71 Demon 340, 3 speed or 4

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eschroeder1

eschroeder1

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OK guys, I can't decide whether to put the 3 speed manual tranny back in my Demon or upgrade to the 4 speed. The car was originally a 3 on the floor. What are the pros and cons of these two tranny options?

Thanks,

Eric
 
keep it original many wrong cars out ther my opinion only will save you $$$$$
 
3 gears equals less shifting!

4 gears more fun!

Original is always nice!

Easy to put the 3-speed back in!

Most people would never know the difference!

Both trans are way better than an auto!!
 
eschroeder1 said:
OK guys, I can't decide whether to put the 3 speed manual tranny back in my Demon or upgrade to the 4 speed. The car was originally a 3 on the floor. What are the pros and cons of these two tranny options?

Thanks,

Eric
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Depends if your going to drive it or just look at it.Go with a 5 speed if your going to drive it.3 speed if your going to just look at it.
 
Put the 4 speed in it and the 3 speed knob. Know one will know.
 
4 speeds in A bodies built after 1967 all had dash-mounted reverse lights.

That having been said, a 3 speed is a weak kneed wimp, if you want to thrash it at some point, the 4 speed holds up better and it's more conducive to the fun of thrashing one.

I'd go with the 4 speed.

Mark.
 
Stoplight to stoplight, a 5-speed is a waste of time, and money.
I started out with a GM heavy duty 3-speed, and the shift points were very friendly to a street race. Not so much on the track, but the old Dearborn built 3-speed was a FAR heavier duty piece than the crappy Muncie that could have come in the car. The gears were big and had a very coarse pitch. It was a cast iron toploader that could take a huge amount of punishment.
That said...I don't know how rugged the Mopar piece is. I do have a close friend who owns a 3-speed 340 Demon, and he put the shift knob on top of a 4-speed because he didn't want to hurt the 3-speed which was numbers matching. If it were my car I would do just that. However...I've seen many pictures of Mr. Norm, tri-power, Demons with factory 3-speeds. I'd love to open one up and take a look see.
 
Outsider said:
Stoplight to stoplight, a 5-speed is a waste of time, and money.
I started out with a GM heavy duty 3-speed, and the shift points were very friendly to a street race. Not so much on the track, but the old Dearborn built 3-speed was a FAR heavier duty piece than the crappy Muncie that could have come in the car. The gears were big and had a very coarse pitch. It was a cast iron toploader that could take a huge amount of punishment.
That said...I don't know how rugged the Mopar piece is. I do have a close friend who owns a 3-speed 340 Demon, and he put the shift knob on top of a 4-speed because he didn't want to hurt the 3-speed which was numbers matching. If it were my car I would do just that. However...I've seen many pictures of Mr. Norm, tri-power, Demons with factory 3-speeds. I'd love to open one up and take a look see.
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If you ever had a 5 speed you would never go back to less but i quess if all your driving is from one stop light to another your right it's not needed.I have a 71 Demon with a 5 speed and a 74 Scamp /6 with a 3 speed overdrive tranny and love them both of course I drive my cars other than stop light to stop light.
 
Mark Nixon said:
4 speeds in A bodies built after 1967 all had dash-mounted reverse lights.

That having been said, a 3 speed is a weak kneed wimp, if you want to thrash it at some point, the 4 speed holds up better and it's more conducive to the fun of thrashing one.

I'd go with the 4 speed.

Mark.
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Not true. My 68 340 S ,owned it since 4/74 never had one.
 
dodge71demon said:
If you ever had a 5 speed you would never go back to less but i quess if all your driving is from one stop light to another your right it's not needed.I have a 71 Demon with a 5 speed and a 74 Scamp /6 with a 3 speed overdrive tranny and love them both of course I drive my cars other than stop light to stop light.
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I've owned several 5-speeds, and currently own a Shelby with a 5-speed. If you drive your cars in overdrive everywhere, then I guess a 5-speed is right up your alley.
 
I would say you could go ether way. You could all ways save all the parts and put it back to stock if you go the 4 speed route but then again there is nothing wrong with a 3 speed. In the end as long as you are have fun it all good.
 
As you can see everyone has their own openion.It's your car do as you please.Shifting is fun no matter what you have.
 
Burntorange70 said:
I would say you could go ether way. You could all ways save all the parts and put it back to stock if you go the 4 speed route but then again there is nothing wrong with a 3 speed. In the end as long as you are have fun it all good.
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AdamR said:
guess it depends on how much room you have between stop lights.
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Remember a TKO 5 speed has pretty much the same gearing as a 4 speed except for 1st and of course 5th,I don't remember what first gear is but you better be shifting real quick and if it's a long distance between lights with a 4 speed the motor will max out and the 5 speed will just keep on going by.Everyone has their own choice the 5 speed just happens to be mine for all around fun
 
dodge71demon said:
Remember a TKO 5 speed has pretty much the same gearing as a 4 speed except for 1st and of course 5th,I don't remember what first gear is but you better be shifting real quick and if it's a long distance between lights with a 4 speed the motor will max out and the 5 speed will just keep on going by.Everyone has their own choice the 5 speed just happens to be mine for all around fun
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Well ya a 5 speed would be the way to go. I was thinking about getting one of them TKO jobers but after talking to a guy who had to hack off part of his tranny crossmember to get the thing to fit I just don't know If I want to risk getting the kit. I know it may fit with out a problem but then again I don't want to hack the frame on my 340 4-speed Dart if you know what I mean.

But a 5 speed sure would be nice. I could put in some 4.10's and still drive on the freeway and do the speed limit at 2500 RPM.
 
formula_s said:
Not true. My 68 340 S ,owned it since 4/74 never had one.
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Then it was equipped with an Inland shifter, as most earlier '68s were.
The Inlands had a pull handle that had to be pulled to engage reverse.

The reverse light was used on the Hurst shifters so you had warning of when you were in reverse, since the Hursts didn't use an interlock to get into reverse.

By that reasoning, I am technically correct in stating that '68 an up used dash-mounted reverse lights. :D

To add more confusion to the mix, there were actually 2 versions of the Hurst shifter handle used, one was the traditional "block letter" stamping of the name "Hurst", the other was a "standard letter", like this type you are reading.
With the Inland shifter, that makes a total of 3 different handle possibilities for non-console cars for '68 and 3 more for consoles.

That's just the possibilities for A bodies.

Mark.
 
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