Add another gear in an afternoon!

EXCELLENT SWAPS DEPT
Add another gear in an afternoon!
1. The Tremec TKO has the speeds you need,
and the beef to back it up. And now, thanks
to Keisler Engineering, it’s a bolt-in swap!
Reprinted from Mopar Action Magazine, June
and August, 2002 issues. Entire contents
copyright 2002 by Harris Publications, Inc.,
and Richard Ehrenberg. All right reserved.
Distribution of unauthoroized copies by any
method, including, but not limited to,
reprinting, copying, scanning, faxing, e-mail,
other electronic transmission, or internet
posting, without the express permission of the
copright holders is strictly prohibited. Violators
will be chopped into small pieces and sold as
pork hot dogs to be eaten by barbarians.
Story and photos by
Richard Ehrenberg, SAE
ver the years, we’ve done tech
articles, and then we’ve done
tech articles—those doorbuster
tweaks and mods that clearly
raise the bar, improving the performance of
our old Mopars so drastically that they
become almost legendary. Hop-ups in this
category can be counted on the fingers of
one hand; in fact, there are really only three
that fit into this “stupendous” category: Our
famous disc brake swap, our ongoing quest
O
1 MOPAR ACTION
2. Why is this man smiling? You’d be smiling, too, if your daily driver was a ’68 Charger
R/T, low mileage survivor, with a way-cool 5-speed manual that, from any view except
road kill’s, look dead stock. He’s also smiling ’cause he probably counting all the
money he’s gonna make from selling a bazillion of these kits.
for multipoint EFI, and our 1989 conversion
to the beefy A-518 overdrive automatic
transmission. We’ve thought, for at least a
decade: Gee, too bad there’s no corresponding modern manual overdrive trans
swap that we could swap in. Well, thanks to
a very determined—and clever—Mopar
enthusiast by the name of Shafi Keisler, and
his killer CAD/CAM machine shop, now
there is!
Yeah, we know, you could have always
bolted in the mid-’70s (and up) overdrive
version of the A-833. But, while this does,
obviously, give you the overdrive feature, the
way it does this is less than desirable.
Simply put, what the engineers did is
change third gear from underdrive to
overdrive, then flip over the shift lever so, to
the driver, third becomes fourth and viceversa. If you have a very mildly tuned,
stump-puller, low-RPM mill, this works okay.
But as soon as you use this O.D. trans with
any kind of performance engine (Chrysler
never did, by the way) the major-league
drawbacks of the huge ratio spreads
become obvious (see chart, page 62) Plus,
being a small-spline, fine-pitch gearset, this
trans is rather limited in torque capacity.
And there are some who question the
advisability of the O.D. A-833’s basic
design, which has the countershaft floating
in the case (for gear rattle suppression.)
Then there was the Doug Nash/Richmond
box, but, despite its availability in a Mopar
input configuration, the reminder of the
installation required so much other majorleague cobbling that its desirability was
vastly diminished. Plus, there’s no overdrive
ratio. We spoke to several DNE/Richmond
owners and none were totally satisfied, most
quoting noise and hard shifting at the top of
their list. And what of the Viper’s Tremec T56 6-speed? Forget it. It has an integral
bellhousing that won’t fit any Mopar V-8.
You’d need the Chevy version, which would
be a tough swap, due to the massive case
and the all-wrong shifter location. And all
the truck based 5-speeds are just that: truck
transmissions, with super-low creeper first
gears in the 4:1 range, not to mention a
whole host of other swapability issues.
The A-833 is known as the strongest (and
heaviest) passenger car manual transmission on the planet, so any trans that is going
to fill the shoes of this legendary gearbox
had better have some pretty big feet. And
Shafi found one that does: The Tremec TKO
series of gearboxes. How this transmission
came into being is rather interesting. It’s
weaker sister, the T-3550 (still reasonably
strong, rated at 350 ft./lbs.) was intended to
replace the fragile T-5 (picture saltines
breaking up and the crumbs being dropped
from Paul Bunyan’s huge fingers into a bowl
of chicken soup) used in Mustangs, etc. The
3550 found it’s way (OEM) into the limitedproduction late-’90s high-output Cobra-R
’Stangs. With that project, by all accounts,
extremely successful, Tremec realized that
there might be a large aftermarket demand
for a beefy 5-speed, so the upgraded,
bigger-shaft, extra-strong, TKO and TKO-II
3. Here’s Keisler’s A-body version of the TKO, ready to bolt in. See that giant “notch” in
the case (top, circled?) That’s your torsion bar crossmember. Keisler has engineered room
for it, car-hacking not required—it’s so thorough that Keisler’s been granted U.S. patents
on all this killer design work. Drawing at bottom gives out-of-the-box dimensions.
