this may be a dumb question but is there a 5 or 6 speed that will deal with the torque a 1971 455 will throw at it? or am i stuck with a lousy 4 speed rock crusher?

 

I figure if one can live behind a viper V10 then it should do well behind your 455.

 

The TKO 600 is good for (wait for it)...

...600 ft lbs.

 

I have a TKO-600 5 speed in my '68 442, THE BEST upgrade I ever made. Shifts like butter, and the overdrive helps with the MPG. (You can get overdrive in either .64 or .82 to one, whichever you prefer with your rear gears.) Bolts to stock bellhousing,but have to cut the trans tunnel for clearance. Top shifter as well, no missed shifts from shifter linkage problems.

Not cheap, $2500+ ,but well worth it IMO.

Greg

 

2,500 for a good trans is not much i mean you get what you pay for right? i was thinking of trying to put a getting one of the newer six speeds out of a gm truck but i don't think it would fit

 

I just purchased a T-56 Magnum on Friday for my cutlass--it's rated for 700 ft-lbs.

 

Those automotive transmissions are OK unless you get a lot of wheel hop or use slicks. Otherwise go with a Jerico or G-Force racing transmission.

 

You might want to take a look at KieslerAuto.com. I was just reading about their new line of RS transmissions that are supposed to fit GM A bodies without any modifications (no cutting, use existing crossmember, stock shifter location, etc.). I don't want to have to extensively modify my car, so these look interesting to me. They have three versions with the top version rated for 600 ft. lbs. In additiion, the 600 ft. lb version has better ratios for a big block, in my opinion. They have some videos on KieslerTV.com that are pretty good. They just did a conversion in a 70 GTO and it looks pretty slick.