inline five speed
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From: arcata, ca
inline five speed
i found that a tremec 3550 five speed will bolt up to a '76 sixer bell housing if you take 3/8" of the input shaft. 1st is a little high for a heavier rig(i was running 7k) but it worked good. 4:10 rear and 245/16 tires and 70mph at 2000 rpm. the tranny is about 1250 new.
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From: Colorado
Tremec?
Care to share a bit more? (Where can thay be found, what do they come in, what did you replace...etc.)
I'm not much of a tranny guy, but I know that lots of folks are interested in putting 5's - behind their "six". To date, IIRC, the options have been somewhat limited - & include swapping in a hydraulic clutch.
I don't recall hearing anything 'bout the "tremec"... (yet!)
Care to share a bit more? (Where can thay be found, what do they come in, what did you replace...etc.)
I'm not much of a tranny guy, but I know that lots of folks are interested in putting 5's - behind their "six". To date, IIRC, the options have been somewhat limited - & include swapping in a hydraulic clutch.
I don't recall hearing anything 'bout the "tremec"... (yet!)
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From: arcata, ca
standard transmission and gear in texas has them, i bought mine for 1250 and shipping was like 75 to cali. it is a mustang tranny and the shifter can be forward mounted for a p/u or car. i used all my old clutch linkage, had to get the driveline built(shortened). if i would have found the tranny before i replace my six with an eight the six would have still been in my van. like i said, 2000 rpm was 70 mph with 410s. (www.standardtransmission.com) i put it behind a 351 windsor and had a good time with it, stood up to the abuse. my friend shortened the input shaft(it's easy to get on/off) and the tranny bolted right up. had to pound out a little room on top in the van, don't know how it would be in anything else but the thing is real small and light, i'm sure the folks at st and g will give you all the info you need.
Last edited by haroldservice; Feb 4, 2005 at 11:08 PM. Reason: adding web address
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From: arcata, ca
this WAS a '76 E250, sway bars front and rear, hellwig support, kyb's at the corners, built 351 windsor w/ jacobs electronics, 450 watts of lights on high beam, fog lights that came on with the key and alternated with the turn signals, high beams came on with the horn(air), nice alloy rims, captains chairs, five speed w/ floor shift, nice paint(two months) chrome bumpers, running boards, fully insulated, air, hd alternator, power steering, and on and on. WAS going to get rear discs this year. some guy pulled out in front of me and my insurance company says it's only worth 1100. i'm thinking about putting everything under a '54 panel i have. and i've ordered a '05 E350 PSD.
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From: Colorado
I spotted a Tremec in Summit the other day - a HD Mustang tranny - sounds like it would make a pickup SMOOOOTH! 
You got away with THAT, by just trimming the input shaft? Congrat's! I know a lot of folks have been wanting to do a 5 spd swap for their various 4's. I know I did! Unfortunately, with the older models, it involved a bellhousing & hydraulic clutch swap too...
'Wonder how that '76 bell compares to the rest...?
Too late for me - I should have an 8 speed* within a week or two ...
You got away with THAT, by just trimming the input shaft? Congrat's! I know a lot of folks have been wanting to do a 5 spd swap for their various 4's. I know I did! Unfortunately, with the older models, it involved a bellhousing & hydraulic clutch swap too...
'Wonder how that '76 bell compares to the rest...?
Too late for me - I should have an 8 speed* within a week or two ...
Last edited by broncr; Feb 10, 2005 at 11:56 PM.
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From: arcata, ca
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Only trim 3/8" to fit tremec 3550 5spd to 300ci bell housing?
Harolservice:
Is that it, only trimming 3/8" of the input shaft? Any other modifications or things to consider in this swap? I suspect your van already had a manual transmission and so you did not have to do many mods to tfit the Tremec trans?
