69VetteFla

Been thinking about changing my 4 speed M21 to a Keisler RS600 and just spoke to Keisler who informed me that they no longer are making the RS600 and will soon have an SS700 which is the replacement. It seems they had so many orders for the RS600 that they weren't able to keep up with the demand and have now partnered with another company (not sure who) in manufacturing the SS700 which should be out in mid-March. They said that it will be a direct fit for 4 -speeds and require no cutting. I have a 3.73 rear end and was told that I would need the SS700 which has the 2.66 first gear. He wasn't able to give me any sense yet on timing for shipments and they aren't taking orders yet. He said to call 2nd week in March. Kind of concerned about it now - pretty big investment cost and it is now going to be a collaberation of two companies manufacturing it. Don't want to go with the TKO since it would require cutting. Any thoughts?

Billysvette

Im in the same boat as you,i want a 5 speed and i talked to keisler and they said the same thing to me.I dont like the wait and no dates. Im not a patient person Keisler kinda scares me away ,they have a good product but they have no definent answers , To payout that kind of money i want definent answers and dates,exact dates.

qwank

Since when does the TKO require cutting? Are you talking about the driveshaft? They send you one with the kit.

mbeeman350

Hey I talked to Chris today at Keisler and got the same story. The wait time on their Tremec set ups is 2-3 weeks and 3-4 months for the RS. Then I talked to Hurst Driveline in Vista, CA and they can ship in 48 hours and deliciver within 5 days to FL!!
Whats amazing I filled a price request last week for Keisler and Proformance on their wbsites. Also left a VM at Proformance....never got any returned calls.. Left a message at the sales dept at Hurst today and got a returned call within 15 minutes. Hurst is cheaper than Keisler for the auto to manual conversion and has free shipping!!

69VetteFla

I am not patient either and don't like to wait but want to make sure I get the best trans I can for the car. Are you at all concerned about the quality of the SS700 considering it is not being manufactured solely by Keisler? I heard the first 15 or so RS600s had problems that were corrected later on. This collaberation manufacturing is making me kind of nervous about the quality and wondering if it is best to wait until they are out and installed quite a bit to hear how they perform. Like you said though, I hate the wait and this would mean even more time

qwank - you are correct TKO doesn't require cutting but would like to get the latest generation trans if I decide to pull the triger

69VetteFla

I sent an online request on Sunday to Keisler, left a VM on Monday and didn't hear back at all from either. Called today and got a person but wasn't too happy about the lack of response either. I already have a 4 spd and am looking for a 5spd. These things are pretty expensive and I am going to do quite a bit of research and pick the best solution for my car - would be nice to save a few bucks but I have so much in my car already that I want to make sure I don't have any regrets. Would love to hear about how the Hurst works out for you.

qwank

I understand. No patience here either. I'm really leaning towards a Richmond 5 speed now. Talk about having an old style transmission. LOL

mbeeman350

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I am looking at over a $5,000 spend !! I still want to talk to Proformance
My concern is the level ofservice after the sale from any of the 3 suppliers

Vette5.5

No expert on this, but have a friend in a 79' L-82, 3.70 axle that swapped his muncie M21 to a Keisler 5 speed TKO kit, and didn't mention anyting about cutting floor tunnels. 3.27 1st and .70 5th, and surely could've gotten away with with much less axle in back. Car drives much nicer on the highway now.

HamadUP

I don't know where a TKO conversion needs cuttings in a C3 body, but I just did a TKO600 and it was absolutely direct fit, no cuttings what so ever. BTW, I'm really happy with the car now and enjoying every minute of driving, I got mine from American Powertrain and they shipped it 4 days after placing the order.

Günther-C3

I have a TKO500 in my 68 and also NO cutting.

Btw: Times ago McLoud released a new 5 speed. Does anybody know how is going on?

Günther

HamadUP

Actually I was waiting for that transmission for a year or so since they show it in SEMA 2 years ago, I called Mcleod after a year asking about it, unfortunately they pulled the plug on the whole project due to some difficulties in getting some of parts from a 3rd part manufacturer.

SteveG75

I decided to go with the 6 speed vice 5 and ordered a T-56 Magnum from Hurst last week.

It will need more fabrication than the TKO but should be a fun project. 2.66 first, 0.80 fifth and 0.63 sixth. Rear end is going to be a 3.73 12 bolt which is in work right now. My small block is getting swapped for a 496 stroker big block as well.

I will be posting pics as it all goes together over the next couple of months.

KeislerChris

TKO into C3 does not require any sort of cutting, and should bolt in easily. As far as the RS600 vs. SS700, the simple truth of the matter is we went outside of our core competency to manufacture the RS line, never expecting the response that we got. Our strength lies in making kits that work well with minimal modifications to most cars, and in making sure the end user has all pieces needed to complete the swap. When we started making the RS600, the demand for these units was amazing, and we were inundated with orders. As everyone is aware we suffered through several supply chain issues trying to bring this to market which further compounded lead times. As of January 1st, we decided to stop taking new orders on the RS600, and focus on fulfilling the back-orders, and in the meantime, we have partnered with our gear supplier in North Carolina who has far more manufacturing capacity than we do, and they are manufacturing a sort of RS600 version 2.0 dubbed the "SS700". Why the change? We felt that since production responsibility was being shifted to a new location, it was prime time to make some design tweaks that result in greater power handling capacity, and a more usable first gear. This unit will be new from top to bottom with revised gear sets and a more robust mid-case design with multiple bolt patterns for different vehicles.

KeislerChris

Also, with their increased manufacturing capability, lead times should be slashed to a fraction of what the RS600 was, once the unit reaches market. Pricing and availability to be announced next month.
On the TKO side of things, we have always done things differently than most other companies, with case and tail housing modifications which take time. We are selling brand new units, not "re-manufactured" as our competition has suggested, and our warranty on those units is 36 months, with up to 2 years to activate. If you're shopping on price, and that's all that matters, then the internet has plenty of alternatives that will get you there, albeit at a sacrifice with either warranty, fit, complete offering of components, or all of the above. We operate on the principal of a value-added sale, with great engineering and fitment, which hopefully shines through well after the purchase and install process is done. For those that have our kits, you know what this means, and hopefully you've been having a great time driving.

mbeeman350

Chris thanks for the update

MyRed69

Have a look at some earlier threads:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...o-5-speed.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...a-5-speed.html

I wonder how much has really changed? Not trying to stir things up but if you're going to drop 5K you should have a look around... Customer Service, Product, Warrantee; two out of three doesn’t get it for me. American Powertrain has been great with me for the past year, (Saturdays and after hours) helping with new bellhousing alignment and spacing, hydraulic clutch shimming, etc. I think it was ten days from the time I finally pulled the trigger (I wore them out with questions for a couple of months prior) and my TKO600 arrived.

69VetteFla

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. My L46 redline is 6,000 and I don't take it above 5,000 too often so the whole smooth shifting above 7,500 doesn't mean anything to me. I agree that the 3 times you mentioned are all critical to me and really need all 3 to make this purchase but want to make sure that I am not making a bad decision re: the product I choose - definitely want to get the best product I can and also want a good warrantee and cust service. I wish I could drive a TKO600 and an SS700 and see if I can feel any difference when shifting/driving. I am going to wait and see what the shipping time is on the SS700 after they officially launch then make a decision.

Clubby99

American Powertrain
TKO 500 or 600. New & better unit, great service, fast delivery.

Keisler
Ever-changing "remanufactured" unit, run-around, great marketing but questionable customer service, months waiting.

Choice seems simple

Billysvette

Chubby what was the total cost of your kit from american power train?