4. CAD-CAM delight: Mark Keisler designs a needed part, in 3D, on an engineering
office computer that’s networked to the shop’s CNC mill. Voila! Out pops the part.
Keisler has also used his technical prowess to reproduce various Mopar lenses, do
instrument cluster rebuilds and upgrades, etc. The Keislers are lifelong Mopar guys.
(race, close-ratio O.D.) version was
introduced. One upgrade later, and we arrive
at today’s TKO-II. It’s rated at 475 ft./lbs.
and, by all accounts, that’s a superconservative, 24-hours at WOT, 5year/100,000 mile life-cycle rating. A Tremec
engineer confided that up to 700 ft./lbs. of
engine torque, even with a massive
momentary shock load, there will be no
trouble.
Still, being from New York and skeptical
by nature, we said: “Prove it.” See,
discounting metallurgy, something that we
have no easy way of eyeballing, there are
MOPAR ACTION 2
really only three basic factors that affect a
tranny’s strength: The gear face width, the
mainshaft to countershaft dimension, and
the gear pitch (angle of the teeth.) The folks
at Shafi’s shop, Keisler Automotive, in the
’burbs of Knoxville, Tennessee, simply said:
“Here. See for yourself”. And we did. The
verdict? It’s a strong sonofagun, with gear
faces significantly wider than any A-833:
A-833 Hemi main drive pinion face width
0.892˝
A-833 Wedge main drive pinion
0.875˝
Tremec main drive pinion
5. Here’s a close-up showing the incredible re-engineering Keisler makes to adapt the
TKO to all Mopars: Not only is the shifter area of the case highly modified, but that
sheetmetal cover Shafi’s holding in his right hand is a completely new piece that you
won’t find in the Tremec catalog. Bottom pix shows the Tremec’s internal, rail-type
shifter mechanism. Can you say: “Snick. Snick?”
The TKO’s available ratios make it an excellent street transmission:
Trans
A-833 6-cyl
A-833 “common”
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
3.09:1
1.92
1.40
1.00
—
2.66
1.91
1.39
1.00
—
A-833 “T/A” and ’71-up wedge
2.47
1.77
1.34
1.00
—
A-833 O.D.
3.09
1.67
0.73*
1.00*
—
A-833 18-spline ’70-down
2.65
1.93
1.39
1.00
—
A-833 18-spline ’71-up
2.44
1.77
1.34
1.00
—
Tremec TKO-I
3.29
1.98
1.24
1.00
0.68
Tremec TKO-II
3.29
1.98
1.24
1.00
0.83
*Note: The overdrive A-833 utilized an inverted shift lever so 3rd appeared to the driver as 4th, and visa-versa.
3 MOPAR ACTION
1.25˝
A-833 speed gears
0.856
Tremec speed gears
1.04˝
While the countershaft-to-mainshaft
dimension is about 0.2˝ smaller than an 833,
the added gear width, and closer-tostraight-cut gear tooth angle much more
than compensates for this slight slimmingdown. Plus, the TKO’s internal organs are
fabricated of super-strong 4515 steel.
With the Tremec’s modern internal rail
shifter arrangement (photo 5), shifts are
precise and both throws and effort are
commendably small.
The Tremec’s low first gear making is
easy for even a heavy car to launch without
resorting to killer, high-4- or 5-series axle
ratios. And the overdrive 5th guarantees
serene highway cruising. For most streetstrip applications, the ideal axle ratio is
probably somewhere between 3.23 and
3.91. Even with the TKO-II’s 5th gear ratio of
“only” 0.83:1, that 3.91 becomes 3.24. And,
going to extremes, a 3.23 cog, multiplied by
the TKO-I’s 0.68:1, becomes a long-legged
2.20:1 (can you say: 200+ MPH? Or 25
MPG?)
Flipping this analysis around, a car with a
standard-ratio (1970s, 2.44:1) low gear A833 trans and 4.30 gears would accelerate
just as quickly in first with Tremec’s 3.29:1
low gear ratio and a 3.23:1 axle. No matter
how you do the math, the ratios come out
almost all positives. The one minor negative
is the rather large drop from first to second
(a 40% drop), but with any decent displacement to weight ratio this would barely be
noticed. If you wound first to, say, 6500
RPM, you’d be at 3900 when you ripped
second—still well within most Mo’mill’s
power range and almost certainly above
your peak-torque RPM. from second on up
right through 5th, the ratios are reasonably
spaced (see chart below.) If you’d like a
comprehensive set of ratio/speed/RPM
charts, see the Keisler website.
