Trannsission to bolt up to 454?

[Dunbeck92]

Hi, I want to eventually restore a 71 ss and put a 454 big block in it. Im not new to cars but I'm not a gearhead. I would like to eventually become one though haha. I would like to know what kind of transmission would he best to bolt up to a 454. Also could I put a 5 speed in it or is 4 better? I'm going to use it on the street and sone casual drag so something that is kind of in between I guess you could say? I hope I have enough info here. Thanks everybody!

[shadowgray396]

First off welcome to the site. I'm not a transmission expert so I will let the guys who are answer your question. I wouldn't go with anything less then a built turbo 400 in it, but there other transmissions out there that would better for your application depending on how much horsepower you are going to run.

Ray

[Dunbeck92]

Thanks for the tip Ray. Would it be worth finding one that's beat up and rebuilding it? Or to get a new one? And what are some trusted brands? My father has always has B&M hydros in his restorations. Any take on that?

[SS Shaun]

easy way to answer this is how deep are your pockets and how much cutting do you want to do :) if you are talking manual trans i can help you with that auto trans no clue. i can tell you that you can use a 4 speed which is meant for the car. 5 speed i wouldnt do it unless you are going to have a fully built one to handle the tq. a lot of guys on our rx7 forum put 5 speed manuals behind high powered small blocks and LS1's and they blow them to pieces. A t56 out of a camaro/firebird/corvette with the LT1 motor in it will bolt on and be perfect because they are strong and have 2 over drives BUT you have to cut your trans tunnel like so
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/stealth71/DSC01628.jpg
enjoy!!

[Hank70SS]

Are you interested in a manual or auto? For a manual the Muncie M22 4sp is what they put behind the 454 from the factory. They're pretty tough transmissions and will hold up. An Muncie M20 or M21 4sp will also hold up unless you have a lot of traction and really want to beat on it. The M20 and M21 are the same transmissions with different gear ratios. The M22 is stronger, same gear ratios as the the M21.

For a 5 or 6sp there is the Tremac. The 6sp costs a little more but requires less cutting of the tunnel. Ric, (RBeckman) installed a 5sp last winter. You could PM him and get his thoughts. I know he wishes he had paid the extra for the 6sp so he wouldn't have to do as much mods to the tunnel but he does like the 5sp now that it's installed.

For an auto the TH450 as mentioned is a tough trans. The 700R4, 4sp, is also a good trans plus you get the overdrive. Can't help much more with auto's. Either way unless you know what you're doing you may want to look for a good rebuilt.

[Dunbeck92]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Hank70ss especially helpful. How much would it cost to rebuild a 4 spd? Like a ballpark figure. Like I said I'm new an I pick up things really quickly. I learn best by doing so I think it would be a good challenge for me.

[RBeckman]

Hi,

Like Hank said I put in a Tremec TKO500 last year and and it was one of the best upgrades I did, it took a lot of tunnel cutting but after it was done it was worth it. The thing that took me the most time was align up the bellhousing with the crank center I was over .20" off center and Tremec suggest .005 or less. The hardest part was getting the dowl pins out of the block while it was in the car as I had to remove starter, headers, and clutch linkage. I did buy adjustable dowl pins that are pretty cool. The cost of trans with driveshaft cost $2600.00 if I remember right.

The cool thing with gearing is that it makes my 3:42 rear gear like a 4:33 gear and it comes out of the hole like crazy. Also, on the expresway doing 70 mph the tach is at 2000 rpm. It shift real nice and smooth. I have pics of installation if you want.

I was just checking out the Kiesler website and they have new models availble since I bought mine 20 months ago.

http://www.keislerauto.com/Keisler_Auto/Keisler_Engineering.html
http://www.hurst-drivelines.com/

[FlintTony]

If you are shooting for around 500 HP, take a look at the Richmond Super Street 5 speed over-drive trans. I put one in a little Hemi powered hot-rod that I built last winter. I am glad that I went with the over-drive. In all the research that I did before I bought it, it's the only one I found that will handle that much HP and torque. 5th gear is a little bit louder that the rest, but it's not obnoxious.

[RBeckman]

Here are some pics of the project....damn I wish I would have had my lift doing this.

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