5 or 6 Speed in 66-67 Chevy II

[TravisB]

I would do some sort of T56 kit if I was going to do a manual trans.

[XcYZ]

I missed this thread...

Paul, if you wanted to do it the easiest way, a Tremec TKO-600 would be the way to go. You can use all the stock clutch pedals and linkages for your car, as well as a stock GM bellhousing and use a standard mechanical speedometer.

[72 RS/SS]

I switched mine to a TKO 600 using the stock components and it works excellent. Mine came from Classic Chevy 5 Speed, they were very helpful with any questions I had before and during the swap - couldn't be happier.

[parsonsj]

Yeah, for a small block, the TKO-600 is a much easier swap. I'm using the road race version with the .82 OD 5th and have no complaints. They are also stronger and lighter than a T56, though you do give up the .5 OD 6th. Some people have to have that gear, others find it not so useful.

jp

[wiedemab]

We put a TKO-600 in my Dad's '67 Chevy II about 5 years ago. His car is pretty well stock. It bolted in right in place of the 4-speed - we did have to modify the trans tunnel. His car had the original 4-speed trans tunnel. At the time, noone made an offset shifter to come through the factory location, so we had to mod it more to make the shifter hole location in the center. I think he bought the cross-member from National Nostalgic Nova. I don't even know if CC 5-speed was around back then, if so, we didn't know about them.

Are you going to go with a hydraulic throwout bearing setup? Dad's car still has the stock subframe, so we were able to use the stock Chevy II z-bar setup for the clutch linkage. I don't know if Alston's has provisions for this or not. I'm sure you could make the stock pedals and linkage work though.

Hopefully that rambling made some sense.

One more comment, depending on how your car is geared, the standard 3.27 low gear is REALLY LOW. I would consider the 2.95 first gear.

Later,

Brandon

[Tom.A]

If you go the 5 Speed TKO, be sure to get the TKO600 with the 2.87 first gear as the TKO500 is 3.27 as posted above. There is only about $100 diff. in price. The TKO500 works better with a 3.36 gear or taller like 3.08 etc but I will assume you have lower gear as most people do when going to an overdrive. Anything lower than 3.36 you will have a more desirable first gear if you go with the TKO600. Some guys have used the 500 with low gears and they are shifting half way through an intersection from a stoplight.

Save yourself the trouble and get the kit from Classic Chevy 5 Speed (Jeff Xt 101) you can save some $$ (if on a budget)by getting the Deluxe kit which is gear box back. The Elite kit comes with clutch, bell etc. The driveline, cross member, mech speedo are some of the key components.

They are a first class operation and nice guy's (very busy) but there is a reason why they are so busy. When they developed the kit for the early Nova's Jeff did not want to learn from a customer. He felt it was important to do it himself so he went and bought a '66 or '67? Nova for R&D. I have been to their shop a number of times and any given time the floor is loaded with Kits ready for shipping. Here is a pic of the cross member that comes in either kit. It's a very nice piece. Take a look at their website they also have some tech video's for some of the basics.

[Sales@Dutchboys]

WOW! Thanks Guys!!!

Im planning on running a TKO-600 From Classic Chevy 5 Speed, their kit really seems like the best kit to get everything I need to convert from a automatic to a manual....I really think that I will really fall in love with my car again once to do the swap!


I would like to Thank everyone who has reply, every reply has had ALOT of info that is helping me decide which one I will do. Thank You.

I have another question, Brandon....On my alston frame their is a mounting bracket for the z-bar setup...but if i run a hydraulic throwout bearing setup I wont need that correct? thanks again


Paul