Aftermarket Product ReviewProvide questions and answers about aftermarket parts for the Third Generation F-Body.
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I have noticed one or two signatures listing a ROD transmission but have not seen any threads discussing them. Does any one have thoughts on this transmission? I installed one 20 months ago. The installation was straight forward as it was a bolt in replacement with the exception of needing to change the yoke on my drive shaft. I did notice that it was mildly difficult to shift into 1st and reverse until the clutch (Centerforce Dual Friction) had worn for about 9 months. If anyone else has installed a ROD transmission please let me know how your installation went.
i don't have one yet but im wanting to get the t56 here soon, how do you like it and did you have to buy any conversion kit? Also another question.. im putting 550hp or around there you know if the dual friction will hold?
I like the close ratio gearing on the Richmond which is different than the T-56's setup. The richmond is a bolt in replacement for the T-5 with the exception of needing to change the yoke on the drive shaft and replace the transmission mount (which is supplied by richmond but I got a beefier version from spohn). I'm not producing near 550 hp and I don't have sticky tires so I don't know if the the dual friction would hold that level of power.
Yes, it is working fine. As I mentioned above it seems to be working better than when I first installed it presumably because the clutch has worn a bit. I drove the car from Seattle to Baltimore and have used it as a daily driver for about 2 years now. I should mention that the spohn transmission mount worked fine but the included torque arm had to be rather highly modified in order to bolt in.
one did you just use a stock bell housing cause i cant find a bell housing for it and two do you know what the torque specs for this tranny where i should be making around 500 oh and any sugestions i will be converting from an auto
If you buy the t-5 replacement version of the Richmond then it is purely a bolt in replacement for the t-5, same bell housing, clutch, speedometer hookup, backup light hookup etc. It does ship with the needed cross member but it is kinda dinky angle iron (I purchased the Spohn richmond conversion cross member but it did not properly fit and required heavy modification). The new shifter and linkage ships with the transmission as well.
If you have a newer camaro with an electronic speedometer then getting a signal interface from: http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.c...rod/prd126.htm
will make calibrating your speedometer after the conversion easier.
The output of the richmond transmission does not match the stock yoke on the camaro drive shaft, but the literature on the Richmond website tells you what yoke you need to make it fit.
I have not found any info on the spec for the ROD 6 speed, but richmond does offer a 5 speed overdrive transmission rated at 600 ft-lbs as a bolt in replacement for the t-5 so if you need a really beefy transmission that may be the way to go.
I am consider putting a richmond 5 speed in my 85 iroc that i am upgrading with an ls3... it sounds like you guys are happy with your richmonds, how does the long shifter work with the console / boot on the interior? everything fit up like factory without any trouble and look good?
I've been toying with the idea of putting in a Richmond ROD 6 Speed when I get around to working on my car (currently have a 700R4), but I've not found a whole lot of info about it. According to what I've read in this thread, you can use the T5 bellhousing for the ROD 6 speed, but I can't find a flywheel for an internally balanced engine. Also, since it comes with a crossmember, what aftermarket torque arm options would work with it?
I reused the stock bellhousing, flywheel and hydraulic clutch setup. I used a 383 with the one piece rear main seal and the engine builder said the stock flywheel was fine. I suppose if you needed a neutrally balanced flywheel a machine shop ought to be able to balance one for you.
I thought the crossmember that came with the transmission was dinky so I purchased a crossmember setup from spohn and chose to get a new torque arm from them as well. The of the crossmember was great, however, the new torque arm required heavy modification to fit properly.
how much was this transmission? do you know how much hp and tq its rated for?
Hey brody,
Found a guy over on Nasty Z28 thats running a Richmond 6 speed on a 750hp, 675ft/lbs BBC road racer for a couple years without a problem. I think that answers any questions we have as to how beefy this thing is.
I reused the stock bellhousing, flywheel and hydraulic clutch setup. I used a 383 with the one piece rear main seal and the engine builder said the stock flywheel was fine. I suppose if you needed a neutrally balanced flywheel a machine shop ought to be able to balance one for you.
I thought the crossmember that came with the transmission was dinky so I purchased a crossmember setup from spohn and chose to get a new torque arm from them as well. The of the crossmember was great, however, the new torque arm required heavy modification to fit properly.
As delivered from spohn the torque arm directly impacted the Long (brand name) shifter which came with the ROD. The Spohn torque arm basicly consists of a tube with thread on the inside which bushing screw into on either end (near the transmission and the rearend). In order to install the spohn torque arm I had to cut off about 3/8 of an inch of the of the torque arm tube from the front and back thereby making it short enough to actually fit into the car.
I am running the richmond ROD six speed in my 91. I recommend that you use a different bell housing because if your clutch ever blows up the cast aluminum will NOT stop the clutch pieces from coming through the floor and then there is a great potential for personal injury. I am using a lakewood bell housing with mine. If you use the lakewood bell housing you have to make sure to use a long style throw out bearing because the added depth of the bell housing. I have a centreforce billet flywheel and a hays throw out bearing with my centreforce clutch. As for the torque arm, I used the BMR adjustable trak pak torque arm with a weld in cross member. This setup works great because the torque arm does not bolt to the transmission anymore thus reducing the risk of snapping the tail shaft if you are producing a lot of power.
