NV4500 trans for a hotrod 292?

[TJ's Chevy]

Looking on craigslist...found a 1990 NV4500 5 speed...how good are those trannys? If I wanted to do a big nasty burnout would it hold up? My 292 when its done will be expected to make around 340 pound feet of torque and 310 hp. Doesn't look like it'll require to many mods to bolt on?

[TwoFiftyShifter]

They used this tranny behind 454s in 1 ton trucks. It is strong, but be advised it is a truck tranny. Wide ratio and long throw.

I'd advise you look for a Muncie M20, M21 or M22. M22 is very strong but all will work fine for your angry 6!

[66Submarine]

It's the later and slicker shifting OD version of your current SM420, more or less. Pretty strong, but 5th gear has some nut that falls off and you have to run gear oil that costs $100 to fill it up IIRC. Plenty of info out there on the net about them.

Here's a thread where some guy put one in his '63: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=6488778

[franken]

From what I understand the 4500 came out in 92, so be careful.
Also, you'd probably be happier with the 96 and up with the 5.61 1st.

[TJ's Chevy]

Thanks for the replies..Guess I'll stick with the Richmond 6 speed..little close ratio split.....but a hell of alot more expensive.

[66Submarine]

Why not something like a TKO-500/600?

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Why not something like a TKO-500/600?

The TKO500 is an OD 5 speed I believe...and it has crossed my mind, but is not much cheaper then the richmond...plus Richmond has the chevy bolt pattern. The TKO600 is a dual od 6 speed I believe where as the Richmond 6 speed is a single OD.

[66Submarine]

It's over $1,000 cheaper from what I'm seeing (admittedly haven't looked much); they make a Ford and a Chevrolet version. I personally think the five speed would be great.

EDIT: Misread the post (again with that? ). The TKO-600 is a single OD 5 speed rated @ 600ftlbs; that's where the "600" comes from (it's a closer-ratio version of the 500).

[66Submarine]

The 6 speed will have closer ratios, but the TKO is still an F1 trans compared to the SM420. I've personally liked what I've seen of the TKO's (I'll probably eventually put one in the Impala I bought when I allocate the funding...); either one would probably be great IMO.

1964 Chevrolet C10 (350 ci, TKO-500, 3.73's,...

['63GENIII]

Good tough transmission. Make sure that the right oil was used previously or the syncros could be smoked. Not hard to rebuild if you're expecting to. Kinda sucks when its a surprise. I'm not sure that you could know just by looking either. Mine is a '94 or '95 with the lower 1st. It will haze the 35's for around 5' before you have to shift. 2nd lights them real good for longer and when I don't miss it, it barks 3rd real easily. The 2wd has the nut on the output behind the yoke. East to keep an eye on and I think less prone to the 5th gear nut failure. It's the 4x4 5th gear nut that really has to be watched when subject to high torque / horsepower applications. I like mine for a 4x4. Probably not so much with smaller tires and 2wd.
FWIW, I didn't do many burnouts and don't do them anymore. I got tired of breaking other stuff. lol. The looks that a '63 Longstep 4x4 smoking a set of 35's gets IS pretty funny though. Not something ya see everyday.

[bj383ss]

I have to agree with previous comments about it being a truck transmission. I have one in the 95' and I really don't like 1st gear it is too short. I usually take off in second. 1st gear is done at 30 miles an hour on my wheezy 305! And as said it has very long throws and not made for hot rodding.

Bret

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

The 6 speed will have closer ratios, but the TKO is still an F1 trans compared to the SM420. I've personally liked what I've seen of the TKO's (I'll probably eventually put one in the Impala I bought when I allocate the funding...); either one would probably be great IMO.

Well I must admit...That TKO inspires confidence. lol I'll dig into it. Thanks for posting.

[theastronaut]

What about at LT1 T56?

[LVPhotos]

I looked at the 600 too much to get that extra gear. You need adapter bellhouse, modified clutch. The 500 would be a plug and play but if your not running 400 foot lbs the T5 is fine. I am close to 450 to 475 ft lb on my rebuilt t5. I was out today shifting at 4000 and it would start walking sideways.

[jayoldschool]

Go with the 93-96 F body T56. There are three different ratio combos, and it will bolt up.

[66Submarine]

Originally Posted by LVPhotos

I looked at the 600 too much to get that extra gear. You need adapter bellhouse, modified clutch. The 500 would be a plug and play but if your not running 400 foot lbs the T5 is fine. I am close to 450 to 475 ft lb on my rebuilt t5. I was out today shifting at 4000 and it would start walking sideways.

The Ford version? Like I said earlier, they make both a Ford and a GM version of both the TKO-500 and TKO-600.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

What about at LT1 T56?

I'll look into it...Thinking about a TKO500 now.

Originally Posted by LVPhotos

I looked at the 600 too much to get that extra gear. You need adapter bellhouse, modified clutch. The 500 would be a plug and play but if your not running 400 foot lbs the T5 is fine. I am close to 450 to 475 ft lb on my rebuilt t5. I was out today shifting at 4000 and it would start walking sideways.

Will look into it. Thanks!

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Go with the 93-96 F body T56. There are three different ratio combos, and it will bolt up.

Ok...I'll look into that.

[LVPhotos]

Sorry I meant the t56. I did run my numbers and came up Mustang but I was there when the guys pulled it. The Firebird it came out of was still on the truck.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by LVPhotos

Sorry I meant the t56. I did run my numbers and came up Mustang but I was there when the guys pulled it. The Firebird it came out of was still on the truck.

Is the T56 a 5 or 6 speed?

[Captainfab]

It is a 6 speed. Both 5th and 6th are overdrive gears.

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Is the T56 a 5 or 6 speed?

[66Submarine]

Yeah, that's what makes it less appealing IMO; I'd imagine that 0.50 OD 6th is going to be useless unless you're going down a hill with the wind to your back.

[TJ's Chevy]

This is the NV4500 I'm looking at....I saw a guy with a Model A rat rod with a 283 and NV3500 and he was shifting at high rpm through the gears and it sounded good...Though I'm not sure of the difference between the 3500 and 4500...but here's what I'm looking at...Mainly I want an extra gear for going down the free way cause I wanna leave the rear gearing stock, but I also wanna be able to dump the clutch and some what fly through the gears...I don't mind a slow shift..I just don't want a 2000 rpm drop between gears like the SM420. Here's the link to the tranny. http://roseburg.craigslist.org/pts/4578993627.html



http://images.craigslist.org/00t0t_7...C9_600x450.jpg

[66Submarine]

Yeah, the NV4500 still has a very wide gear spread; pretty much just adding another gear to the SM420 (which is pretty much what it was). The NV3500 is a closer-ratio light-duty trans.

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/nv4500.htm Here's a site listing the ratios.

http://f-body.org/gears You can plug them in here and see your speed in different gears to get an idea of the RPM drop.

[66Submarine]

BTW, I personally think the TKO-600 gear spread would be nice; not as big of a gap between gears as the 500.

71 Monte Carlo 406 TKO 600 06 - YouTube

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

BTW, I personally think the TKO-600 gear spread would be nice; not as big of a gap between gears as the 500.

The TKO600 is a heavier duty version tremic 5 speed right?