The synchronizers themselves are very,
very similar to the old faithful A-833. In fact,
they looked so similar that we tried to slip
an 833 brass stop ring on a Tremec clutch
hub (see fig. 12). It fits perfectly. The dog
teeth also look 100% identical to the old
8. Need proof that Keisler makes the new
BB housings from scratch? Here ya go!
6. Keisler has the bellhousing deal totally covered. For small blocks, you send him your
stock housing, and he modifies it by adding a custom adapter plate which is then
machined on-center. For big blocks, you can do the same, or you can spring for
Keisler’s all-new custom casting. He can also convert Lakewood scattershields.
7. Keisler’s bellhousing isn’t a simple clone of the 1970-up aluminum factory BB/ Hemi
piece—it has bolt patterns for the TKO (as well as the stock stuff), plus it can accept
either flywheel size due to the clever redesign of having two starter locations.
833 parts. And, if you recall, slick-shifted
833s got by just fine with every other dog
tooth cut off. So we expect no breakage
problems there.
With endplay-adjusted Timken tapered
roller bearings on all shafts, the Tremec
promises one major driveability improvement over the 833: way less driveline lash.
No more clunk! clunk! when you get on, off,
and on the gas. And less lash means less
chance for parts breakage during those
banzai, Chebby-crushing, FoMoCo-frying
launches.
Analyzing the basic overall shape of the
big-boy Tremecs, Shafi began to analyze the
fitment problems and set out to engineer
9. Where’s the beef? Here! The TKO’s
input splines are just as beefy as the
legendary Hemi A-833. Now look at the
Tremec’s awesome tapered roller bearing
design (A.) Next, compare the main drive
pinions gear width: a full 1.25˝ wide (B.)
The Hemi unit is only 0.892˝ wide (C), and
the wedge version is about 0.020˝
narrower than that. Plus, the Tremec has
a shallower gear angle—the closer to
straight-cut the gears are, the greater the
torque they can handle. Check the
closeup for proof of the obvious strength.
workarounds and mods to make the
installation an in-your-garage, on-your-back
deal achievable by anyone with a $59.95
Craftsman 3/8˝-drive socket set. Eventually
this quest bore fruit in the form of fully
engineered kits to fit virtually all muscle-era
MOPAR ACTION 4
10. One obvious result of the Tremec’s all-tapered-roller-bearing design: You can’t
wiggle the input shaft around like on an A-833! Instead, it feels totally rigid.
11. Same happy story with the speed gears. Advantage: Tremec, with gear faces 22%
wider than a Hemi 833. And, again, significantly shallower gear angles. Plus, plus!
13. The only place where the Tremecs fall
a tad short of the 833 is in the center-tocenter measurement. But we are 100%
sure that the huge gear face width
increase in the Tremec, as well as the
reduced gear angle, makes it a significantly stronger tranny.
Mopars. And they all share, with one small
exception (more on that in a minute), the
true bolt-in traits of a swap that will have
mass appeal. Seeing these kits, we decided
to take an extended hands-on look (the
grease is still under our fingernails) but only
after doing a thorough analysis of both the
original transmission and the installations.
So, for this, the first of a two-part series,
we’ll continue to concern ourselves mainly
with an overview of the Keisler kits and
analyzing the internals of the Tremec TKO
tranny itself. Next issue we’ll actually swap
one in and report on any problems encountered and report on what it’s like to drive
one on the street (in the famous Green
Brick, naturally!) So let’s begin, logically
enough, at the front:
BELLHOUSING/CLUTCH/INPUT
SHAFT
12. Here’s a mind-warping proof of beef: A Tremec speed gear accepts a A-833
synchro stop ring! While we didn’t get out the ten-thousandths-reading micrometer,
they appear identical. The upshot: there’s no lack of synchronizer strength in the
Tremec boxes.
5 MOPAR ACTION
At 4.85˝, the TKO’s input pilot size is quite
a bit larger than a standard fine-spline A-833
(4.35˝) and a tad larger than the Hemi (4.81˝),
14. Keisler manufactures—from scratch—
beefy replacement crossmembers that
give the kits true bolt-in status. All use
stock Mustang insulators (more on that
next issue.)
but smaller than the oddball O.D. size (of
5.125˝). No matter, Keisler covers this for all
permutations in either of two clever ways:
Either by taking a stock clutch (bell) housing
and bolting/dowel pinning, securely, a heavy
steel plate to it’s rear face, then machining a
new pilot hole in said plate, located correctly
off the dowel pins, for the Tremec.
