7T3C3TTZ07

I've got the brakes and suspension just about where I want them. Interior is done. Wheels and tires are in progress. Now I'm formulating the final phase of my dream car C3. I'm thinking of swapping the L48 for a ZZ383/425 ahead of a TKO 5-speed transmission. I believe this would allow this C3 to autocross with the C4's, drag race with the Hemi's and bury the needle (if I were to visit the salt flat) at 160mph. I'm saving my pennies. What do CF readers think of this combo?

redc3

i am running a 383 with all the goodies... air gap, demon, gold rockers, 525' lift cam, motown sportsman-II heads. and backed it up with tko 600 5 spd. so id say your combo is a perfect plan! this thing will take big blocks, every mustang i see ( i raced a 2003 cobra and spanked him ) and i embarrased a new gto at the drag strip. i havent autocrossed it but it pulled like hell out of the corners on back roads. my best time at the strip was 11.40 @ 1/4 mile with street tires, spinning off the line and my bad driving skills. i wish you luck.

Russ Bellinis

Go with the strongest TKO you can get. Tremec is fast getting a bad rep for quality. You probably want to get it from a reputable company that does some beef up work to the stock offering from Tremec. On the www.iroc-zpost.com forum, one member put a tko in his car and had all sorts of problems with it. Tremec advertises torque ratings of 500-600 ft lbs for these transmissions, but their service manual says on the last page that the TK3550 is good for 350 # ft. and the TKO is good for 375# ft.

redc3

go to keisler and get the4 tko 600, not the 500. and the 6 speed is just for bragging rights.

Russ Bellinis

The problem with the 6 speed is that they are supposed to come with steel shift forks, but my buddy has been putting Tremec t-56 trannys he gets from McCloud in f-body cars, and every one he has gotten has the aluminum shift forks. He gets the steel forks for free, but they are nearly the last parts to come out and the first to go in on a tear down. The first aftermarket t-56 he put in was in his own car. It had the aluminum forks which bent the first time he went to the drag strip.

MotorHead

A 406ci that will spin the 295's at 50 mph and TKO 600 is just plain fun, I have had nothing but fun driving it around this summer. Your dream car will be well worth the wait

0Robert Hall

Russ -

I'm not sure where you are getting your info, but we have found the TKO's (which are significantly stronger than the Tremec 3550 you mentioned) to be all but bullet proof. Tremec has bench tested the TKO600 to 1400 lb/ft of torque and we have scores of customers running way over 700HP / 700 lb/ft through their Keisler engineered Tremecs.

We also do a few internal upgrades to improve durability and quality in every on of the trannies used in our PerfectFit series kits.

Robert

Russ Bellinis

One of the admins at another third gen board got a TKO from somewhere in the Northeast, and had nothing but problems with leaks, etc. When he went back to the people who had in stalled it, he got a ration of b.s. He finally got some attention from Tremec when he filed a complaint with his state attorney general. It looks like Tremec is going to take care of him at this point, but he found a copy of the Tremec service manual on their site, and the last page listed specs which were the numbers I quoted from him. It may be that the manual they have listed on their site is outdated. I was just sending out a warning, I've heard reports that you guys have a tremendous reputation. I think one of our club members here in So Cal bought one of your TKO trannys. My friend is friends with Red at McCloud clutches, they used to sponsor him in pro stock years ago, but he has had a lot of problem getting quality products from Tremec and Red is going crazy because he orders the t56 specifying the strong shift forks and keeps getting the aluminum junk.