The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 48 - 55 1st edtions Chevy with a TKO 600 5 speed.

Has anybody done this and if so was there any snags in the process? I'm going to have a 383 stroker which is why I'm wanting to using the TKO 600, speced to handle around 600 HP. The current issue, March 2012, of classic Tucks (Pg38 - 45) show somebody doing this in a 55-59 Chevy truck. They are using the TKO 600 with the Hurst Driveline Conversions. The option for the 55-59 chevy truck required them to use the Mid Shifter option in order to place it in front of the bench seats. Not 100% sure if I'll go with a bench seat or bucket seats but like to have it in a original looking location as possible.

Carson

Carson, that is the the same plans I have for my 51! a 383 with Fast EFI and a TKO (probably a 500 as I am building the 383 for TQ, not HP) I am thinking a AD truck will require the front shifter location to put it in a stock location. The cowl is not as deep as a 55-59. There are a couple of trans places that have the front shift as an option. But since I am a year away from measuring this, its on the back burner.

http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/tr-3550.html

If you have the SB mounted in your frame with your cab on ( I don't) Measure from the trans end of the bellhousing, front shift is 7" from that point, mid shift is 12.65". I would be interested in knowing too!

I will be following your build!

Kevin,

Yea I'll still a long ways away from buying and/or mocking it up myself. I have the engine transmission crossmember in a box at in the shop. Just trying to plan everything out before I start welding and buying. I will definitely keep you up to date however you might be further along than I am.

Ha, so whoever gets there first I just primed my cab after media blasting around xmas. Have to replace a four corners and floors. Once I do that,I can mount the cab and will start the engine mockup (have to redo PO SB mounts) and measure for the trans.

Used the TKO 600 in an even smaller, space wise, 34 cabriolet. It came with the different top plates to move the shifter and the 34 required the front location. The tech people really didn't care about horse power but recommended the 600 because the Roush engine used put out 515#ft of torque which they said was the determining factor. It is a super crisp smooth shifting tranny. Have pics but probably not much help since it's apples to oranges.

Just did a rough measurement. Figuring about 1" from the firewall to the engine, 7" of bellhousing and 7" to the front shift mount puts it right inside the original 4 speed location +/- an inch or two. (I have my floor and trans cover mocked up in the basement). The mid shift location is 5" past that which put it in the middle of the trans cover very close to the front edge of the stock seat.

So I am faily certain it will need the front shift location like Evan's 34' (always thought it did :)).

I would like to see pics of the front location mount, the websites just show the mid and rear mounts. thx!

Sweet good news there Kevin. Evan like Kevin i'd like to see what the front position looks like too. Glad to hear you say its a crisp smooth shifting tranny.

Here is a TKO 500 in my AD truck using the mid mount shifter position. The TKO 500 uses the same case as the TKO 600.

This is the same setup with the floor plate in place. The truck still has the bench seat. I fitted the manual trans 5 years ago in place of a TH 350 slushbox it had when I bought it. I've done about 10,000 miles on this transmission now, really pleased with it, the truck has a 3.54 ring and pinion, 70 MPH makes 2100 RPM in 5th gear.

Wish I had taken more pictures of just the transmission but here is what I have. The first shot shows the shifter has been completely moved off of the tail housing forward to the case itself. I did not know how to do this but have a friend that has a big truck repair shop and the TKO is a minature version of the big truck tranny so it was a piece of cake for them. It required going into the main case when going to the front most position. The second shot shows the lever hole is well in front of the seat mount crossmember and the last shows the completed lever position which is pretty near the dash. http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/coilover/

Thanks Stuart and Evan! from Stu's pic, the front mount is just about where the stock 4 speed is, great news! The mid mount is further from the bench seat than I thought.

So what did you guys use for clutch linkage? I am going to use hung pedals from a 55-59. Torn between hydro or fabbing my own rod linkage and bellcranks.

I used the stock pedal setup with a rod linkage and bell crank on my truck. Here's a picture, probably not to easy to make out what's going on though. But the clutch pedal action is smooth and positive IMO.

coilover and stuart thanks for the picgtures as they are good reference for showing the it will work without any problems... even in the mid position. I think i'll probably go with a hydro cluth so I don't have to worry about the linkage.