Anyone Tko swap?

[70c10stepside]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aw...del/c10-pickup

Hey guys. Hope it is ok to post in this section, just doing it for the ease that we all have the same chassis and all. Anyone do this kit? Going to go for it this week. Wondering what bell housing you used/can use, master cylinder mounting and which one, a good solid clutch pressure plate flywheel kit or whatever, so on. Going from turbo 400. But still have most the manual pedal assembly under the dash other then pedal, that is easy enough. I have quite a few bell housings off Saginaw 3 speeds, was told it'll work with a small shim or something? And I'm just going to wait to measure drive shaft after all this is together. But I know t56 swaps you are suppose to run aluminum for whatever reason, are these the same rule? Any info will be highly appreciated or threads to put me in the right direction. Found a little info searching but one on one info would be great! It is going behind a 450hp 355 that revs to 6k for now. I want a good solid clutch, heard some run Kevlar?o.O just anything will help! My truck is a 70 swb stepside btw.

[Tinkermc]

would not be me, my entire budget was less than that

[70c10stepside]

Well, anyone?lol

[Hawghauler]

I don't know what your budget limit is, but I would probably go to a wrecking yard, buy everything you need, then have the trans rebuilt. It would probably be a lot cheaper and you get everything you need in one fell swoop.

[Lattimer]

I went to American Powertrain and had them spec the parts in their kit. TREMEC TKO 600, Street Slayer Kevlar clutch, new crossmember, driveshaft, speedo adapter, etc.

My truck was a 3 OTT, had been previously converted to a Saginaw 4- speed. I used the factory clutch linkage. I also used the factory bellhousing. If you do search on TKO swap, you will find another member gave details on the spacer required to fit the TKO to the Saginaw sized bellhousing hole. If you have access to a car bell housing for a Muncie 4-speed, or a 67 or earlier truck bellhousing, no adapter is required.

I have a bench seat and my engine is in the L-6 position, so we had to talk a bit about how to make the shifter fit. American Powertrain flipped the shifter plate over, then added a 3" offset link and provided a double bend shifter. As long as the seat is all the way back its perfect---which mine always is.

Only mods I had to make was the hole in the floor, and the pinch weld where the firewall meets the floor hump had to be hammered flat.

[Lattimer]

Also, depending on which rear gears you have, pay attention to the overdrive ration of the trans you buy-----there are 2 different setups. There is a .82:1 and I think a .62:1. I have the .62:1, and with a 3.73 rear I turn 2000 rpm at 65 mph. Any taller gears and the overdrive would not be useful. I almost wish I would have gone .82. I am still considering swapping to a 4.10 rear given my trans ratios.

[mechanic350]

Hurst driveline sells a kit with everything as well. About 4-5k for the whole thing

[davepl]

I've bought two of these (from Keisler though) and love them both. I feel like I paid less, but it's been 5 years.

You may need more gear. In my current setup I put in a 200-4R with overdrive and tires maybe an inch taller and I'm running 4.56:1 gears.

In my Pontiac and Camaro (4.10 and 3.90 respectively) the TKO-600 overdrive is great.

[Lattimer]

I paid $3900 for everything at American Powertrain.

[1971C10Blown]

I'm going to be putting a t56 6spd in a truck soon so I'm going to be following this

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by 1971C10Blown

I'm going to be putting a t56 6spd in a truck soon so I'm going to be following this

I looked at that, but I would have had to go hydraulic clutch and get a new bellhousing, plus the trans is more expensive. Would have been another $2500 or so to do it, and I just couldn't justify it.

[mechanic350]

Definitely subscribed to this. Planning the same swap in my 72

[1971C10Blown]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

I looked at that, but I would have had to go hydraulic clutch and get a new bellhousing, plus the trans is more expensive. Would have been another $2500 or so to do it, and I just couldn't justify it.

i have 90% of the parts for the swap i just have to get them in and fab some stuff up to it to get it all to work. and I'm going with the spec 3+ clutch. its getting bolted back up to the motor it came with so that part is easy. which is a 383 LT1 pushing 500hp. it all came out of my 96 camaro so I'm going to try to get everything to work from the car. shouldn't cost much more on top of the stuff i have already.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by 1971C10Blown

i have 90% of the parts for the swap i just have to get them in and fab some stuff up to it to get it all to work. and I'm going with the spec 3+ clutch. its getting bolted back up to the motor it came with so that part is easy. which is a 383 LT1 pushing 500hp. it all came out of my 96 camaro so I'm going to try to get everything to work from the car. shouldn't cost much more on top of the stuff i have already.

I was looking at buying everything new-----so your cost should definitely be more reasonable.

[1971C10Blown]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

I was looking at buying everything new-----so your cost should definitely be more reasonable.

ya i might rebuild the trans but even if i do that its only 1800 for a stage three viper spec which is good for a 1000hp. and the clutch i got is good for almost 800hp so i have lots of room left in it for my nitrous kit which I'm going to shot as much as i can but keep the truck under 11.5 in the 1/4 cuz its not getting a cage.

but if you wanted to do a t56 swap you could prob find a used camaro for cheap 93-97 and i think it should be the same bolt pattern as a sbc so it should all mount up. and I've seen them go for like 1500-2000

[70c10stepside]

Thanks everyone for the info. I was wanting the .82 given my 4.11. Be more useable. And t56 first gear is to short for me. I like the 2.7? These have. I'm going to call around more this week I guess and find what I'm going to settle with. I'm wanting to buy everything that I can new so I don't won't to to deal with used crap. Unless it's a bell housing, that's diffirent.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by 70c10stepside

Thanks everyone for the info. I was wanting the .82 given my 4.11. Be more useable. And t56 first gear is to short for me. I like the 2.7? These have. I'm going to call around more this week I guess and find what I'm going to settle with. I'm wanting to buy everything that I can new so I don't won't to to deal with used crap. Unless it's a bell housing, that's diffirent.

.82 OD with a 4.10:1 rear is going to turn a lot of RPM's at highway speeds.

The 2.87 low gear in my trans has me shifting out of first halfway through intersection with a 3.73 rear if I'm driving normal. Its about perfect for being able to drive normal and launch hard when I'm playing.

With my truck, and based on my speedo (which may be off a bit)----65 mph in OD is 2000 rpm with the .64 OD. With the .82 I'd be turning 2560 RPM. With a 4.10 rear that becomes about 2800 RPM, which really is too high for cruising on the highway. The .64 with a 4.10 rear will yield about 2200 RPM at 65----which is pretty much the sweet spot in my opinion for a carb'd engine. Too much higher you drink fuel, too much lower and you are starting to lug.


As I mentioned before---I may go to a 4.10 at some point in the future if I rebuild my rear. It will make my 1st gear a little lower and I'll have to shift way early, but my cruise rpm will be a better match to my engine.