Optionally, on big-blocks and Hemis, Keisler
can supply an all-new cast aluminum
housing that looks very similar to the stock
1970-up factory offering but is available with
the Tremec pilot size and bolt pattern. This
second option is indeed good news for
those who have combed countless swap
meets looking for an uncracked aluminum
big-block bell.
Over the years, there have been more
swap-related, Smith-and-Wesson in your
mouth hassles involving Mopar’s use of
multiple flywheel sizes and crank bolt
patterns than we’ll ever know. 130, 143, or
172 teeth—each require their own clutch
housing, and, in the case of the 172 (’66-’69
Hemis only) a truly oddball starter. Keisler’s
new housing (fig. 7) is designed to accommodate either of the two common sizes (130
and 143)—it does this by the simple
expedient of having two starter mounting
locations! If you own a ’66-’69 4-speed
Hemi, you want to move to a 143 or 130
tooth flywheel and a Keisler housing. Trust
us on this! You might even want to go dualdisc. The choices are endless.
The Tremec’s front bearing retainer
release bearing sleeve O.D. is slightly larger
than stock Mopar, this is easily handled by
the use of a custom-bored bearing carrier,
which is supplied with all kits. If the bearing
itself ever needs replacement, a new stock
bearing is easily installed on the modified
carrier.
15. Similarly, the “stick” situations is handled professionally. From semi-finished
pieces, top, to ready-to-ship beauties, all fabrication is done in house, save chrome
plating. Keisler is licensed to put the Hurst name on as required. In some cases, you
can re-use your stock stick.
The TKO’s input shaft is a little over an
inch shorter than the 833s. Shafi used this
seemingly—negative factor to his advantage: it doesn’t come anywhere close to the
stock pilot bushing. Shafi has designed a
new needle-bearing pilot arrangement, very
similar to what’s used on late-model
Magnum V8s—it simply presses (hammers)
into the crankshaft’s torque converter pilot
I.D. area. So even if your bushing has spun
in the crank, wiping it out, or the crank isn’t
reamed, or even drilled, for a bushing (as
are most cast cranks from A.T. cars), there’s
no problem or hassles—the new goodies
just drop in.
The TKO’s inputs splines are 1-1/8˝, 26
spline teeth, the same as what on a latemodel 350 Camaro. This is obviously way
beefier than the common 1˝, 23-spline A-833
stuff, and, owing to the fine-spline status,
which allows a larger root diameter, it’s also
certainly as strong as the Hemi 833’s 1-3/16˝
18-spline arrangement. This now-common
spline size also allows for your choice
amongst a bazillion clutches—Chevy and
Mopar flywheel bolt patterns are identical.
And, you really don’t even need a new
pressure plate unless yours is toast—just a
new Camaro-splined disc.
The rest of the front of the trans area is
unchanged, so the clutch linkage, fork, boot,
pivot, linkage, etc., all bolt up like dead
stock—because they are.
SHIFTER
This is one area where Keisler’s
CAD/Cam magic really shines. In almost all
variations of the kit, the shifter comes
through the stock floor pan opening, stock
console opening, and uses the stock boot
(both boots on a console application.) In
some cases the stock Hurst shift lever
(handle) can be retained! Pistol grip? No
MOPAR ACTION 6
16. Even pistol grips are covered—
literally, with a way-cool 5-speed-pattern
crystal
problem! Shafi even supplies stockappearing balls and pistol-grip crystals
emblazoned with the 5-speed pattern
To get the shifters in the stock location
required quite a bit of engineering.
Depending on the application, the case is
machined and new brackets are designed,
and/or a revised, newly-designed lever is
supplied—even in this case, it’s still deadstock appearing. While we write about this
in a few sentences, this development work
actually consumed thousands of development hours and testing with several
engineers and machinists, a bazillion
calculations, and plenty of testing and trialfitting to get right. The Tremec’s basic
design, with no less than three optional
shifter locations designed-in, also contributed to this magic.
In one application, the A-body (which, as
you might expect, is the toughest because
of it’s small, tight-fitting floor pan/ trans
tunnel), the shifter peeks through the floor
slightly to the right of the stock location. An
add-on tunnel-kit piece of sheet steel is
supplied, and a new, stock-appearing lever
puts the ball in the stock location. With an
A-body console car, the lever is actually way
less contorted than stock, and comes
through the console as stock.
