Why not a Richmond?

Although not installed, I've got a Richmond 6 spd. You guys are scaring me about rear gear choice though. Martz Chassis talked me into a 3.89. Hope 1st through 3rd are usable. I've always heard great things about richmond.
 
Although not installed, I've got a Richmond 6 spd. You guys are scaring me about rear gear choice though. Martz Chassis talked me into a 3.89. Hope 1st through 3rd are usable. I've always heard great things about richmond.

You'll be OK so don't sweat it, I had a road race TKO-600 on 3.91's and have the same 6spd Richmond on 4.11s on a 70 302. The Camaro has a T56 on 4.56's. I like the way it feels.
 
Although not installed, I've got a Richmond 6 spd. You guys are scaring me about rear gear choice though. Martz Chassis talked me into a 3.89. Hope 1st through 3rd are usable. I've always heard great things about richmond.

It all depends on which ratio your first gear is on the tranny. If it is 3.27 or 3.28,
your first gear will be too steep with 3.89 or even 3.50, 3.25 would be pushin it .

I have a 5 speed richmond with a 3.28 first gear and I originally had 3.50 gear in the rear, and 1st gear was unusable tooooooooooo steep. my tire size is 25.7"

3.00 is the best bet in my opinion, call Richmond see what they reccomend
 
i honestly think its because not "everyone is doing it" like with the T5's so people dont even think about it...and because there is no convenient swap kits...

i was going to do a richmond until it appeared to be a much harder swap than the T5...so now i think in going to do a T5....but i dono.
 
Good point, but that was my original problem. Does anyone know if there is a reason why you can't grab a stock T-5 bellhousing and seperator plate, along with the rest of parts you would use in a T-5 swap and bolt it all together? Seems like the only thing that would add complication over the T-5 is the crossmember fabrication.

I don't worry about the work per se, I'm concerned with having a pile of unreturnable half-installed parts.
 
Take a look at this picture and you can see that were theres a will theres a way. I had to use an older top laoder bellhousing and centered it up and drilled new holes. Any problems you run into with clutch actuation can be handled by a hyd. throw out bearing. But all of you ?s could be answered by calling Richmond.

http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d6/scatpro/?action=view&current=CIMG2169.jpg
 
oh he could do it, it is very possible..... just not wise.

If you've ever driven a dump truck (or equivelent) in 1st gear, it would be just like that.

If you're considering a Richmond and not sure which rear end gear to run , call Richmnd, they'll tell you run between a 2.75-3.25 depending on your tire height and what the car is being used for. They do make a grat product
 
The Richmond mod was the best decision I ever made. In fact, I am currently in the design stage for adding a Richmond 6 speed to my 05 Mustnag
The best advice I can give is to think about everything ahead of time. While I do give some more specific detail on my webpage http://www.2mfffabshop.com/rod.htm here are some things to consider:
  • Gear Ratio- Do the MATH. Start with your cam specs and where your engine will make power and match the ratios (trans and rear end) accordingly. If you already have a rear end ratio you are using then this limits your choices to adjusting only using the trans ratios. Most people get caught up in the "lower OD is better" and wind up with an overdrive ratio they can never use. I made a simple program (you can also do an excel sheet) that gave me a matrix of gear-speed-rpm. Comparing multiple configurations made it easier to decide.
    Click here for Chart
  • Cross member- Decide where you want to mount it and what you what to make it out of (tube, square, etc). Take into account locations of exhaust, fuel lines, brake lines, electrical, etc. This is often overlooked when the car is minus drivetrain in the build process
  • Drive shaft - You will need to shorten and rebalance in addition to a different yoke.
  • Shifter - The Long (maufacturer) shifter is mounted on the side of the trans., so you will need to modify the trans tunnel opening to allow the shifter to fit up through. If you get the other spec input shaft you will need to make the hole bigger than the one I did in mine. You will then need to decide on a shifter handle and possibly heat/bend the shifter to get a shape that works with your setup
    hole1.jpg
  • Clutch linkage - Decide what type you want (mechanical, cable,hydraulic) and make sure you have the room. With full length headers connecting to a 3" diameter leg of my x pipe I had limited room.
    exh0001.JPG
 
I really wanted a Richmond 6 speed but my reason for not using it was the shifter options. The shifter just will not work with the stock center console. That is the reason I will not be using it. I have chosen to go down the rebuilt t-5 path using g-force upgrade parts which will be able to handle the output of my motor.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2005/12/T5Rebuild/index.php

Just another bit of info for you.

Rufus
 
With regards to the T5, I had a friend which was using one of these behind a 4.0L six cyl Falcon and he was regularly blowing up 2nd or 3rd gear (I can't remember which exactly). This was also a common problem in any performance/racing application. Apparently the problem arisies between the required preload and the alloy housing. To maintain correct clearances at normal operating temperature, a certain clearance is set. When heated (ie in a performance application) the housing expands at a different rate to the gearset, the tolerance is exceeded, a clearance gets too big and things generally go bad!

Don't fret, in any normal driving it will be fine, and there's a couple of things to do to minimise the chance of any failures. One solution is to add an oil cooler to keep the transmission fuid (it IS ATF!) cool. I have heard an additional solution is to run the cooler return oil directly onto 2nd gear.

Another, although expensive option, is to replace the gearset with a straightcut set. this has proven a good solution.