Anyone out there ever do this? I'm currently converting my 1979 C3 from an automatic to a manual, and figured if anyone has done this with any success, perhaps I'll go straight to the 6-speed rather than the T10 or muncie.

 

A guy on the forum has a 6 speed behind a 400hp plus car and He does not like it..Says too much shifting..........The 5 speed may be better.......I looked at doing the conversion as well but it is VERY Expensive and time consuming...So I built up the Th-400 instead

 

Well, it's a sports-car, you're supposed to shift it! =)

 

mmkay :sleep:

 

Do a search on this. I have the Richmond 6 speed in my 550+ hp 454 and I love it.

There are several forum members who have done this. It is expensive, but well worth it. Depending on you car, it may require a little fabrication.

 

I have a T56 from a 99 Camaro in my 1970 and I absolutely love it. True there may be more shifting than a 4 speed, but duh... It has two more gears. You gotta love that double overdrive. I turn 1100 RPM at 70MPH.


[Modified by 70 LS1, 6:44 PM 12/13/2002]

 

The guy he's refering is called Flareside, he's currently selling the car. Here's link where you can see how the 6 speed Richmond sits in his 79.

http://monstervette.com:81/79/index.htm

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
corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=12612&highlight= richmond
home.att.net/~ncarboni/TrannySwap.html
www.corvettefaq.com/c3/Richmond_install.pdf
www.corvettefaq.com/tranny.asp
www.ecklers.com/dept.asp?dept_id=1876
temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/gwhite75/
www.pro-touring.com/featured_cars/joni_kiurunen_69_corvette/joni_kiurunen_69_corvette.htm
www.gearvendors.com/index.html
www.tremectransmissions.com/faq.html
www.5speedtransmissions.com/
www.tremectransmissions.com
corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?s=c3f3821c2b74a0d53e5e667 e33237a12&threadid=3262&perpage=15&highl ight=richmond&pagenumber=1
www.idavette.net/hib/bbfh16.htm
www.richmondgear.com
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/richmond_transmission_swap.htm
www.gforcetransmissions.com/
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=384952
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=386610
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=378256
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=178016
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=335687
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=182595
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=322704
forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=279626



[Modified by groovyjay, 9:13 PM 12/13/2002]

 

go for it! i plan on doing a ROD6, and from what i understand all you need is the stuff from a normal conversion (Z bar clutch assembly, pedals etc) and the ROD 6-speed. FLareside told me that auto cars are easy to install the transmission and everyone has said that the hardest part of the install is installing the pedals. :cheers:

 

Hi Guys,

Actually, I think the ROD is a real nice transmission as far as 6-speeds go. My issue lies with the engine/tranny combos that require 6 gears in a "weekend warrior" type car. I just think that a bigger, stronger engine and a wide ratio transmission is both cheaper and nicer. Just a personal preference... I think my ROD would be much nicer with a 3.08 rear gear, but with a 3.08 why the heck do I need an overdrive? For my usage, I don't.

The Long shifter is another matter: They work great when they're in top condition, but they don't seem to stay that way very long. If the lever doesn't center PERFECTLY in the springs, you can't reliably hit your shifts. I fixed mine, but I'm not confident that it won't have issues again in the future.


[Modified by Flareside, 10:22 PM 12/13/2002]

 

I've installed the R.O.D. in both the '79 AND the '67.........best swap I could've done- and they work beautifully.

:yesnod: :chevy :chevy :yesnod:

 

5 or 6 speed? :cool:

 

They're 6 speeds. There's no 5 speed richomnds with OD, unless you decide to go for 0.62 4th gear!

 

Sporg,

I've got one and absolutely love it. Flarside is right in that you must be very careful setting up the Longs shifter. You must absolutely verify that the shift gates are centered and that there is no interference with the shifter or shifter rods while the drive train is twisting from torque or pot holes. Once done, it is truly "snick, snick". Much better than the factory shifter on my ZO6.

It takes a while not to get lost in all the gears, especially if the 4 speed was second nature to you. But, it is worth the effort once you become familiar with it.

Chuck

 

Yep, I ran a 5-spd Richmond for a bunch of years with a 3.08 rear end. With the rebuild, we have a 6-spd ready to bolt in (still in development when we made the swap). We are waffling between it with the 3.07 Dana 44 rear end, or perhaps the Camaro T-56 with 3.90's in the rear. Have to see what we end up with. We will need to decided before mid-January, but 6-spd with OD is not in question.
Spike

 

It's worth it for the overdrive gear(s) alone in my opinion. With the Richmond Trans, you can pick which gear ratios you want. I recommend EITHER the Richmond six or the T-56 trans. I would even say do the Tremec 5 speed.

If cost is a big problem, then maybe a Turbo 700 auto would be a better choice as far as a trans with an overdrive. The nice thing about the 700 is the overdrive but also the low 3.06 to one first gear.

My opinion on cost (first being the most expensive) goes as follows:

1. Richmond six speed (cost me ~$3400 or so with new clutch/misc parts/my labor installing it)

2. T-56 six speed You may be able to find one used to save $$$ but there are other things to deal with that are different than the Richmond. Take a look at GWHITE75's T-56 swap site:
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/gwhite75/index.htm

3. Tremec 5 speed

4. Turbo 700 R4 (probably around $1200-1500 if you did the install work yourself)

All of these swaps have been done on the forum. All of them requre some type of modification to get them to work correctly. Overall, the 700 automatic is probably the easiest to install- just change the location of the crossmember mounting area, shorten the driveshaft, and wire in the 700's lockup mechanism and your good to go.

Hope this helps,

Bob :cheers:

 

I have an ROD 6 speed in BOTH my 1980's
one is a 532, the other a 406.

Other than some leaky seals - I have no complaints

:D