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Tremec TKO 5-Speeds – Fitment and Installation Requirements

February 19, 2011 By marc-andre Leave a Comment

Article by Keith Farren

The Tremec TKO is a great choice for retrofitting into the old muscle cars, but it isn’t quite a direct bolt-in replacement for a four speed. There are a few areas that will require modification and/or custom parts for a TKO conversion into any muscle car.

The Tremec TKO’s three rail internal shift mechanism is positioned at the top of the transmission, making it taller, wider and flatter across the top than most of the old four speeds that were common in the 1960s and 1970s. Some cars such as the 1967-1981 Camaros and Firebirds typically have ample room to install a TKO without any tunnel modifications. Other muscle cars have transmission tunnels that are barely big enough for the old four speeds, and will interfere with the TKO. Body mounts that are in bad condition will make things worse, so make sure your body mounts are in good shape before installing a TKO. Some cars can get by with just dimpling the transmission tunnel in a few areas, but on others there just isn’t any way to get around cutting the tunnel and reshaping new sheetmetal around the transmission. However, the modifications can almost always be covered by the factory carpet, and with a console may be completely invisible from inside the car.

Your transmission crossmember or its location will have to be modified in some way due to the mount pad location on the TKO being further rearward than the mount pad on most four speeds. On some cars you can just move the crossmember further back on the frame rails and drill new holes, but others may require sectioning your factory crossmember and welding it back together, or possibly fabricating a new one. Before removing your old transmission, it is wise to record the height of the transmission output shaft relative to some fixed point on the car so that you have a reference point to shoot for when modifying your crossmember or building a new one. The transmission height may need to be raised or lowered slightly in the end in order to obtain acceptable driveline angles, so keep that in mind if you are fabricating a new crossmember.

The TKO at 24.07″ long is not exactly the same length as any factory four speed, although it is very close to some versions of the Ford Toploader. Plan on either having your old driveshaft modified or having a new one built to work with the TKO. The TKO requires a Ford C6 pattern 31-spline slip yoke, but there are slip yokes available that will adapt the TKO to common 1310, 1330 or 1350 universal joints. You may want to keep your original driveshaft intact in case you ever decide to sell your car and want to convert it back to the original configuration.

Most four speed transmissions use a solid bronze pilot bushing in the crankshaft, but a roller pilot bearing is a good idea with almost any transmission. The TKO requires one. Make sure you install a roller pilot bearing along with the TKO.

The Tremec TKO has tapered roller bearings supporting the input shaft, and is designed with relatively tight tolerances. It doesn’t have the “slop” in the input shaft that the old 4-speed transmissions have. Tremec requires that you perform a bellhousing runout check to make sure that the transmission is properly aligned with the crankshaft. If you have more than 0.005″ of misalignment, you will need to install offset dowel pins to correct it.

Some cars have other challenges to overcome, such as the torsion bar front suspension on Mopar muscle cars. The support structure that the rear ends of the torsion bars attach to interferes with the TKO. A Mopar installation will either require a specially modified transmission, a serious amount of fabrication and reinforcing after removing the torsion bar support structure, or a new front suspension that eliminates the torsion bars altogether.

The areas of concern above are common to almost all TKO installations. Even considering these obstacles, the benefits of increased fuel mileage and decreased noise, heat and engine wear are worth the effort if you plan on driving your muscle car any further than just across town very often!

Keisler Engineering has overcome many of the hurdles above by modifying the transmission case and shift position to fit better in the old musclecars, and they also provide complete transmission kits that include crossmembers, driveshafts, and other conversion parts that are custom-designed specifically to mate the TKO to your car. Give them a call at (865) 609-8187 for more information on what is needed to install a TKO in your model of muscle car or street rod.

Anytime you are upgrading a muscle car or street rod, it helps to have a repair manual for reference. But which is the best kind to have – a factory service manual, a Haynes or Chiltons manual, or a subscription to ALLDATAdiy? Find out the pros and cons of each at my page on Auto Repair Information. If you are looking for a manual for a specific model of classic car, visit my guide to Classic Car Repair Resources.

About the Author

Keith Farren is an ASE Certified Master Technician with a Bachelors degree in Business, an Associate degree in Automotive Technology, and over twenty years experience in the automotive industry.

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Introduction to Tremec TKO500 and TKO600 Transmissions

February 19, 2011 By marc-andre Leave a Comment

Article by Keith Farren

Tremec is an OE transmission manufacturer that supplies manual transmissions for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Aston Martin, and many medium and heavy duty truck applications. Their TKO transmission is a high strength overdrive manual 5-speed that was originally designed to be retrofitted into Mustang Fox body cars to replace the weaker T5, but will also bolt up to the standard Ford four speed passenger car bellhousing. When Tremec realized that enthusiasts were adapting it for GM applications, they decided to capitalize on a huge opportunity and produce a GM version of the TKO as well.

The GM version will bolt directly up to almost any standard Chevrolet/Buick/Olds/Pontiac passenger car four-speed bellhousing. Though only Ford and GM versions of the TKO are available, Mopar enthusiasts can get all the custom parts they need to adapt a Ford version TKO to virtually any Mopar V8 engine from Keisler Engineering. The TKO has never been original equipment in any production car, although its great-grandpa, the Tremec TR-3550 was in a limited-production Ford Mustang Cobra in the mid 1990s. The TKO is purely an aftermarket transmission designed for high-performance cars.

There are three basic models available: the TKO-500 and two variations of the TKO-600. The wide-ratio TKO-500 is rated for a continuous 500 lb.-ft. of torque, and offers a deep 3.27:1 first gear ratio and a 32% overdrive ratio in fifth gear. The close-ratio TKO-600 is rated for a continuous 600 lb.-ft. of torque, and has a 2.87:1 first gear and either an 18% overdrive or a 36% overdrive ratio in fifth gear. The rated torque capacities are said to be quite conservative, as there are a significant number of cars in the field with engines that exceed the torque rating by a large margin, and failures are rare.

