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Six speed trans?

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legend tremec
3K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  SilverOverdrives 
#1 ·
I have a 327 and a Muncie M21 now.

I'm thinking about a six speed?

is it worth it?

What does a six speed cost?
 
#2 ·
I've done a six speed swap and my car has a tko 500 in it. The six speeds are a bit of a hassle and the five speeds are less expensive, but still a lot. If you don't want to mess with the rear diff and want to keep the four speed, I would recommend looking up gear vendors overdrives. Quality stuff and you can put it back to stock super easily. Best of both worlds really. Also, the install isn't that difficult and they cost MUCH less.
- Rob
 
#3 ·
It depends on what kind of driving and how much highway driving you do. 5th and 6th gears are usually overdrive. It allows you to run a steeper rear end gear. If you like to cruise on the highway or go on long trips then it might fit your needs. If it is just a weekend cruiser is it worth spending $4k or so on the conversion to save $10 a day in gas? If it ain't broke...
 
#6 · (Edited)
Well, I did a Richmond 6 speed in my 67 in 1999-2000. Back then there weren't as many choices as today.

If a guy was to read about them now, you would hear about failures and hard shifting. I must have got lucky. Mine shifts great and is still in one piece today. The sounds from the straight cut gears are music to a gear head's ears.

Mine has a 1:1 5th and .76 over drive. Combined with a 3.73 rear gear it is just about perfect, even though most guys will tell you to go with a 3.55 or numerically lower than that. (Depending of course with the trans ratios).

1st gear (3.26) is a blast around town!

One draw back with the Richmond is the floor surgery needed to clear the shifter linkage, but the Long (brand name) shifter is a work of art.

I can't recommend it due to today's choices. I'm just relating my experiences with a 6 speed.
 
#7 ·
I love the LS style T56 I have in mine. I am running 3:90 gears and with a 26 inch tall tire I run 70 at 1950 rpm (and 24 MPG). While I love it, my only regret is not buying a t56 Magnum close ratio, they work better with 3:70 and higher number rear ratios.
 
#9 ·
I have a T56 Magnum behind my LS with 3.70 gears.

But don't count out the 5 speeds. We put a TKO 600 behind another LS and I ran one in my 502/502 that I had in my 67. They are good trannys
 
#11 · (Edited)
I installed a Tremec TKO600 in my 69 camaro 6 weeks ago. Totally transformed the car on the highway and street cruising. I have a 3:55 rear gear and do a lot of highway driving. The car is awesome. I can cruise at 70 miles an hour at 2600 rpm.

I purchased the transmission, short shifter, cross member and driveshaft from Hurst Drive line conversions in California. Really nice people to do business with. I looked at American Driveline as they sell the same setup but I did not like their multipiece aluminum cross member. The hurst unit is one piece steel. Very nice. I used my hurst round bar shift handle on the new trans. I received free ground delivery from Hurst. The total cost was about $3700 dollars as I upgraded the drive shaft to aluminum.

This installation does not require the cutting of any metal. This is a total plug and play solution. You do have to shorten the drive shaft. Hurst provides that for you through Inland Empire Driveline. You also have to change the clutch disc. As I did, you can use the original mechanical clutch linkage. You can also upgrade to hydraulic if you like.

If you do a lot of highway driving, I would recommend the conversion.

Good luck with your decision
Mike
 
#12 ·
I have been looking at doing the same 6 speed conversion to my car. I think the new T56 Magnum is what I will be going with. Living in southern California i want to be able to cruise down the freeways at 70 mph and not having my 496 screaming at me the whole time like it does now with my M21. OP Good luck with your decision.
 
#13 ·
As others have mentioned, it all depends on how you currently use or intend to use the car. Converting to an overdrive in general will be the most satisfying upgrade you do if you plan to road trip the vehicle.

A 5 speed will accomplish this just as well but some do prefer the idea of splitting the overdrive. We have four 5 speed options and two 6 speed options; feel free to call anytime and we can run through several speed vs. rpm scenarios to make sure you're getting exactly what you expect.

Jeff
 
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