Since the Tremec’s native shifter location
is dead center, it doesn’t care if the car is
LHD or RHD. Aussie and Brit readers, are
you paying attention here?
FLOOR PAN/CROSSMEMBER
All Keisler kits, whether for a ’62 B-body
or ’74 E-body, or anything in between, are
supplied with a brand-new, heavy steel,
cad-plated, bolt-in rear crossmember. No
hacking is required—using a stock (or
urethane aftermarket) late-model Mustang
7 MOPAR ACTION
17. Do you get the shaft at Keisler? Uh, yes! A new super-quality, thickwall, D.O.M.
tubing driveshaft is included so everything bolts in. It’s dynamically balanced, too.
18. Here’s the B-body kit—ready to bolt in. And we do mean bolt in! This swap is no
harder than changing your clutch!
19. Same deal for the E-body kit. Start twistin’ the wrenches, Vern. And you can go
home—this swap is reversible, no hacking or cutting required.
rear mount, it just slips in place. All
hardware is supplied. (Slight trimming is
required to the floor pan shifter opening on
pre-’70 B-bodies. All parts, and a template,
are supplied.)
On a similar note, excepting the aforementioned cases, zero floor pan mods are
required—zero! This is another result of
Keisler’s CNC trans case modifications—
due to the aforementioned fact that a stock
TKO has no less than three optional shifter
locations, some parts of the case can be
milled away, as required, to gain X-member
clearance where needed. This is part of the
attention-to-detail theme permeating Shafi’s
entire operation. In fact, this major redesign
The Tremec is also a rather svelte unit,
being housed, as it, in a die-cast,
computer-aided-designed case:
Weight (with shifter
but no stick)
Transmission
All-aluminum A-body
A-833 (never built!)
83 lbs.
Overdrive aluminum
A-833 (iron side cover)
87 lbs.
Tremec 3550
94 lbs.
Tremec TKO
100 lbs.
All-iron A-body A-833
115 lbs.
All-iron B/E body
18-spline A-833
121 lbs.
DETAILS, DETAILS
20. All kits are complete. A and B are late and early speedo cables. C is the clutch lineup tool, and D is the speedo cable retainer. E is the backup light pigtail, F is the supertrick pilot roller bearing, and G is the custom release bearing. The rest is nuts and
bolts. Just add labor and go!
Shafi has covered all the bases. A
custom speedo cable is included which
allows a stock Ford speedo pinion, available
with tooth counts to allow correct speedo
reading up to 4.10 gears, to bolt in any
Mopar, whether equipped with the pre-1968
threaded speedo-end nipple, or the ’68-up
push-on design. For a wider choice of
gearing, the internal gear can also be
swapped, allowing dead-nuts speedo
accuracy from 2.XX to 5.XX axle ratios and
virtually any tire size!
A simple 2-wire pigtail (supplied) allows
the Tremec backup light switch to operate
your stock lights. The Tremec also has a
neutral safety switch. While this is easily
blocked off, it could also be wired to the
starter relay on cars that are being converted from automatic trans (Shafi keeps a
supply of used pedal assemblies and
linkage in stock for just such cases), it could
also be wired in place of the stock clutch
switch on ’70-up cars, saving wear and tear
on the crank’s thrust bearing during startup.
CONCLUSION
21. And here’s our guinea pig—the Kesiler/Tremec A-body setup, ready to bolt in—
which is exactly what we’re gonna do. Stay tuned, you’d better re-up your subscription, fast.
of the Tremec is really what makes the entire
swap feasible without major (or any,
excepting the A-body) butchery to the
vehicle itself. Don’t come away with the
impression that you can buy any ol’ TKO,
and 10 minutes with a hacksaw, will get you
goin’. It wont! It’s major-league engineering
that makes the installation possible.
DRIVESHAFT
This is handled simply by Keisler
supplying an all-new, super-beefy, dynamically balanced D.O.M.—tubing driveshaft,
utilizing the strong Spicer 1330 U-joint up
front, mated to the Tremec slip yoke. Out
back, it’s supplied with a 7260, 7290, or
1330 U-joint—whatever your rear axle’s
yoke requires.
While this has no bearing on the actual
swap, it’s worth noting that the stock
Tremec rear seal has the very desirable
weather boot built in, just like the stock
Mopar designs. Truly all-weather streetable.
