Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

67ss · 1K+ Club

Richmond 5 speed transmission

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

If Im not mistaken i think the are a reworked version of the old Doug Nash 5 speed..

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Chris, if the fifth gear is one to one, what are the other four gears?

SShink · 3K+ Club

I think these used to be popular for a closer gear ratio and being stronger than a Muncie?

67ss · 1K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
Chris, if the fifth gear is one to one, what are the other four gears?

The theory was it has a steep first gear to make it come out of the hole good but using like 2.73 or 3.08 rear end gears to keep the revs down on the freeway. See ratio's below. Doing some math with a 3.08 gear and 28-29 inch tires it would put the motor about 2400-2500 at 70 mph.

I was looking at the keisler that you have but I want the first gear ratio of the rs600 but I don't want to pay the bigger price when I can get by with the rs400.

1st Gear3.28
2nd Gear2.13
3rd Gear1.57
4th Gear1.24
5th Gear 1.00

67ss · 1K+ Club

Tony Hoffer wrote:
If Im not mistaken i think the are a reworked version of the old Doug Nash 5 speed..

Yes you are correct.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Chris if you can wait untill late spring (if I have it back together) you could take mine for a test drive before you buy. The RS 600 is out of production, replaced by the 700.

My RS 500 has, 3.37 first, 1.99 second, 1.33 third, 1.00 forth, and 0.67 fifth.

With 3.08 gears in the back and 26.5 tires it equates to 4.11 coming out of the hole and turns 1950 rpm at 70 mph. Best of all, it is very quite.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Tony Hoffer wrote:
If Im not mistaken i think the are a reworked version of the old Doug Nash 5 speed..

67ss wrote:
Yes you are correct.

Thats what I always understood as well. I dont know anyone thats ever had one.

Scott Parkhurst · Super Poster

I've driven a car with the Richmond 5-spd for several hundred miles (a pal's car) and when I stepped up to a manual for my own car, I chose the T56. What does that tell ya?

The Richmond is okay. It feels tough- rachety shifts, a bit of whine...it feels like a super-tough trans should. However..

...it's tough to shift past 6,000 rpm (important if you have any plans to go to a track- any track) and isn't as strong as you'd think.

My reworked T56 (by Rockland Standard) shifts a bit smoother to any RPM, doesn't whine, and easily upgrades to hydraulic clutches (with stock LT1 bellhousing/plumbing).

The T56 does require floor mods- no doubt about that. I didn't care- you might.

The double-overdrive gear design bumped MPG to 20+ on the freeway by dropping rpm to 1700 or so at typical highway speeds (~70).

If you're going to jump into a manual trans upgrade, look hard at the T56.