I Am New To This Forum And This Might Not Mean Much,but I Was At Corvettes At Carlilse I Spoke With Both Keisler And Classic Chevy 5 Speed. It Seemed That The Keisler Group Knew More About What They Where Talking About. I Think They Also Have Been In Buisness
A Lot Longer Which Made Me Feel Comfortable With The Purchase Of There Product For My Midyear. Not To Mention The Fact That Classic Chevy Says You Should Remove Your Engine For Install. Not Being Too Mechanically Inclined I Was Thinking About The Extra Cost On Labor I Was Going To Have To Pay.they Also Have Already Contacted Me To Confirm The Order. I Had A Few Questions They Answered Them Promptly. The Keisler Experience For Me So Far Has Been Great. As Far As Clubber 15 It Sounds Like To Me Your Throwing Stones With No First Hand Knowledge Of Keisler Products. Do You Even Own A 'vette? Sounds To Me Like You Need To Get A Life. Most Of Us Corvette Guys Are Already Sleeping At 12:26 Am And Dreaming Of Driving Our Cars With The Keisler 5-speed.

 

Hardnoks,

You are correct about not acting upon my suspicions. I guess I trust those at their word. When customer service swears up and down it can't be the shaft and offer to cover some expenses if I take it to another shop that they have delt with....I would take them at their word. Also, I did take the shaft to have balanced locally......(that's a whole other story...I proved to them their equipment was out of tolerance)...guess I should have sent it out to a "professional" driveshaft manufacturer. hind sight is always 20/20!

 

There is a rumor goin' around that clubber works for Classic Chevy 5 speed...Hmmmmm, could that be true?

 

Works for them, I don't think so, owns maybe

 

I hadn't heard that rumor, but if it is true than that is a horrible way to do business. I am in the fortunate position to have quite a bit I want to do to the car before forking out the 4.5k for an auto to manual swap; however, if that rumor is true then I certainly won't be doing business with Classic Chevy 5 Speed. I hope that there is no truth to the rumor whatsoever.

 

 

I'm calling the A.S.P.C.A.

 

Clubber is the most transparent representative of the competition I have seen on the forum. He has posted link after link to the new guys on the block, complained about a kit he does not own, and has generally just been stirring the pot.

While I hate to dignify baseless questions, for the sake of the rest of the forum members I will be glad to answer the questions posted...

The tail housing of the TKO is separated from the transmission, machined to suit new shift linkage, permanently lubricated, and filled with new linkage. Our mini-billet short throw shift tower can then be installed from inside the car for an exact 4-speed fit when used with our replica shift handle (1955-1982).

Blueprinting the transmission is essential to long term durability and quiet operation of the system. During our six years as a Tremec Distributor we have sold a ton of TKOs and we do special enhancements to improve quality & durability. Solving problems like this, and the driveshaft issues, are part of a good engineering operation.

The ratings on the TKO600 are 600ft-lbs of torque at constant delivery over extended time. All ratings are established on a baseline, 4 months 24/7 at 600ft-lbs in this case. The horsepower rating is 650hp, although in truth hp does not break transmissions so this rating is kind of irrelevant unless you are exceeding it by lots of power (which usually indicates higher torque as well). There have been other tests, like static torque capacity tests, that have been done by Tremec and netted much higher max torque capacity. We will quote these numbers when a customer is looking for a "break point". Keep in mind, too, that the power must be held inside the box to break things. Most Corvettes have relatively small tire contact patches, meaning that the power will escape in the form of heat, sound and shredding tires, protecting your transmission from damage.

As you are clearly helping out our competition you have got to be kidding if you think we will put you in direct contact with one of our suppliers. Anyone with a driveshaft issue should call directly! Our customer tech line is 865.609.8187 ext 3. We have several trained staff members ready to assist your every need.

As to the driveshaft issue, here is the final word. We know that there are some drive shafts out there with issues, as evidenced by HarleyDude51's experience. We have no interest in trying to convince the good people of this forum that we are perfect. We have sent thousands of drive shafts out of here with good results, and when those individuals who have a problem call to address it we generally have good results helping them out. I am truly sorry that HarleyDude51 had a problem, and that he is not 100% satisfied. If he will call me, I will make sure that he is happy by the time we are finished on the phone.

