I've see that a lot of people here on the forum are running these 5 speeds. My questions are, is their any modification nesscessary? How much are they? Are they worth the money in terms of better mileage, performance, etc.? How much power can they hold? Last, where can I get one?


[Modified by Ryan77, 8:38 PM 9/13/2002]

 

can't answer your question, but if I were ponying up for the mod, I'd get a 6 speed from a wrecked vette or Camaro

 

The chaepest place to get the TKO is:
http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com

for $1795...

You need following mods to install the transmission:

1) shorten driveshaft
2) cut a hole into the tunnel where the TKO shifter comes up and cover the old hole
3) if you want the shifter to come out in the console at the correct location - you will have to weld a spacing bracket onto the shifter... That's approx. $40 at a weld shop.
4) You need a special bracket to mount the transmission to the existing crossmember (available at http://www.700r4.com)
However - it's possible that they don't have any of those brackets left because they stopped producing them...
5) You need a special Yoke ($215) and s special U-joint to connect the Ford yoke with the driveshaft (I can provide part numbers if you are serious about getting a TKO)

That's about it.. It took my mechanic a little bit more than 1 day of work to put the TKO in...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

I was thinking about doing the same.. However - the Camaro T-56 only works with hydraulic clutch. That means that you won't only have to convert your transmission to a 6-speed but you also have to convert to hydraulic clutch... So far I haven't seen anybody that put a C4 or C5 6-speed in a C3... I wonder how it would fit...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

From what I've heard a new 6 speed won't bolt in without serious mods since the whole drivetrain has to be set up differntly. I believe a few people have done it though and hopefully they'll chime in. The modification, purchasing, and price questions were answered, but what about performance and how much power they'll take?

 

all the pertinent information can be had here http://www.fortesparts.com/tremec/tr3550.html You can get the TKO or the 3550 - the only real difference in torque handling capability.

 

I have the Richmond's 5-speed Road race version in my 79. When I was looking for information about the tranny swap I found these websites very informative:

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...threadid=16145
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/foru...light=richmond
http://home.att.net/~ncarboni/TrannySwap.html
http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/Richmond_install.pdf
http://www.corvettefaq.com/tranny.asp
http://www.ecklers.com/dept.asp?dept_id=1876
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/gwhite75/
http://www.pro-touring.com/featured_...9_corvette.htm
http://www.gearvendors.com/index.html
http://www.tremectransmissions.com/faq.html
http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/
http://www.tremectransmissions.com
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/foru...d&pagenumber=1
http://www.idavette.net/hib/bbfh16.htm
http://www.richmondgear.com
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...ssion_swap.htm
http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=384952
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=386610
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=378256
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=178016
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=335687
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=182595
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=322704
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=279626


In your case I'd suggest to start by reading this first:

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/gwhite75/

It's about Tremec T56 swap for C3+ the good thing is that the guy GWHITE75 is a regular here, so I bet he can give you all the information you'll need!

 

At Hanlon - the same transmission (TKO) is approx. $200 cheaper...

 

The Richmond 5-speed is a great transmission.. I would have bouth the Richmond 5-speed if it would have an overdrive....

:cheers:

Olivier

 

So how much power does the TKO hold? It says the 3550 holds 400-500ft/lbs but doesn't mention the TKO. When whatever I choose for a tranny is installed, it will be hooked up to a 383 with 10.1 compression and all the mods seen below in my signature.


[Modified by Ryan77, 4:04 PM 9/15/2002]


[Modified by Ryan77, 4:11 PM 9/15/2002]

 

Actually you can get 5-speed Richmond with O/D, see you get to choose all other gears except 5th, which is 1:1, BUT you can have 0.84 fourth gear! :yesnod:

 

The TKO is rated 525 ft/lbs... The Richmond 5-speed or the Camaro T-56 are only rated 450 ft/lbs and the aftermarket T-56 only 400 ft/lbs...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

According to Mike Forte, the 3550 is good for 425 ft-lbs and the TKO for 525 ft-lbs. Now these are engineering numbers. If memory serves me right, the Richmond 5 and 6 spds are rated at 450 ft-lbs, and plenty of people are running them behind some very stout engines.

