Originally Posted by jocko
I struggled with the same questions - in the end, I went the "save myself some $" route and am installing a T5. Definitely not an option for you're holding onto the ide of a bb install in the future maybe. In fact, I don't believe I'd recommend it for even a stock 283 in a 4wd application with big tires.
The nice thing about the TKO (any of them) is that you can order with the appropriate input shaft length and choice of gears (kind of). I would prefer the 2.87 first gear (I have a 3.73 rear and 235-75-15 tires) but ya gets what ya gets with the T5 - and I got an S10 WC T5 (yes, that is an odd setup, I think it was 93 only) and it has 3.76 1st gear. So, 1st for me will be almost useless. But that's ok, I will try this out and see how I like it - and then consider dropping rear gearing a bit in the future, maybe a 3.42 or 3.23, etc. Not out to roast the hides, but the current 3 on the tree setup was no fun on the highway with the 3.73s. Anyway, all were compromises I was willing to make to save about $2200. I agree, most of the TKO setups that included clutch/pp, etc were around $3K. All in, I'll have about $800 in my swap - that includes a new clutch, pressure plate, the trans itself, and a new shifter, etc. (Ok, maybe it's closer to $1K, but still...) I WAS(!) looking real closely at a Keisler RS 5 speed (they offer 4/5/600 torque models) - but hard to sell a transmission when you never return a call to a customer. No problema, I will never "pester" them again.
Good luck, looking fwd to your build.
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