While certainly not a lowbuck conversion,
the buy-in is surprisingly reasonable. For
reasons of utility, efficiency, and, manly, pure
joy, this swap has clearly joined the ranks of
the three listed in our opening paragraph.
Praise doesn’t come much higher than
that—it’s one of only 4 superstars in 12
years! Stay tuned to this channel for the
greasy installation gore.
★
SOURCE:
Keisler Automotive Engineering,
2216B West Governor John Sevier Hwy.,
Knoxville, TN 37920; Voice (865) 6098187; FAX (865) 609-8287;
www.keislerauto.com;
E-mail: info@keislerauto.com
MOPAR ACTION 8
EXCELLENT SWAPS DEPT
Add another gear in an afternoon!
Story and Photos by
Richard Ehrenberg, SAE
kay, we all agree, the
Keisler/Tremec TKO looks great
on paper. But exactly how much
of a hassle is it to install? The
answer: not much, although the level of
bitchiness varies a bit depending on the
model of car you’re wrenching on. For ’71up B-bodies, and all E-bodies, you’re
looking at a total bolt-in, not so much as
0.001 inch of sheet metal need be disturbed. On pre-’71 Bs, the total extent of the
mod consists of moving the oval cutout in
the floor pan ’tunnel adapter’ over a bit, and
bolting down a Keisler-supplied block-off
plate. If your ’70-down B-body doesn’t have
a console, you’ll need new carpeting to
cover the trim job.
On A-bodies (all 1967-’76 cars are
included) the floor pan needs a bit more
brain salad surgery. Nothing that you can’t
O
9 MOPAR ACTION
hen we last left this space, we had
analyzed Keisler Automotive’s kits,
which allow their modified Tremec TKO 5speed transmissions to be installed in AB- and E-body Mopars. We determined
that they are beefy units, and that Keisler
apparently has done a good job engineer-
W
ing the installation—or has he? For this,
the final installment, we actually install one
to find out. Not being ones to shrink from
a challenge, we chose the most difficult
swap—an A-body. We also report here on
what it’s like to drive, how it shifts, how
the ratios work out, etc.
easily do with a nibbler, saber saw, etc., but
surgery nonetheless. A template is provided
by Keisler that shows exactly where to trim.
You then install (tack weld) a new preformed sheet steel tunnel adapter, which
has a pre-cut opening that accepts your
stock shifter boot and trim ring. There are
two versions of this adapter, one for cars
that were originally equipped with a four
speed tranny, and one for cars that are
being swapped from automatic. This means
that, when swapping from a T-Flite to the
shift-it-yourself 5-speed, there’s no need to
procure an original (or clone) ‘tunnel kit’.
Our project car was originally 3-speed
stick (on the column), and had been
swapped eons ago to an A-833 4-speed, so
the tunnel bulge was already in place. Since
our installation was performed (in very early
January 2002) we’ve convinced Keisler to
make a small redesign to his kit, adding a
flange around the edge which would allow it
to be pop-riveted in place, expanding sales
to those who don’t own MIGs. But, in reality,
there’s such little welding required that you
can simply offer your MIG-equipped buddy
a few six-packs (the liquid kind) and he’ll be
done in ten minutes.
The Keisler crew is also hard at work
designing the needed components (pedal,
linkage, etc.) to be able to supply everything
necessary for an automatic to 5-speed
swap. Think of it: one stop shopping, no
swap meet, junk yard, or eBay searches
necessary!
The accompanying photos detail the step
by step installation, which turned out to
mostly live up to its advance billing—
straightforward and extremely well thought
out. You can perform this entire installation
in very little more time than a normal clutch
R&R, especially on a B- or E- body.
As we detailed in the first installment, not
only has Keisler covered the major items,
such as assuring that the shift knob winds
up in the stock location, the crossmember
bolts in, etc., but even the small details are
looked after, such as supplying a
speedometer cable and the correct pinion
gear. The Tremec uses a slightly different
speedo gear arrangement than Mopar’s
ubiquitous A-833/904 /727 etc. Instead of
having an adapter that can be rotated to
accommodate a huge range of gears, the
adapter is small, and fixed in it’s location—
very, very similar, in fact, to the stock ’65down Mopar design. This normally precludes having a wide range of gears, but
what the Tremec engineers have done is to
also make the drive gear (on the output
shaft) interchangeable—so, no matter how
insane your choice of gears or tires,
Keisler’s got’cha covered.
THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING
IS IN....