Also, according to Mike, there are only three parts difference between the two transmissions, the shifter, the tailshaft (more splines on the TKO), and the tailshaft bearing.

I ended up with the 3550 and am very happy. My prime reason for going with Fortes is that they were local to me at the time is it was easy to work with them.

The only bit of concern was clearance in the tunnel with the take-apart yoke. By using Energy Suspension engine and tranny mounts, movement is minimal and there is no evidence of hitting after 6000 miles. The shifter mod was the only other big item.

 

Well, TKO it is seeing that it is rated for 525ft/lbs. SteveG75 mentioned using enegy suspension poly mounts on the tranny and motor, which was on the list of things to do anyway. Anything else that I'm missing?

 

Ryan, here is what I had to do:

1) New clutch (26 spline). I used the Centerforce Dual Friction.

2) Shifter mod (see above). Then I just had my Hurst handle trimmed down and bolted it to the left side of the stub. A Sawzall and Dremel made short work of enlarging the whole in the tunnel.

3) Shortened driveshaft (don't forget to take the yoke with you to get it all balanced).

4) New transmission mount bracket. The Tremec mount pad is in the same location as that for the 700R4. I used a bracket from Bowtie Overdrives but it has been mentioned that they don't sell it anymore. So some fabrication may be necessary. A point here is that the Energy Suspension mount is taller than stock so a custom bracket would have allowed me to drop the tranny about 1/4" or so to get a little more clearance.

5) Reverse lights and speedo adapters came with the transmission. Give the vendor your tire size and rear end gear ratio and he will send the appropriate gears. Fortes also supplied a plug to replace the stock neutral safety switch. You could that switch for use with a remote control starter setup I guess.

6) If you have a stick shift car, the cross member is welded in. Since the Tremec is longer that a T-10/Muncie, it cannot be installed with the stock crossmember and the engine in the car. The two options are: (1) Make the crossmember removable or (2) install the engine, clutch and tranny all together. I chose option (2). The only downside is that the engine has to come out to change the clutch which is why I went with the Dual Friction to try avoid any clutch problems. If the engine is unbolted from the mounts and moved forward about 2 inches, there should be enough room to install the tranny separately, but that would still require a hoist.

7) Only other thing I can think of is that I did have to trim the catalytic converter heat shield rivetted to the floor pan to get a little more clearance for the yoke. 10 minute job with the Dremel.

The only things I had done by someone else was the modified shifter and driveshaft. I did the whole swap myself in a 1 car garage last winter. Pretty easy project.

Hope this info helps.

 

Centerforce Dual Friction was also on the list. How long did all this work take you? Total cost? What shifter are you using (part #?)? The cat heat shield is no longer there anyway as there is no cat.

 

The TKO comes with an shifter.... You only need a handle and ****.. You could get your old handle modified to bolt on the shifter.. I got a shifter handle and **** from a Mustang website (don't remember which one).. The handle was approx. $26 and the polished aluminum **** with 5-speed pattern was $28...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

Could I use the stock look-alike Hurst shifter handle and have it modified for the TKO?

 

Ryan,

I used the handle from my Hurst Competition Plus shifter (I have a nice leather **** on it). It had to be trimmed about 2-3" and redrilled to bolt to the shifter on the transmission. Since the lookalike handle is only flat at the bottom then round higher up, I am not sure it would work unless you had it machined. The shifter comes with the transmission.

Here is my cost breakdown for the transmission swap:

Transmission, take-apart yoke, speedo & reverse lights adapters: $2075 (Fortes Part Connection)
Mounting bracket : $87.49 (BowTie Overdrives)
Driveshaft shortned, balanced, new u joints : $123.20 (RI Driveshaft)
Modifying shifter : $46 (local welding shop)

I did the install myself so no $$ there. Since I already had the engine out, there was not much additional time involved. Probably a couple of hours making things fit, rerouting speedo cable, etc. Big time waster was installing, then measuring, then waiting for driveshaft to be done, etc.

The swap could be done in a long (3 day:smash: ) weekend, maybe. Like I said, there was some wait for parts, etc. Plus there is the crossmember issue I mentioned in an earlier post.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

The shifter can easily be modified to fit the TKO shifter!!!

:cheers:

Olivier