKO-600.

fullcontrol

I went with the Keisler TKO-600 and installation was a snap. Just lowered the body onto the chassis and called it done.

thumperZ06

Damn awesome video. can tell its near MD.. was expecting to see an unexpected car to show up. I have the T56 in my 60 and it reacts simular. I really like the 2 OD's with 411's. my hard shfit points are at 7800. btw ever see any smokies with those funny colored lights?? nice ride thnx..

KeislerSales

Yes and no. The C2 is prone to seat pan sag and clearance is definitely on the small side. If your trans does not have this mod and your pan is sagging you will most likely have trans/tunnel contact. This mod along with our seat pan support bushings typically eliminate any tunnel interference issues.

Mr. Wizzard

I have a TKO 600 in my grand sport replica. It's a bit notchy compared to my Honda's. As soon as I have my large engine completed, I plan to back it up with the new Keisler transmission. I've seen the tranny at the last two PRI shows, and it's a damned nice piece....and it also weighs less than the Tremec.
As the owner of a business that builds high-tolerance Honda race engines, I appreciate the time Keisler is spending to make sure everything is "right". That's the only way to do business.
LW

jjtoma

Fast Eddy,

way to go man. That's what I calling testing.

Jim

c3_dk

Does anyone have some RS price indications?

toddalin

I have the TKO-600 in my '64 with the Keisler floor shims and still get rub and squeek. It also pushes up on the bottom of the ashtray. I wish my mechanic would have done the grinding/clearancing before the installation and it's kind of expensive to go back and re-do after the fact.

I bought a sheet of thin cork, and will try to line the crossmember to shim it up a bit for a little more clearance.

If you get an "un-ground" 600 unit, be sure to grind it beforehand.

midyearvette

i pulled mine out just to do the grinding, several years on the initial installation. back then i was flying blind and was so pissed about the fit that i did not care about the warranty of the tko unit, im glad i posted the modification and equally impressed that keisler is providing more room on the newer units, you'd think they would have done this in the first place...duh!!......
i wonder if they got the idea from this forum ???
if they did, youre welcome keisler!

vettsplit 63

Just got my newsletter from Keisler that has information on the new SS700 debuted at the PRI show and to be available in 2012. Dimensions look identical to the RS series trans, but has torque capacity of 700 ft. lbs. and better (for my application at least) gear ratio availability.

65tripleblack

What is a SS700?

esema

"available in 2012" Yeah. Right.