But what’s it like to drive? In a word, nice.
In three words, a total pleasure.
Due to Keisler’s cloning of the stock
Hurst lever and big white knob (pistol grips
and “wood” balls also available), you’re
1. Here’s our Keisler/Tremec TKO-II 5-speed, ready to bolt in. The Keisler kit includes
everything you need: a new crossmember, driveshaft, speedo cable, shifter handle, etc.
2. First step is—duh!—removing the old tranny and bellhousing. If you need us to tell
you how to do that, you should be reading Car Craft.
3. On A-bodies—only!—the floor pan
needs a small lobotomy. A full-size
template, supplied with the kit, shows
exactly where to slice and dice. You can
use a saber saw, nibbler, plasma cutter,
small nuclear device...whatever works for
you.
4. Also only on the A-body, you need to
trim the front lip of the T-bar crossmember. Clearance to the tranny’s shift tower
is still very snug; can be improved with a
few flatwashers between the engine
mount ears on the block and the mount
brackets.
MOPAR ACTION 10
5. A worm’s-eye view of the hacked A-body floor pan. Don’t worry, this all gets very
neatly covered
10. We went with a beefy McLeod clutch
disc (left), sized to fit our existing 10.5˝
pressure plate. Note 2 more hub springs
than our old MP one (right), one extra
drive lug, etc. It’s obviously up to the
task, and then some. The clutch and
pressure plate are installed as usual.
Keisler supplies a clutch alignment tool.
6. The Keisler-modified bellhousing bolts
in like stock. On big-block, you have the
option of an all-new casting from Keisler.
8. With the new bellhousing bolted in, you
should check the runout between the
crank and the housing’s pilot hole using a
dial indicator (circled.) Corrections are via
the usual offset dowels. This procedure is
covered in detail in virtually any Mopar
FSM.
7. Your flywheel need not change. The
Keisler pilot bearing installs in the torque
converter recess. Makes no difference if
you have an old pilot bushing, or an
unreamed or undrilled crank. The Keisler
kit fits with any or all variations.
preconditioned to expect it to feel like an A833. And, to a certain extent, it does. Very
metallic and solid, just like a brand-new ’60s
Mopar. But, in actuality, the shift throws are
shorter. Usually, this translates into
increased effort, but that’s not true here.
Effort is certainly no greater than any ’833
we’ve ever driven, although not as low as
11 MOPAR ACTION
11. Fill the trans with fluid. GM
Synchomesh fluid is recommended, GM
P/N 12345349.
12. Now heft the Tremec up into place.
You’ll appreciate the lightweight aluminum alloy case right about now.
9. A standard Mopar release bearing, on a
slightly modified sleeve, is used. Install it
on the clutch fork as usual.
modern FWD Mopars (with the dual-cone
paper synchros) but a lot more precise and
slop-free.
The shift pattern comes in for some
criticism. It’s a 3-plane gate setup, just like a
Hurst. And reverse is unprotected, just like a
15. The Keisler driveshaft, a beefy DOMtubing, Spicer-U-joint piece, drops right
in like stock.
16. All finished down below. Fits like the
proverbial glove, too. No problems with
exhausts, clutch linkage, etc., which can
remain dead stock.
13. The Keisler crossmember allows everything to bolt in as stock. You can use either
a stock Ford rubber mount, or a beefy polyurethane one from ProThane (shown) or
Energy Suspension.
Hurst-equipped ’833. But, unlike a Hurst
setup, the spring loading for reverse is only
marginally stronger than the spring for the 12 side. (The normal resting place for the
Tremec stick is the 3-4 plane). Reverse is
further over to the right than 5th, so shifting
inadvertently to reverse isn’t much of a
problem. But making a 5-4 downshift
requires a conscious effort, at least at first,
to not get hung up in the crossover. After a
few hours of acclimation, though, it
becomes second nature. Still, the shift
pattern on ’90-up Mopar passenger cars is
a better design, in our view (see figure 22).
Power shifting is easy, even the some-
17. Back upstairs, it looks pretty raw right
now. Again, none of this hacking is
required on B or E-bodies, and it’s not
really as bad as it looks, ’cause...
14. Keisler supplies speedo cable and
pinions for all permutations..
times-troublesome ‘cross gate’ 2-3 shift.
Due to the Tremec’s more direct shifting
mechanism, there’s zero ambiguity. Gone,
however, is that famous Hurst snick noise
on the 2-3, but that’s progress.