Finally, you are obviously either employed by or in contact with our competition. The questions you ask and the links you provide are very transparent. With over 4 million Corvette customer miles logged, many magazine feature articles, ownership of the beautiful 65 Maximum Overdrive Corvette (March ’05 Corvette Fever cover car) and the good graces of tech editors and shop owners everywhere we know we are on the right track. If a company like ours, with dedication, on staff degreed engineers, a full fabrication and R&D facility and a proven track record has a few problems, just consider what the new comers might look like with a few months under their belt!

Thank you, Corvette Forum, for your support.

Respects to all, Gray G. Fredrick, Keisler Engineering, 865.609.8187 ext 206.

 

Well said Gray. I have had nothing but a good service from Keisler and will continue to support your product. It has changed the way the car drives. There are always going to be bumps in the road for a company that is growing so fast. Most I have talked to have had the problems solved.

I still need to get you some of the saw blades I promised at Carlisle!

 

Is it just me or does Gray's response seem like he's saying "Hey, I don't care what you think of us, you are a consumer. We are too big to be swayed by lowly critisism. Magazines are much more important and they tell the world the truth of our expert craftsmanship.

Perhaps the 80 corvettes are different, but I had absolutly no problem dropping my "standard" offset shifter into my trans when installing it.
infact I did it from inside the car too, I am not saying that the custom tailhousing machining is not necessary, I am just saying I had no problems doing it my self with off the shelf parts.


So whats the warranty you guys offer on these transmissions after you tear them down and "blueprint" all the internals. Does it void the warranty directly from Tremec?

 

Of course that is not what I am saying, WashingtonRacer. In fact, I said just the opposite. Did you not read the part about our willingness to help every customer, a tech line for direct contact and my own name and direct phone number or the 4 MILLION PLUS LOGGED CORVETTE CUSTOMER MILES. I simply don't understand how I can spend an hour writing a post answering questions, fending off accusations and offering help, only to be answered with negativity. I want to reassure you, and everyone else on the forum, in bold letters:

Anyone with a problem, call me or our customer service department at 865.609.8187. I will always help or find someone who can.

As to your questions about the warranty, the original Tremec coverage is 3 months and is not voided by our work. This rumor was started a few months ago but is, fortunately, incorrect. We have been working closely with Tremec for over 6 years and have never turned away a legitimate warranty claim. We extend the warranty to 6 months, and give two years to install as a courtesy, and back that warranty with an in-house Tremec certified repair center.

I am glad to hear that you were able to put an unmodified Tremec in your '80 car. It is a great transmission and adds a lot of fun and fuel mileage to the car. One thing about the 1980 cars that does set them apart is that all of them had a removable cross member, making it easier to install an unmodified trans. One of the key reasons we make our removable tower and do all that machining is to allow owners of 63-79 manual cars to install without cutting their fixed cross members or floor, and without removing their engines.

We would love to get some photos of the job you did. We sell unmodified transmissions too, and with your information we may be able to save some 1980 to 1982 owners some money and help them to enjoy the TKO. Would you please e-mail me at gray@keislerauto.com or give me a quick call if you are interested in helping out?

Respects to WashingtonRacer and to all, Gray G. Fredrick, Keisler Engineering, 865.609.8187 ext 206.

 

i have had my tko600 for three yrs. and it sits behind 500+ hp. not only have i had no problems with this trans, i had no problems with keisler. when i purchased mine i was impressed with how much they DID help me! the only problem i did have was when i thought i could install the tranny the traditional way, instead of by keislers instructions. i learned the hard way.as a matter of fact keisler was changing over to the 600 at the time of my purchase, and gave me a 600 instead of the 500 i payed for because i had to wait 2 months to get it. i actually met gray and some of the other guys at carlisle this yr. they were graciuos enough to put my car in their display, even though it is kinda rough to look at. so to me it was an honor. then the guy GIVES me a speedo cable i needed. nuff said!