5-speed options

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gdonovan

gdonovan

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I'm considering installing a 5-speed in the Dart which I hope to have here in several weeks. I'm thinking that a 5-speed would be more fun than a 4-speed =)

25+ years under my belt pulling wrenches and fabricating is not a problem so the "kits" offered by vendors are of not much interest (unless the time and cost of chasing & machining used pieces exceeds a kit!)

Options? Pro / cons? T5? TKO 500/600?

Going to be used with a 360 magnum, perhaps with a power adder later on.
 
If you can do the fab work why not go with a T56 (6spd)??......Quicktime makes bellhousings for popular eng/trans combos (Ls based or Viper).
 
rjsjea said:
If you can do the fab work why not go with a T56 (6spd)??......Quicktime makes bellhousings for popular eng/trans combos (Ls based or Viper).
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5 speed will be fine, I'm not trying to go crazy with a small block or spend a fortune.
 
I've been doing the research for mine as well.. I have a 5-speed out of a 318 powered dakota rt. It's a pretty big transmission so I'll be doing some pretty serious "massaging". As far as your options... T-5's are junk... They can only handle about 300 lbft And your 360 magnum already has more than that. TKO's are nice... Keisler has a whole kit that is really cheap.. As far as sourcing the parts individually you would be hard pressed to do it cheaper than Keisler and I don't think they have an A-body kit so you would still be doing some fab work. I agree with RJSJEA... If your going to do a swap I would go with the t-56 if you can find one that fits your budget. I was looking at one out of a cobra and it is smaller than my 5-speed.

Hope this helps!

Benjamin
 
I have a friend with a bottle fed Mustang, his T5 has been hanging in there for several years hence still an option for me.

If I had a heavy car or a big block it might be more of an issue, but this will be just a weekend toy with very limted track time.
 
True... If your not launching it like a top fuel car than it might last longer...
How much are you looking to spend on this whole conversion? I would say that is a good place to start planning if you have a budget.
 
bjkadron said:
True... If your not launching it like a top fuel car than it might last longer...
How much are you looking to spend on this whole conversion? I would say that is a good place to start planning if you have a budget.
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To some degree depends on the feedback I get here.

I need to get an idea on costs for such a project.

To be honest I'm leaning towards the TKO 500/600, some guys over at moparts have done a few using a scattershield with the bearing retainer turned down. Simple enough and I like using the stock clutch linkage.
 
gdonovan said:
To some degree depends on the feedback I get here.

I need to get an idea on costs for such a project.

To be honest I'm leaning towards the TKO 500/600, some guys over at moparts have done a few using a scattershield with the bearing retainer turned down. Simple enough and I like using the stock clutch linkage.
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I don't know what your talking about... Have any pics? I'll have about $600 into mine after I buy all the Hyd. stuff. But you could do it cheaper.

Benjamin
 
While a TKO 5 speed is a nice way to go I am interested in the new McLeod 5 Speed coming out in March you might want to look at those they are suppose to fit without too much of Metal fabrication
 
Supra turbo trans,dakota bellhousing it's a bolt in deal,very simple(I got one for $300)
 
gdonovan said:
Hydralic clutch right?
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Yes, factory Dakota stuff. Requires an 11" 143T flywheel though, unless you can figure out how to mount the starter to work with a 130T flywheel. Bell might be an issue for headers, don't know though. Big thread on Moparts for this, search for "R154" there.

I have yet to see a 5 speed that fits well in an A-Body without cutting the hump out, I think even the Keisler setup puts the output lower than ideal to keep the crossmember. So, I would pick the the trans you like and then worry about how to make it fit.

Money no object, for me, I would go TKO. The R154 would be second and the T5 would be third, but only if you swap the OD ratio to a .73 ratio, I don't like the .63 one.
 
I have a t5 in my car, and it wasnt much work putting it in...Im running mechanical clutch linkage (z bar and such- im too cheap for the hydraulic stuff) and yes it works fine...however, the quicktime bellhousing has issues with binding up on the bellhousing ballstud, something which needs to be corrected and will keep me away from them from now on...there is a whole t5 thread in the 4 speed section, check it out if you are interested...i wouldnt put a t5 in car thinking it will stay t5 forever since they arent the strongest, but many have had good and bad luck with them, so its a crapshoot...if you dont drive like an animal dumping the clutch at 5k and powershifting every gear it should hold up...but if your driving a stickshift and not doing that stuff your missing half the fun lol...imo 6 speeds are a waste of time and money- who needs two overdrives in a street car? not to mention they arent very strong unless you go up to a viper t56 which isnt cheap

the good thing about the quicktime bell is that its drilled for a tko too, which is why i bought it (got the t5 for free) so when it goes i will sell it and stuff a tko in (which does require floor mods in an abody- i would never spend the money for the keisler kit especially if you can fab stuff yourself)...TKO's are tough tranny's but some are known to have high rpm shifting problems...In fact, if your intended usage is drag racing id have to say that a mopar 4 speed is probably one of the better trannies out there, and im considering selling all my 5 speed stuff when the tranny breaks and going to an 833 instead since they are known to take a good beating. good luck!
 
DionR said:
I have yet to see a 5 speed that fits well in an A-Body without cutting the hump out, I think even the Keisler setup puts the output lower than ideal to keep the crossmember. .
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I have a new welder I'm dying to break in, would make short work of it.

I'd perfer to stay away from the hydralic setup so it looks stock underhood ;-)
 
Its funny, 10-15 years ago I was big into 4x4ing with my truck and CJ5. It was somewhat common knowledge a T-5 in a wheeling jeep is junk. 33" tires , aheavy foot, and some fun wheeling and it would brake. And never down shift them hard. T-18 was the4x4 ticket. I am very interested in the McLeod 5 speed.
 
gdonovan said:
I have a new welder I'm dying to break in, would make short work of it.

I'd perfer to stay away from the hydralic setup so it looks stock underhood ;-)
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What about a reverse mount master cyl. with the lines running behind the dash then through the floor. You wouldn't see it from under the hood, and you would still have a nice hydraulic setup.
 
i want to do this in my duster.
i have t5's that are in low 12 second cars. if you use an aftermarket shifter, dont speed shift it, and dont launch at 6k rpm, they last forever.
tko's are great but for the money i would opt for a t56 instead. i am interested in the supra tranny, how well do the non-turbo 5 speeds work? i have seen a few of these in the yards, no turbo models tho....
oh, and unless you arent making any power, i prefer the .63 od and run a steeper gear with it :)
 
bigdemo1 said:
Supra turbo trans,dakota bellhousing it's a bolt in deal,very simple(I got one for $300)
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So you've installed it? Got any pics/helpfull hints? Im sure there would be lots of interest in this if you did a post on it.
 
Stormy69 said:
i am interested in the supra tranny, how well do the non-turbo 5 speeds work? i have seen a few of these in the yards, no turbo models tho....
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The W58 in the NA Supra's don't work well as the input shaft is too short for any kind of an adapter between a stock bell and the trans, and it has a different bolt pattern than the R154 so the Dakota AX15 bell wont work. It's a good trans, and has been know to hold 400 hp or so, but I don't think it is much stronger than a T5, and the hassle of making one fit would make it less than ideal to say the least.

For my slant project, I would have prefered the W58, but couldn't find a way to make it work without some high tech cnc equipment. So I started down the R154 trail...
 
needsaresto said:
So you've installed it? Got any pics/helpfull hints? Im sure there would be lots of interest in this if you did a post on it.
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Search on Moparts for "R154", there is a huge thread there on an install in a Dart w/ pictures.
 
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