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Old 02-11-2019, 01:21 PM   #2
SeventyOne
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oakland, Ca
Posts: 1,359
Re: Enginge/Trans opinions

There's going to be a lot of opinion thrown around but really this comes down to your preferences and tolerances.

If you enjoy shifting and all that go with a manual. I have a '64 F100 that has a 3 speed in it that i originally thought about changing to a automatic for ease of drivability but...i think ive changed my mind and really enjoy banging through the gears. It makes me think more, and be more in tune with the truck - and traffic for that matter - which is sort of the whole point of driving an old rig. At least to me.

My Blazer has a 383 and 700r4 (37" tires and 4.56 gears). Now, I haven't driven it yet since I'm still putting it back together but I personally wanted an overdrive trans so my RPMs are lower at highway speed.

Now that said if you think you'll never see the highway, will you need an OD or even a 5 speed trans?

You need to really think about how the truck will be used and if you DO end up on the highway what are your tolerances for higher RPMs? Using a calculator and putting in your specs with a non-OD trans put you at 2850 at 65 mph. For comparison my K5 would run at 1900rpm at 65mph.

Figure out how you want it to drive then select the best combo for it.

My 2 cents.

Last edited by SeventyOne; 02-11-2019 at 01:36 PM.
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