I will be performing some upgrades this winter and I’m thinking i want to put a manual trans back in the car. I’m trying to decide what trans i would like to run. The car has a 3:73 gear in it now with a 2004r trans and has been flawless but I’m wanting to shift gears. I need a trans that will take 600ft lbs of torque but i do not want to cut up the floor pans. Here are my options as i see them, have a Muncie done with a .7something 4th gear. Have a Muncie built with a 3.26 first gear and put 3.08s in the rear, a Richmond 5 speed with 1:1 5th gear and 3.08s in the rear. I like the McLeod trans put it says it will only handle 500ft lbs and is 3 grand. Any advice is appreciated.
The car will be mostly street driven but with a couple trips to the drag strip a year. I will be upgrading the engine as well and expect to run in the 11s. It has a 12 bolt in it so I’m not worried about hard launches.

 

Unfortunately 3 grand seems to be the going rate for a tough manual trans rated at 600 ft/lbs. Have you considered the T-56 or TR6060 trans? The reviews for the McLeod trans have not been good from what I have read, breakage and leakage. I too would like to go to a strong, good shifting manual. I am tired of leaky automatic's.

 

I have considered a t56 but they require cutting up the trans tunnel and I’m not willing to do that.

 

I hear you on the T56. I still remember the sinking feeling I got 15 years ago on the first test-fit.
I had a friend cut out the tunnel. I couldn't watch that rust-free car lose it's floor structure. It would have been like performing do-it-yourself surgery on one of my children.
Having said that, there is an overwhelming attraction to using this high-torque-capacity trans:

• double overdrive enables a deep, drag-race-friendly rear gear while maintain low revs on the interstate. A 4.66 gear would turn into a 2.33 in sixth.

If you do consider this route, I'll help out with advice from my build perspective.

 

The Mcleod unit might be worth trying but maybe not. You are probably bang on for options, very limited. I am glad my 70 is only a S in fair shape, I can cut the **** out of it and have the best of both worlds.

 

I have a Borg Warner Super T10 that I bought around 1978 and lived in my 66 W30 until 2015. It was almost always a garage potato but was on the strip a couple times, and worked well. It has the nodular iron main case, aluminum tail housing, 2.88 first gear and the rare nickel alloy (9310) gears to hold up to high torque and drag racing. It also has the G&G iron mid-plate replacing the weak stock cast aluminum hollow mid-plate. It has the 26 spline input and Turbo 400 size output. This setup was considered the ultimate 4 speed back then and even today is pretty good with the rigid case and tougher gears. The only choice tougher and still marginally streetable among 4-speeds would be the Jerico with road race sliders, or possibly G-Force makes something similar. They run more like $4k and up. Of course, the Super T-10 would not require floor cutting; you could use a Muncie transmission type shifter. PM me if interested; this T10 would be more in your price range, I think.

 

I’ve been keeping an eye out for an iron super t-10, don’t see them often. Would definitely be my choice if going four speed.

 

Hi,

Have you tried Autogear, I have their M22W in a Buick and no complaints. I believe they make a version with a higher first gear and a overdrive 4th gear.

Their transmissions are a muncie based design and can get early 27 spline output shortet or later 32 spline longer trans.

Regards,

 

Yes, Autogear is who I’m thinking of going with. I just don’t know what gear set to spec. Should i keep the 3:73s and get a overdrive 4th gear or a short first gear and a tall rear end gear? Is there an optimal gear spread i should be looking for?

 

You can also go TKO600 for OD and the ability to handle power. You maybe able to fit one with some floor pan massaging. If you get one from the conversion dealers that are direct fit they are even easier. Basically they have the original style cases modified and made more round/slim to fit the tunnel.

 

For drag racing you want a narrow, even spacing between gears. When I say even, I mean the ratio of the lower gear to the next higher gear is nearly constant for each gear change.

When you shift to the next higher gear, you want the revs to drop back to a point on the torque curve where the torque at the axle (engine torque times gearbox ratio times rear gear ratio) is identical in both gears.

Your rear axle ratio times first gear ratio should be at least 10 or 11 (higher if you use slicks).

Balance the rear gear ratio with the 4th gear ratio with tire size so that you go through the traps at maximum revs.

This will be very highway-unfriendly. If you go with a 4-speed, consider an overdrive such as Gear Vendors.

If you are interested in this route, there are people on here who are FAR more expert that I. I just know the principles. They can give you advice based on their experience.

 

What about a Richmond 5spd?
https://www.jegs.com/i/Richmond-Gear...0526B/10002/-1

 

Interested in the options

 

M-22 with wide ratio gears & a GV Overdrive behind it.

 

A philosophical comment. The lower you take the highway gear, the better mileage, to a point, you will get, but the less useful power you will have in that gear. I have seen some cars with too much overdrive that cannot take a small hill, nor accelerate at all, in top gear. Good economy, but shifting any time you want to do anything. I would find a minimum torque you want in top gear and find a gearing that gives you the corresponding RPM for that torque.