[tom s]

I swapped out the 500 for a 600 because I thought it would be safer,money that did not have to be spent IMO.Tom

[flat-bill]

If you are running the 500 with the 3.27 first gear and a numerically low rear gear how fast must you be going to be in a good cruise rpm range? I would think cruising at 2000 rpm or so would be pretty fast. 3.27 with a .64 OD would give a total ratio of about 2.09 to one. How does that work. Can you cruise at 60 in OD?

[tom s]

I have a 3.31 with my 500 and cruise at about 2000 with no issue.With the 455 and the SPII cam it can be as low as 1200-1400 in 5th without having to pull back a gear.Tom

[ta-kid]

Originally Posted by flat-bill

If you are running the 500 with the 3.27 first gear and a numerically low rear gear how fast must you be going to be in a good cruise rpm range? I would think cruising at 2000 rpm or so would be pretty fast. 3.27 with a .64 OD would give a total ratio of about 2.09 to one. How does that work. Can you cruise at 60 in OD?

Ok just for reference ,Running a 27 inch tire with 3.73 posi and a TKO,and for you in MPH,at 60 miles an hour running 1700 t0 1800 rpm in 5th gear.For regular street driving I would not go less then a 3.42 rear gear myself.

[tom s]

OK,just got back from a ride,with the 3.27 and a 3.31 I can drive real easy with 1st 2nd and 4th.4th will pull from 1100 without having to back a gear.I can drive 5th at 40 MPH and not have to pull back a gear.Cams and CI play a large roll in how the car drives.As I said this is a SPII.A OF will not be as kind with my gearing.Tom

[Formulajones]

I run 3.55's in my 600, 27" tire with a .64 overdrive and a little 302 in front of it, with a 254 @ .050 cam.

Works very nice. I can cruise as low as 35 mph in 5th gear without issues and it will pick up speed from there if need be without complaining. So 45-50 mph cruising is pretty easy in 5th gear. 65 is about 1800 rpm. It's a pretty nice place to be. Speed limit here is 75 mph so a little over 2,000 rpm keeps up with traffic.

[66beaumont]

Had TKO 500 In my Beaumont. 3:27 and.64 od. 450 horse 454 550 torque and 3:08 rear
Drove coquihalla highway aka highway through hell. Never had to gear down from 5th even on the steepest hill . Cruised at 65 at 1700 rpm. Had 3:73 originally and didn’t bother using first gear tooo low. Would go through town no problem at 35 in 4th

[6T9GTO]

Are any floor mods required for a 69 A body?

[Firebob]

After buying the Trans itself how much additional dough would you have wrapped into the 500 by the time it was all done? New BH, clutch, driveshaft, Trans mount.

[tom s]

If you have a stick shift now just a 26 spline disk if your is a 10.The drive shaft will have to be shortened and install the correct front yoke.You will need the correct shifter lever for your application to bolt to the shifter stub on the trans.Most applications I believe your trans X member can be used by just moving.Tom

[Formulajones]

Tom just about covers it.

If you already have a stick car it's pretty straight forward. Biggest expense after the trans purchase is having a driveshaft made.

I use a local shop, take my measurements and have him make the shaft, and he supplies the yoke cheaper than the vendors sell them for. About $350 gets me out the door with a steel shaft and 1330 joints good for 600hp. More HP is a little more money. Of course you can save money here by having your existing driveshaft simply shortened and the TKO yoke installed.

After that it's a matter of whether you use your existing cross member or not. Most can be mildly modified to work or simply moved within the frame. They make a short 10-12" long speedo adapter so you can still use your existing speedo cable, and just screw it into the adapter cable, which changes the end to a ford style speedo gear. Very simple and not that expensive.

Usually I reuse my Hurst shifter stick, as they will bolt right onto the shifter bodies of the TKO. So the round bar Hurst sticks poke up out of the console and still appear stock. There are other small additional purchases like a metal 5 speed shift pattern to replace your existing 4 speed pattern if so equipped.

A lot of the smaller stuff is optional and not necessary for everyone but basically the swap can be done for not too much money if you already have a 4 speed car.

[Firebob]

Different bell housing right? The TKO500 won't bolt not the stock Pontiac bell housing right? Pilot bearing in the crank ok? So basically clutch, throw out and driveshaft?

[tom s]

Bell housing is fine with stock,also pilot bearing and throwout bearing,as said drive shaft will have to be shortened and a new yoke.Tom

[tom s]

That is IF you buy a GM Tremic!If you buy a ford all bets are off!Tom