hammerdown7 wrote:Dwight,
I should add, before you put the 5-speed in, check the gear ratio in the rear axle. If he changed to the 2.53, the engine doesn't have enough low end torque to pull it in 5th gear. I was down that road in '76 trying to stretch mileage. The 4-speed works great with that ratio.
Dick
Yeah, we didn't determine what the ratio was...... I'm sure it is adequate..... the guy seemed to know his stuff quite well.
I'll probably have to pull the cover and count teeth.... I never got a good feeling with the rotating of one wheel and counting drive shaft revolutions.
My '72's 215 V8 and T-50 5-speed pulls the 2.5X ratio great.... I could even pull out in 2nd gear quite easily. I got about 25-27 mpg with that baby. I'm sure I'll hate this automatic..... but it does have a plus..... my N.O.S. '71-'73 trailer hitch will fit this car.
My '72 has a '74-later, larger gas tank and the hitch won't fit it.
The '73 parts car has a supposedly original 3.36 ratio rear still under it. If the auto is totally unfun, maybe I'll swap in the 3.36 to see if that helps.