TKO VS T56?

[Barry_R]

Kinda steering off topic - - but pertains to lots of us. 

Brent - how has your supply been on TKO 600s and clutch parts?  My local guy has been darn near cleaned out lately, and he is/was one of the biggest Tremec WDs in the country.  He said something about increased OE production eating up all the manufacturing capacity.  I have net been truly "hurt" yet, but it's gotten me a little nervous a couple times as we scramble for parts...

[fe66comet]

That is the way of the T56 right now, lots of pics but no transmissions. But that does mean the 600 will be more easily had as Ford, GM and Dodge do away with the five speeds to meet fuel standards. There is even talk of a 4WD version in the works for OEM. It will replace the aging NV 4500 trans in the diesel  truck market.

[chilly460]

Can't really see the need for a T56 other than ultimate strength if you're going big power.  .50 gear is going to only pull 1700rpm running 70mph even with a 4.11, most any hotrod engine is going to be cammed where that is not really a good RPM to pull that much load.  Hard to say as I don't know anyone trying it, maybe stroker in a light car can do it effectively, and OEM stuff does it with taller gears so I'm sure EFI cars can do it.

If you run more than 4.11 with the 2.97 first gear, seems like it's getting too steep.

The close ratio does make some sense with intermediate .82 fifth gear if you want to road race or have a canyon car, but the .63 sixth is same as a TKO for cruising.   

[blykins]

Barry,

I haven't had any issues in getting anything....Tremec, Quicktime, McLeod, or RAM.  Actually I've had better luck with availability on that stuff than I have had with engine parts.  I've been ordering a lot of custom stuff lately though....custom cranks, rods, etc. 

[MustangGT]

I've been running a T56 Magnum behind my Survival 527cid FE for almost a year now and behind a stockish 390 for a year before that.
This is the close ratio version. 3.50 R/P. My car is a 67 Mustang fastback.
I am super happy with it. Shifts like a hot knife through butter.
It is also nice to know that I don't have to have it modified to handle the torque.

Bought a complete kit from American Powertrain which included a Quick Time bell housing and a hydraulic throw out bearing kit. Took a little while from I placed my order and until it showed up but not really a problem since it was winter.
Gray Fredrick at AP was very helpful and answered all my (stupid) questions every time.

When I put in the 527 I replaced the stock pressure plate and sintered AP clutch disc with a McLeod dual disc. Now I've got smooth shifting AND smooth pedal.
Love it! 
It is so nice to take the Mustang for a ride with my wife and stay below 2000rpm on the freeway. Really helps on mpg and db as well.

[chilly460]

How did you like the hydraulic throwout setup?   Considering it for my car, would love to dump the stock linkage.  I have a Galaxie chassis so guessing it won't be a plug and play, but figure Mustang stuff can be adapted, only real difference should be pushrod from the pedal and firewall mounting. 

[cobracammer]

After asking some questions about Tremecs last year on this forum, I ended up buying a T-56 from American Powertrain.  Of course they said I would have all the parts for the kit in 1-2 weeks.  This was last April.  My Quicktime bell didn't arrive until October    As a result I no longer had time to put the car together; hoping that I will be able to get that done after Drag Week this year.  If I run into installation issues I will post them on the forum.

I got my T56 XL from Modern Driveline.  A guy named Paul over there was awesome.  Helped me work out hot to make the T56 work with the FE (without having machine work done to the shaft), worked with Tremec to get me a custom Spacer that works with the FE bell housing and the FE, and got it to me Fast!  I actually contacted American Powertrain first, and after 2 weeks of going back and forth with the tech while he tried to figure out how to make it work, and then how much machine work would need to be done, I didn't have much confidence.  Glad I went with Modern Driveline.

[blykins]

We send them out machined and ready to roll, so you don't have to use any adapters.  The issue isn't really the shaft, it's the front mounting plate (called the midplate). 

Sounds like Modern Driveline basically just had a spacer designed to go between the T-56 and a factory FE bell. 

[cobracammer]

Correct.  When talking to American Powertrain, the tech was going to have the T56 pulled apart and then they were going to shorten the input shaft, then couldn't find a shortened shaft that would work, so was going to have the tech cut the shaft to size and weld back together.  Then he started talking about chargine me by the hour for the fab work and delays due to fabrication.....  Being as expensive as the package was, I just wanted simple and the spacer seemed like a no brainer  :0)

[jayb]

That's weird, they didn't say anything to me about a requirement for any special machine work; the only requirement was to use a particular bellhousing.  After reading all this I think I'd better bolt the transmission and clutch setup to the engine and make sure everything fits OK before I pull the old motor out of the car...

[blykins]

Jay, the biggest issue is how you're are actuating the clutch and which clutch kit you're actuating.  If you're using a twin disc setup, I would look very closely at it before you pull it apart. 

Obviously, if you're using a Quicktime bell, you won't need to shorten the input shaft, but there is some machining that needs to be done to the midplate, along with the fitment of a different pivot ball stud if you're using a fork setup. 

[jayb]

I actually bought the clutch setup from American Powertrain also, and a hydraulic clutch setup too.  So I don't have to worry about the mechanical clutch linkage...

[blykins]

Hydraulic slave or hydraulic bearing?

[MustangGT]

How did you like the hydraulic throwout setup?   Considering it for my car, would love to dump the stock linkage.  I have a Galaxie chassis so guessing it won't be a plug and play, but figure Mustang stuff can be adapted, only real difference should be pushrod from the pedal and firewall mounting.

I like it alot. The bearing itself have a threaded bushing inside so adjusting the clearance is a simple matter of winding the bearing in/out.
The kit also came with an adjustable firewall bracket where the wilwood master cylinder(included) is attached. The bracket can be angled to any desired angle you want to clear stuff and to get a good angle on the rod going to the pedal. An adjustable rod for the pedal is included as well. The bracket attaches through the hole where the stock linkage passes through the firewall.
Only modification to this setup I did was to drill a new hole in the pedal about 1/4" closer to the hinge point to get an even lighter push on the pedal.
My joints hurt so I do whatever I can to ease things

[jayb]

Hydraulic slave or hydraulic bearing?

Hydraulic bearing.