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5 speed in a 1978?

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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 06:01 PM
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Default 5 speed in a 1978?

I posted this on the Canadian board but figured I would get more action over here.

A friend has a 1978 with a 427 crate motor in it. The original 4 speed is toast and he is thinking its a good time to put in a 5 speed. I know of Tremac and I think people speak highly of them.

Can anybody provide some input as to what kit to buy and is there a good Canadian vendor that would be price competative?

Any comments or tips greatly appreciated.

thanks
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 06:57 PM
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What rear gears is he running or going to run. The TKO 500 with BB torque and steeper gears is going to make 1st gear pretty unusable. The TKO 600 would probably be a better choice depending on his current rear gears.

Probably the single best mod I have done to the car is the TKO trans.
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 07:08 PM
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I agree a TKO 600 would be the better choice. My 78 has the original 3.70:1 rear gears and with my small block I barely get across intersections before shifting out of 1st. I have an early TKO and my 1st gear is steep enough with the right tires I could probably climb a telephone pole

All that said the TKO is the best mod I've made to date in my car. On the freeway with the 3.70's my cruise rpm is 2400rpm vs 3400-3600 with the original Borg-Warner 4 speed. As for Canadian kits, I have no idea of vendors for you. Obviously Kiesler among others have the american market and I am sure would be hapy to sell to you but I understand that there are rather steep duties I guess getting stuff shipped across the border?
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 08:12 PM
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[QUOTE=fauxrs;1571809340]I agree a TKO 600 would be the better choice. My 78 has the original 3.70:1 rear gears and with my small block I barely get across intersections before shifting out of 1st. I have an early TKO and my 1st gear is steep enough with the right tires I could probably climb a telephone pole

All that said the TKO is the best mod I've made to date in my car. On the freeway with the 3.70's my cruise rpm is 2400rpm vs 3400-3600 with the original Borg-Warner 4 speed. As for Canadian kits, I have no idea of vendors for you. Obviously Kiesler among others have the american market and I am sure would be hapy to sell to you but I understand that there are rather steep duties I guess getting stuff shipped across the border?[/QUOTE]

Do you have any info on this? I am thinking of bringing one across the border but if the duties are too much I may not. This is the first I've heard of it. Although I haven't asked either.

shmoky
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 08:29 PM
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What you guys need to do is find a buddy right across the border. Drive it down and do the swap and drive it back home.

Yes sir it always had that 5 speed in it.
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 08:29 PM
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[QUOTE=shmoky;1571810088]
Originally Posted by fauxrs
I agree a TKO 600 would be the better choice. My 78 has the original 3.70:1 rear gears and with my small block I barely get across intersections before shifting out of 1st. I have an early TKO and my 1st gear is steep enough with the right tires I could probably climb a telephone pole

All that said the TKO is the best mod I've made to date in my car. On the freeway with the 3.70's my cruise rpm is 2400rpm vs 3400-3600 with the original Borg-Warner 4 speed. As for Canadian kits, I have no idea of vendors for you. Obviously Kiesler among others have the american market and I am sure would be hapy to sell to you but I understand that there are rather steep duties I guess getting stuff shipped across the border?[/QUOTE]

Do you have any info on this? I am thinking of bringing one across the border but if the duties are too much I may not. This is the first I've heard of it. Although I haven't asked either.

shmoky
No I dont, my understanding is purely anecdotal based on what Ive read on these forums and other places. Since I dont live in Canada I have never had any experience with this.
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 09:44 PM
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Order it right from the vendor in the states....eliminating a middle man.
I ordered my TKO600 (.64OD) from Classic Motorsports Group in November of 2007. The kit was $3295. It was a very complete kit with mounts/shims/hardware/drivshaft/speedo cable/trans mount.....the works. I ordered a chrome shifter **** for an additional $90.
The total shipping/Broker fee/fee for this/fee for that/screw the customer fee/ and knife in the back fee....with a twist....was $361.42 in Canadian dollars. Right to my door in the Edmonton area, four days after I ordered it. That was when the Canadian and US dollars were pretty much at par.
So you might expect to pay somewhere around $400 today.

Hope this helps

Last edited by OMF; Oct 13, 2009 at 09:47 PM.
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 09:57 PM
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Any Canadian dealer will just handle the transaction for you for by adding their markup,they just buy the kit from the same American outfit you can.There is no duty on NAFTA eligible auto parts brought into Canada.You must pay GST no matter what,all provinces except Alberta pay PST as well.Shipping is the danger zone-a certain company with brown trucks does very nasty things to single time importers with their brutal brokerage fees.,if you have a commercial account or a friend with one you can avoid that unpleasantness.
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Old Oct 13, 2009 | 11:55 PM
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this is great information guys.
thanks a lot

i am not worried about the border stuff. Buck is almost par now and as said above no duty re NAFTA.

Thanks again
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Old Oct 14, 2009 | 02:55 AM
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Great information. That NAFTA info is helpfull. (that's what I thought anyway but nice to get a confirmation). With the Canadian $$ so close to par I may have to rob from the Wife's kitty fund.

shmoky
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