The TKO uses a three-rail internal shift mechanism, eliminating any external linkage and the adjustment issues that go with it. The short throw billet aluminum shifter can be removed, flipped 180 degrees, and then reinstalled to provide an additional shift position. Optional custom shifters are also available from Keisler Engineering in several different configurations to mimic the shift positions in various musclecars. The TKO utilizes cast iron shift forks, a one-piece counter shaft, and tapered roller bearings on the input, output, and counter shafts for added strength.

Every TKO transmission provides both mechanical and electronic speedometer outputs. The mechanical output is a Ford design, but you can get hybrid speedometer cables for GM or Mopar applications. They also feature a reverse light switch and a neutral safety switch that can be wired into your vehicle’s existing harness. The transmission has an internal reverse lockout feature that prevents you from accidentally going from fifth gear into reverse. You have to go into the center of the “Neutral” gate before it will allow you to shift into reverse.

The Tremec TKO is an excellent choice for the musclecar, hot rod or street rod owner that enjoys shifting his own gears and wants to drive his car to distant car shows or other events. I have one in my 1967 Pontiac Firebird and have driven a number of other cars with TKO transmissions installed. The overdrive makes a huge difference on the highway, and there aren’t many other overdrive transmission choices out there that will stand up to the kind of power that the TKO can take. None of the other overdrive transmissions available at this time offer as much versatility as the Tremec TKO.

If you are a muscle car nut like me, you will also want to check out my pages on Classic Car Repair Resources and Auto Repair Information.

About the Author

Keith Farren is an ASE Certified Master Technician with a BS in Business Administration, an Associate degree in Automotive Technology, and over twenty years experience in the automotive industry. He also works for Keisler Engineering, a specialty automotive company that designs and sells all the custom parts you need to install a TKO into your musclecar or street rod. Give Keisler Engineering a call at (865) 609-8187.

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The Magic Of A Great Musclecar

February 19, 2011 By marc-andre Leave a Comment

Article by Jimmy Plant

I am a very logical person and I really dislike anything supernatural or metaphysical. I am more into things I can see and touch, such as car parts and engines. My roomate Joe on the other hand, is the exact opposite. While I’ll be restoring my latest beloved muscle car, Joe will be researching some new mystical art or ancient mystery.

His latest obsession was stage magic and he began practicing it with gusto. Last week, he tried to impress me with his newest tricks.

“Take note, oh simpleminded audience,” he said flourishing his arms, “that there is nothing up my sleeves.”

“What about that pulley system?” I pointed out after noticing some suspicious wires. “And that hidden deck of cards, and… my god! Is that a dove?”

“Squeaky!” screamed Joe, and he shook his sleeve until the body of his dove fell out with a thud. Unfortunately, poor Squeaky had suffocated in Joe’s armpit–not a good way to go by any means…

Joe was feeling remorseful, so after the funeral, we decided to go to see a real magic show in Squeaky’s honor.

“It’s what he would’ve wanted,” said Joe, “After all, he lay down his life in service to the craft.”

We hopped into my restored ’65 Corvette Stingray and moseyed down to the magical theatre. Inside, it was dark and packed with people. They had all come to see the Great Magnifico, who was in town for one night only.

Magnifico stepped onstage, dressed in a flowing cape and top hat. He began his act by pulling a mile of colored scarves out of his throat.

“Yawn!,” I shouted, “It’s been done!”

Magnifico scowled and moved on to his next trick, the Chinese linking rinks.

“You suck!” I bellowed, “Boo! Boo!”

Magnifico scowled harder at me and announced that it was time for his final act. He clapped his hands and a lion appeared onstage, prowling around. Magnifico covered the beast with a cloth and shouted the magic word. There was a huge puff of smoke and lights. When the smoked cleared, the audience cheered loudly, for there, onstage, was a ’65 Corvette Stingray–my Stingray! And the lion was in the driver’s seat, revving the engine!

Magnifico clapped his hands again and the lion floored the gas, driving around the stage madly and roaring in triumph.

“Magnifico!” I shouted, “This time you’ve gone too far!” And I raced out of my seat and toward the stage.

But Magnifico was one step ahead of me, and he called out to the lion. “Simba, attack!”

I took a flying leap onto the stage while the lion flew at me. We met in mid air and fought fiercely. But, we finally agreed to a draw and went our separate ways…

As we drove home, Joe said it was the greatest magic show he had ever witnessed. I was still not impressed with the magical arts, but I was glad to get my Corvette back.

I feel bad that my car had to go through that terrible ordeal. I’m going to reward it with one of those B&I Wood Dash Kits and some other accessories. I’ll also buy some seat covers and floormats in addition to the wood dash kits…

About the Author

just a dude interested in cars…

MORE MUSCLE CAR MADNESS @ INSIDELINE.COM: www.edmunds.com In 2002, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second human being to set foot on the moon, punched a guy in the face for accusing him of faking the moon landing. Buzz was 72 years old at the time. Go right ahead and question the existence of the 2010 Ford Mustang GT, 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T and 2010 Chevy Camaro SS and they, too, might just give you a knuckle sandwich in the kisser. Like Mr. Aldrin, they bear names from long ago that have made a collective return to the limelight. Like Mr. Aldrin, they are American heroes with unparalleled legacies reaching across decades. And like Mr. Aldrin, they have Ph.Ds in kicking ass. Their makers may have proven that they have the financial acumen of a blind yak. However, we submit these pony car icons as proof that the home team can extract their craniums from their nether regions once in awhile and knock the cover off the ball.

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