[el camino 59]

i am building a 66 el camino and I have a T-5 borg in as a transmission but it is not strong enough so i am lookin for a tremec tko500 or 600 for chevy applications any leads

[Bryan59EC]

Your best bet would be to buy a new one from Keisler.
Their perfect fit is "ALMOST" just that.

The shifter is relocated to come up in the factory hole, all unnecessary bosses and mounts have been milled off the case and tail housing. All 3 shift towers have been milled down for extra clearance space in the tunnel.

64-67 A-Body cars will require still some floor cutting around the rearmost shift tower for clearance (not an issue in 68+ cars)

Bought one of these for my 66 Elky-----have not yet driven the car, but since I have a TKO II in my 59 Elky, and am quite happy with it, I'm sure the TKO 600 will not disappoint me.

ANY unmodified TKO trans will require some major tunnel surgery and shifter relocations----could be an issue with a bench seat.

Also, you will NOT get a correct driveline angle without cutting the floor on an unmodified trans.

[Graham M]

Another good choice would be a T56 Borg Warner. You can get one from a C5 Corvette, or a 3rd gen Trans am/Camaro or GTO for around $1800 on ebay.
I also wanted a TKO600, but bought an LS1 w/T56 for $4300, turn key.


That tranny can handle 700hp/tq, and is quite a bit better then the TKO variant. The quality control for the T56's is much more strict then that for the Tremec line up's, as I've heard numerous horror stories of countless problems with the TKO series trannies (mainly shifting problems).
Most of them are decent, but its the 1/5 tranny's that has issues that really led me astray from any of the TKO models.
That and the ridiculous prices they warrent really make me wonder about how many people know of any better options. After its said and done, a new TKO600 will set you back $4,000 after you work in a clutch & bell housing. (OR) you can get a much better T56 (slightly used) for less then half that.
I dont know, makes sense to me at least.

[Bryan59EC]

The TKO trannys shift just fine
They DO NOT shift like an external rail shifter at all.
The shifting "issue" is the 2-3 shift at high RPM, and once this is learned
by the new TKO user it is a non issue.

There are other options---- but most will require tunnel surgery that some people do not want to deal with.

And my TKO600----------no where even close to 4k in.

Was costlier than a standard TKO, as I had the modifications done to make it a bolt in with no floor (or little) cutting other than installing the shifter hump.

[el camino 59]

i did look into the t56 but I was told it was "overkill" that it was a whole lot of tranny and would take a lot of mod's to install. The TKO seems to be the right choice and i am trying to save a buck but it seems like the one that has the mill work done already would be a good choice I will look into that and I will post my progress.