Manual VB vs. Shift Kit
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Manual VB vs. Shift Kit
Hey fellas, kinda new to this scene so don't rip me a new one if the below questions are dumb.
My truck: 1977 F-150, 4x4, built 460 appx 425-450 Hp, 40" TSLs, 6" lift.
Purpose: cruising the trails, nothing too crazy but I like blowing through the mud holes. Truck is nice and I like to to things right, been saving a while to build it so I'm prepared to spend some $.
Questions: I'm about to rebuild the tranny (C6).
1. Should I go to a manual valve body or keep the full auto tranny with a shift kit? I've heard that the manual valve bodies will hold up quite a bit better and are more desirable off road.
2. How hard is it to use a shift rod (coming up from the floor board into the cab) from a manual tranny. Otherwise it seems like the regular shifters (B&M etc) are way too short, and would be too close to the floor to reach while driving.
Any input on this would be appreciated.
Thanks and Gig 'em 2001
My truck: 1977 F-150, 4x4, built 460 appx 425-450 Hp, 40" TSLs, 6" lift.
Purpose: cruising the trails, nothing too crazy but I like blowing through the mud holes. Truck is nice and I like to to things right, been saving a while to build it so I'm prepared to spend some $.
Questions: I'm about to rebuild the tranny (C6).
1. Should I go to a manual valve body or keep the full auto tranny with a shift kit? I've heard that the manual valve bodies will hold up quite a bit better and are more desirable off road.
2. How hard is it to use a shift rod (coming up from the floor board into the cab) from a manual tranny. Otherwise it seems like the regular shifters (B&M etc) are way too short, and would be too close to the floor to reach while driving.
Any input on this would be appreciated.
Thanks and Gig 'em 2001
Street Queen to the extr3m3
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,554
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From: Lubbock, Texas
I dont see what the problem would be with the colum shifter... Not like you would be shifting a whole lot... If your really up in the air about it... Try manual shifting for a little bit as it is starting in 1st and going up to second when you need and so forth down to 1st when you need... If you can do that then a manual vb would be good... If not the goo for a beef shift kit...
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Reasons for Manual VB
Well, the reason I'm considering a manual valve body instead of a a regular transmission and just running it through the gears are as follows.
1. More control of shifting (higher fluid pressure and no clutch slippage)
2. Decreases the chances of burning up planetary gears
3. Takes less time to engage the shift (if you're about to bog down, its much faster to shift down with a manual VB as opposed to a column shifter.
1. More control of shifting (higher fluid pressure and no clutch slippage)
2. Decreases the chances of burning up planetary gears
3. Takes less time to engage the shift (if you're about to bog down, its much faster to shift down with a manual VB as opposed to a column shifter.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Some of your reasons for using a manual VB instead of just installing a "shift improver" kit are not entirely accurate: high fluid pressure can result in better shifts to be sure, but all AT's allow for some clutch slippage - just the nature of a "wet" clutch. Hard use, regardless of VB, can wear out the planetaries. The manual VB doesn't care whether it gets shifted via a floor-mounted shifter or a column-mounted shifter. The gear shift is accomplished by the VB inside the trans case & unless your shifting linkage [column or floor] is sloppy, the shift time by the valve body will be the same. Altho many hot rodders think the floor shift setup looks better.....
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: savannah,ga
the length of the b&m shifter is easy to fix
mount it higher up on a platform
on a console, or any where it is convienant to get to
even sticking out of the dash
if you are going to run this on the road also go for the shift kit
you can always pull the shifter down manually when bogging
and make it hold the gear you want
mount it higher up on a platform
on a console, or any where it is convienant to get to
even sticking out of the dash
if you are going to run this on the road also go for the shift kit
you can always pull the shifter down manually when bogging
and make it hold the gear you want
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