Transmission noise, overall, is about on a
par with a good, fresh A-833. Since the shift
MOPAR ACTION 12
18. ...a neatly finished tunnel kit is
included. It fits right in like it was made
to go there, mainly ’cuz it was!
22. The actual Tremec shift pattern is a little different that the Mopar passcar 5-speed
setup. But it works just fine after a few minutes acclimation.
19. Our early kit required welding to
install. Current versions have a flanged
lip that will allow the option of pop
riveting or SEMS-screwing if you so
desire.
23. Topside finishing requires new
carpeting on A, and pre-’71 B-bodies. We
began be installing some extra heat
insulation (“Reflectix”) from Home Depot.
24. A standard 4-speed carpet set fits
fine. We got this great resto (loop-pile)
set from Legendary Auto Interiors. Like
everything from those guys, it’s topnotch. We always begin the carpet
installation at the deepest molded are—
the rear footwell outer corners. This
correctly “locates” the rear carpet. Work
it right up into the corner.
20. The Keisler stick bolts right on like
stock, and places the knob (or pistol grip)
in exactly the stock location. Stock
boot(s) is/are used, too.
21. Keisler even supplies a 5-speed
pattern for the pistol grip setups.
13 MOPAR ACTION
25. The next trick is to use a few bolts and large flatwashers to hold the carpet in place
for trimming—these go through the seat holes in the floor pan. Then drop in the front
set. The “locating dowel” for it is the heel pad, which should be under the pedals and
virtually flush against the side of the tunnel.
27. All done. Looks very much like stock, but works a whole bunch better.
26. The excellent Legendary set is
designed to fit both 111 and 108˝ Abodies, so it’s pretty large at the overlap
point and some slicing is required.
Remember, is easy to make a second cut,
but hard to undo one that went too far!
lever is directly, metallically, connected to
the gearbox, some gear noise is transmitted
into the cabin. But, due to the Tremec’s
Timken-bearing design, there’s noticeably
less lash or slop when crawling along with
slow-moving traffic, and this reduction is
very noticeable and welcome.
There’s been quite a bit of discussion
about the Tremec’s ratios. Make no mistake:
this is an excellent street-performance
transmission with a ratio spread wide
enough to launch a heavy car with tall
gears, and bring the cruise RPM level at
extra-legal velocities down to smileproducing levels. We discussed the exact
ratios last time, so we won’t belabor the
point. But ponder these truths: to get the
same (actually, a tad better) 1st-gear launch
velocity as a 2.66:1 first gear A-833 with,
say, 4.30 gears, you’d only need 3.55s with
the TKO. And, even with the TKO-IIs nonetoo-tall overdrive, that 3.55 cog would
effectively become 2.94s. Can you say: “gas
mileage?” Or: “reduced engine wear”?
Without getting into another mathematical
analysis (you can do that to your heart’s
content on the Keisler website), let’s just say
that 3.55:1 gears seem to be the right
choice for a majority of applications, with
3.23 and 3.90 being the options. In our
case, we went outside the box with 2.94s,
primarily due to our extremely small
diameter tire size and quest for tripledouble-nickel terminal velocities.
28. Here’s Keisler’s survivor Charger R/T, woodgrain shift knob and all.
Now, if you have an all-out drag car, with
a very narrow powerband, .750˝ lift cam,
tunnel ram, etc., this simply isn’t the
transmission for you. You don’t even want a
manual—you want an automatic with a very
loose torque converter to keep the revs up
at all times, and the deepest possible axle
ratio. But for a dual-purpose street machine,
one that’s driven to the drags a half-dozen
times a year, cruised every weekend, and
maybe even daily-driven, the Keisler setup
is sweet as sugar. And it’s beefy enough for
those occasional 10-sec strip runs—if
you’ve got the HP, the Tremec has the
torque capacity.
And let’s not forget what actually caused
the Mopar Action team to gravitate towards
the Tremec in the first place: the virtually
unobtainable nature of A-833 hard parts.
New gears and shafts are virtually impossible to find at a price that’s affordable. After
having gone through several supposedly
“mint” gearsets, we threw in the towel, and
we’ll never look back.
And after having driven with this trans for
a few months, we now only use the rearview
to see Chebby grilles getting smaller and
smaller...
★
SOURCE:
Keisler Automotive Engineering,
2216B West Governor John Sevier
Hwy., Knoxville, TN 37920; Voice: (865)
609-8187; FAX: (865) 609-8287; Web:
www.keislerauto.com; E-mail:
info@keislerauto.com
MOPAR ACTION 14