Seems to me most of the 4 speeds out there are stronger than the 5 speeds until you get EXPENSIVE. Plus I like 4 speeds.
I had a S-10 5 speed in my 28 roadster on deuce rails, 327 sbc w/325 hp, 350 geared 9" ford. It ran high 13's, did crazy cool burnouts and got 25 mpg. The guys I travel with can't seem to drive under 80 so it was the only way I could keep up and still have fun stop lite to stop lite. Drove that car about 4 years beat the snot out of it and the trans never gave me a bit of trouble. As long as your not running a sticky tire and it doesn't hook-up there fine. I have a Richmond Super T-10 4 speed in my 40 coupe with a 300 hp 283 and 350 gear'd 9" and am seriously thinking of changing it to a 5 speed this winter. This car is considerably heavier so I will use a World Cl*** T-5 with an S-10 tailshaft. Just my 2 cents worth. Gary
listen to Gary.. I have a 55 with 3:70 in it-had a wide ratio Muncie, fun alright but the thing was buzzed up 3g's at 70 and I was getting blown off the freeway by everything (live in Texas where 'dillers do 60) Put a t5 in it, still pretty fun (first does ****) but will haul at 80+ and not worry about Granny giving me the bird. Milage is good. cooger
Lighter the car, the fewer the gears needed. I often skip gears when its too many intervals, to get up to speed.
I run a T5 in our roadster - flathead powered. First gear is a little short but low RPM on the highway. It's a stock "non world cl*** box" from a S10 blazer six banger. Very happy with the set up - I'd do it again. By comparison, our flathead powered '36 sedan is a stock 3 speed and its gets winded on the highway. And another idea, we just put a T56 in my sons '90 Chevy truck and thats a sweet set up too. Maybe overkill but what the heck?
the HRT originally was a three on the tree, but the engine I bought came with a C6 autobox. I have decided to go back to 3 pedals. I have a dual quad 429, so it was going to be a 4 speed toploader. However, a complete toploader conversion, new, was the same price as a tremec tko-600 with a hydraulic clutch. I ended up installing the 5 speed becuase of the friendlier first gear and the .64 fifth gear for the highway. Instead of doing 3200RPM at 70 on the highway, I will now do 1800RPM with lots of room to accelerate or drop it down into 4th. I do lots of highway driving. Around town, 4 gears only needed, when cruising, one gear only. BTW, not too many used toploaders come up for a 429, and when they do, price is the same for a new one. New comes with a warranty.
I just went through this. I put a lot of research and thought into the trans I wanted to run. The build is a 34, 2dr sedan. Light-wieght car. 392 hemi, hopped up. 3:90 rear. I checked into almost all the new transmissions that are for a street car. That would be Liberty, Autogear, M22 Muncie (which I run in my 500 HP Nomad with a 4:11), Richmond , and so on. I decided on the Richmond Super Street, 5 speed overdrive. It's all American made, has a 2:89 first gear (good for out of the hole), a 0.77 final ratio. Rated to a little over 500 HP, which is where I am pretty close to now. This trans should be the cats *** for what I want. I figure the overdrive will be pretty slick, if I ever need it. I doubt the car will be in 5th too much.
56 Chevy. Got Richmond 5 speed with 3.08 12 bolt in the back. Engine is 454 BBC. Love the reduced RPM at speed. 4000 rpm at 70 mph ****s. Your cars is lighter so strength is not so critical unless you are serious at drag racing. In my 56 a Saginaw wouldn't last one p*** and a Muncie is too valuble to blow up. I left a cluster laying halfway down the strip at Pomona. Why would somebody give a **** how many speeds you have but you? Tradition is building cars the way you like. IMHO a 4 speed is old news - build something using better available technology and save gas and wear and tear to boot.
Real simple to me! 3.50 gear (that you have), a Saganaw 4 speed (that you have), in a light car with a SB Chevy turning a tall tire on the street?? That sounds like a fun ride to me. Bolt that all together and gimmie a ride in it next year at the Roundup!!
5.0 gear?!? Damn, dude! And you're only running, what, 26-28" tires? Can you break the speed limit in a school zone? Yes, I have two chunks, but I'd want to rebuild them first, a 3.50 and a 4.11. The 3.50 is in better shape and could likely be run as is. I appreciate the input. Maybe you could show up to one of the Monday night get togethers and I could bribe you to give me a ride? I wish I could have it done by the Round Up! Tell ya what, I'll give you a ride at the '12 Round Up. It should make that one. Regarding comments about the T-5.... Initially, I'd run a stock S10 trans, but would eventually upgrade to World Cl*** T-5 guts. I've got plenty of experience with T-5's and would be fine with it's strength since a good friend would build it for me and he's got a proven track record. Is there much commonality between the Saginaw or Muncie and the T-5 with regards to length, inputs/outputs, bolt pattern, mount location, etc.? I'm curious how much work would be involved in a retrofit from a Saggy to a T-5.
A Hot Rod is only good with a 3 or 4 speed . The rest are for wimps ! I like both 3 & 4 speeds but prefer a 4 speed . I have a 3 speed that I am putting into my 50 Ford and looking for a 4 speed for a g***er build . Anymore gears is just a wait of time ! Retro Jim
I appreciate everyone's input on this. I've been giving it a lot of thought and have been crunching a ****load of numbers. I think I'm going to stick with my original plan to run the T-5. With 4.11's, it'll let me cruise the highway at 75-80 turning just 2500 rpm. And it'll also have a deep enough first gear that it'll launch hard at the strip when I run it on slicks. Fortunately, a friend of mine is a very experienced T-5 builder and drag racer so I'll have him go through it before I put any real power to it. So it looks like I may have a Saginaw setup for sale soon and I'm on the lookout for a Camaro WC T-5 and an S10 tailshaft. Does anyone know if the Saginaw and T-5 would use the same GM bellhousing? I've got the one that came with the Saggy and will keep it if it's usable for the T-5. Thanks!
Ever hear of a Muncie M-20??? That's what' going in my T with a 3.27 rear gear.... Find someone with a similar combo that you wanna run and go for a ride....that'll be a better indicator than "crunching" a bunch of #'s....haha Don't Camaro T-5's mount "canted"???
You could always go with the 5 spd., but use a custom shifter that has a more traditional look. Your car is light enough that it wont care what ****** you put in it to perform well, so it's more a matter of what type of driving you'll be doing most.
Yeah, yeah... In all honesty, I still have time to change my mind. And I'm hoping before I *have* to make a decision I can ride in a car with a 4 speed and get a better feel for it.
There is an old trick that I don't believe has been mentioned yet. There was an article 20or so years ago in Hot Rod Mag. about combining a Saginaw 3-speed OD trans from the mid to late 60's with a Saginaw 4-speed. It involved swapping tail shaft housings and few other things. I would have to really search for the info. It gave you a 4-speed with OD. Now with that being said I am not sure how well it would live when drag racing. But it would be just as strong as any Saginaw. I happen to have a 3-speed OD Saginaw we took out of a 1967 El Camino with cables, switch and wiring. We took this out 20 years ago with this swap in mind but have never done it.
im running a sbc with a t5 3.55 gears and 7.50-16 tires. i pretty much never use first, but i am very happy with the ******, i do great on the highway. i cruise 80-90 mph everyday on the way to work and back and do great on gas. the only regret i have is not changing to the 2.95 first.
For a traditional hot rod I would go 3 or 4 speed. For a street rod/custom a World Cl*** T-5 would be a nice setup and they are pretty cheap still since there are so many around.
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