Richmond 6 Speed trans

[Denny]

Is anyone running a Richmond 6 speed stick in their truck? If so did you have any trouble getting it into these trucks. Also how do like it?
Also has anyone put a hydralic clutch in their truck?

Thanks

[crazy longhorn]

The richmond 6 spd bolts up to the stock bell, & is roughly the same lenght with bell as a 400 turbo& also take the same slip yolk as the 400 t. I didnt need to modify the drive line, as I was running a 400t originally. The auto trans crossmember had to be modified for the position on the trans mount tho . I run my sb in I 6 position, & have Jazz bucket seats, & the floor "hump" was modified to fit the 400 t after a minor body drop....so I cant really say how well the trans would fit the stock floor, or bench seat but guess there may be some floor mods with the low hump floor. I like the trans, ratios are 3.28,2.14,1.57,1.24,1, & .76......basically a close ratio box, with 1 lower & 1 taller gear as compaired to an M22 muncie. The gears are large & have a low helix angle(it whines like the old "rock crusher" in the 1st 4 gears). coupled with the 4.10 gears on a 28" tire, the old truck winds up pretty quick.......fun fun fun crazyL

[ucmydust68]

i have a notched bench seat for sale. it needs to be recovered but it is good condition. the stick will come right under the seat if it isnt notched. i didnt have to modifiy anything body wise. crossmember just a little. pm me if you need any other help.

[Longhorn Man]

And if you were to get ahold of Huck, he has done the hyd clutch on his 71.

[Denny]

Thanks for the info everyone. This 700R4 tranny is driving me nuts with vibration. I have had 2 different torque converters put in it and the tranny shop seems like they do not know what the problem is. I have just had it with it. I really hate to go to a 6 speed trans because I really don't want to cut the floor. But I really want overdrive and these guys around here can't seem to fix the tranny. I has corvette stuff in it and was completely rebuilt by them a couple years ago. I have $1,900.00 in it so far and it is a piece of junk in my book. I have to do some more checking on the 6 speed, if there is mods to the floor I probably will not want it. The hydraulic clutch would be a must because I have knee problems sometimes. I really like a stick, but do not want to tear up my truck putting it in. I am also worried about floor linkage, it seems like the only one available it Longs. I checked Lokar and they don't have one for this trans. I like the old style curved linkage that comes up high like Lokars.

[ucmydust68]

hey man, its really worth putting the six speed in trust me. as for the floor, you only have to put a hole for the shifter and thats it. as for the linkage, use the factory pedal setup for a 3-4 speed, and go to napa and buy an adjustable clutch rod, you will have to drill a hole in the arm of the clutch pedal to hook the rod to, but it isnt bad at all. the entire swap took me a weekend, and i was back on the road. when you put the hydraulic linkage in make sure to use a camaro slave/master cylinder combo, it will save your legg and knee alot of pain. you will have to make a bracket to mount the master cylinder but some simple sheet metal and a way to cut it is all that is needed, and ofcourse you will have to drill a hole for the masterclyinder. the way i measured to make the hole, i took the clutch rod and mounted it on the pedal where i wanted it and extended it to the firewall inside of the cab, then i marked it, and took a punch and punched through. by doing this you get a center for your drill to go by when cutting the hole in the firewall. since the hydraulic line was too short i used Earl's braided hydrualic line, they will make it any length you need. i ordered my six speed from a place called speedomotive, they are an f-body salvage yard, i got the tranny, bell housing, clutch, flywheel, shifter, hydraulics, crossmember and pedals out of a doner camaro with 31,000 miles on it, all for 1500$. well if you have any questions dont be shy!! have fun!!
chris

[crazy longhorn]

Denny, I have problems with my feet(flat arches, spurs?) At any rate, I run a dual friction centerforce clutch on modified stock linkage....it works pretty slick, & doesnt have a real high peddle pressure. I have driven some 3 finger aftermarket plates that d@mn near took 2 men & a boy to push the peddle down(Aaack), those arent fun to drive more than about a 1/4 mi at time! The centerforce is not really any stiffer than the stocker in the old trucks, but they get the clamp from the weights as the rpms go up. Centerforce is not a cheap clutch, but you get what you pay for Some of the guys are also running a Tremec tr3550/TKO 5 spd, & they dont fit too bad from what I understand. at any rate, the bcks spent "bite" when the end results arent they way they should be. Good luck,crazyL

[Denny]

Thanks ucmydust68 and crazy longhorn. That richmond six speed sounds good from what you guys say. I just notice you lived in Missouri ucmydust68. Great to have some Missouri guys on here. I was looking at these trannys on Sallie Chevrolet sight. I have not been able to talk to them yet about a flywheel for the external balance 383 vortec engine, I would need a bellhousing, pedal assembly, clutch pressure plate and throwout bearing. I am sure my driveshaft will have to be either lenghthened or shorter. I would love to see one of these in a truck. the price of these transmissions is right at $2900 so I don't want to rush into something I may be sorry for. I figure it will cost me over $4000 to set this up.

[crazy longhorn]

The swap on that trans was pretty close to $4000, going from auto to stick. I have a billet Hays flywheel, with the centerforce clutch, urathane cab bushings, & rod ends on the clutch linkage.... it sure wasnt cheap(the wifey still reminds me:p ), but its fun to play with The gears are quick, & lots of shifting......mine is not a daily driver tho..... the bummer is that I cant take it to Cordova & race it, still running the stock bell....crazyL

[Denny]

Woops ment to say over $4000. That is why I don't want to rush into it. I need to find out how that hydralic clutch works with these trucks and transmissions. Are you guys using the Long company shifter handles on your six speeds?

[ucmydust68]

im using the factory camaro shifter

[Denny]

Do you have to reach way down to shift it?

[crazy longhorn]

the handle shipped with the Long shifter was a very short, straight pc.....didnt work well even with the bucket seats(too long a reach for 5th & 6th gears). The handle I am running is custom made(by a crazy old man ). Long does have several optional handles to fit several different apps....the listing is in the papers shipped with the trans/shifter. You will find that the shifter is more "centered " in the hump than would be on aM20/21/22 Muncie in the truck. crazyL

[Denny]

Cool thanks crazy longhorn. How close does it end up to the seat? I have a buddy seat getting uphostered right now.

[crazy longhorn]

Well, the longhorn has jazz plastic buckets, so I couldnt really say how it would be with a bench seat. My sb is mounted in I 6 position, so that sets back about 3 1/2" from factory sb spot. if you are factory spot on the eng mounts, that will give you a little room to play with......my guess is that the shifter will poke up pretty close to the front edge of the seat, & may need a special curve to clear the seat, or a little notch in the seat . crazyL

[Denny]

Ack this is sounding bad. My seat is getting done right now. Sounds like the six speed may be too much trouble. I may have to try and find a good 5 speed overdrive. I really would like to buy new though. Also my 383 engine has 435 FT lb. torque.

[Denny]

After doing alot of reading I think I am going to go with the Gear Vendors under/overdrive unit with a turbo 350 trans. This would also give 6 forward gears and no lockup converter.
Any of you guys running a gear vendor setup or know anyone that is?