My truck (78 F100) came with a 300ci and the 4 speed OD transmission, and I while I like it (commuting use and ocassional hauling small stuff), I would rather have a 5-speed trans. I used to own an '83 Fairmont with an '85 Mustang drivetrain (5.0 and 5-spd) and suspension (I did the whole conversion by myself), and really liked that transmission.
What about the shifter of the Tremec, did you do any modifications to it? I figure I will have to do something different in my truck as you had it in a van.
Thanks, Raul
Is that it, only trimming 3/8" of the input shaft? Any other modifications or things to consider in this swap? I suspect your van already had a manual transmission and so you did not have to do many mods to tfit the Tremec trans?
My truck (78 F100) came with a 300ci and the 4 speed OD transmission, and I while I like it (commuting use and ocassional hauling small stuff), I would rather have a 5-speed trans. I used to own an '83 Fairmont with an '85 Mustang drivetrain (5.0 and 5-spd) and suspension (I did the whole conversion by myself), and really liked that transmission.
What about the shifter of the Tremec, did you do any modifications to it? I figure I will have to do something different in my truck as you had it in a van.
Thanks, Raul
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From: arcata, ca
yes, i already had the clutch/linkage/bellhousing in my van, it came with the three on the tree.you might be able to find a donor truck of the era and get all the stuff off it(get everything, nuts bolts washers etc.). after that i just had to get the driveline done, was two piece in the van with lots of slippage in the joining of the drivelines and i was able to move the carrier bearing back also. the tremec 3550 comes with the capability to have a forward shift, talk to standard trans. i just heated and bent a shifter off a four speed tranny(ford) and bollted it to the tranny. like i said, first is a little high for towing or really heavy loads starting up steep stuff, but it sure was fun at the light or when passing. the tranny loves high rpm and was right at home at 2000 to 4500. it is noisy at lower rpm.
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Thanks for the info. I should mention that my current transmission is already a manual 4 speed OD, so I figure from your comments that the Tremec should be an almost direct bolt-in (except for the trimming 3/8" of the input shaft). My current trans has a first gear ratio of 3.29, and I understand the Tremec has a 3.27, so basically there will be no changes for me. I will also get a better OD ratio with the Tremec (0.68 vs the current 0.81), meaning that I will be able to justify changing rear differential gears, I have 2.73, to a 3.08 or 3.27, improving my takeoffs and still have low rpms in the highway (and good MPG, currently getting 17-19 MPG).
Here are the gear ratios for both transmissions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th):
Tremec 3550: 3.27, 1.98, 1.34, 1.00 and 0.68
Ford 4-speed OD manual (RUG Side Mounted, very similar to a 4 speed Ford toploader): 3.29, 1.84, 1.00 and 0.81
Raul
Here are the gear ratios for both transmissions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th):
Tremec 3550: 3.27, 1.98, 1.34, 1.00 and 0.68
Ford 4-speed OD manual (RUG Side Mounted, very similar to a 4 speed Ford toploader): 3.29, 1.84, 1.00 and 0.81
Raul
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From: Colorado
Originally Posted by haroldservice
you must have gone with a gear vendor?
1st - 4.02 (T-19 DIESEL GEARSET!)
1-O - 3.13
2nd - 2.41
2-0 - 1.88
3rd - 1.41
3-0 - 1.1
4th - 1.0
4-0 - .78
Just for reference - my old T-18: 6.39 (granny), 3.09, 1.69, 1.0...
& I know... GearVendors....
CA-CHING!!!
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Am looking into this for my '85. Was quoted $1250 or so, plus $150 for an adaptor. I keep my stock bell and juice clutch. I'm looking for the 3.35 first gear unit. Lots of folks bad mouth the T5 because it's "weak". Some are better than others. There is a chart of torque ratings on here somewhere. 300 seems like it's the max.
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From: P-Town, CA
Ok, i dont know much about trannies, so how har would it be for the "weekend mechanic to do this on a 1996 150? You dont have to change crossmembers either right? Another question. What is the final gear ratio comparison between the tremec and the M5OD?