I upgraded from 3.55 to 4.10 gears and I would not dream of going back! My local Ford dealership gladly installed the FRPP 4.10 gears for me. I have no complaints. Also, I don't worry about the mileage as I only drive the car on weekends.

 

well thanks for all the help guys...I went to 2 local shops yesterday to check them out. One had a good rep, and the other I had never heard of. Here was my experience there:

1. Japtrix: I had herd of them before as a great shop willing to work on anything (domestic or import). They were reliable, clean, and stood by there work. I found that the shop was dirty, they charge 95 dollars and hour, they didnt know what rear end gears were, and they didnt show me the shop area itself. The only thing somewhat impressive were the sti's sitting out front. (most had AEM stickers all over them)

2. Blanton Autosports: Never heard of them... I went to check them out. I think he charges 70-75 an hour...nice clean looking front area. I talked to him and told him i wanted to check out the shop before I left my car there with him, and he took me back to the shop area, where a jeep was sitting on a lift. He brought down the jeep and showed me the swap he did from an I-4 to a ford 302 with 400 and something hp (dont remember) he showed me the tool chest and answered all my questions best he could. I was really impressed. Turboed fox bodies (which i hear are difficult to turbocharge) and a 260 datsun z. $350 out the door for the gear install. Anybody who lives in the 561 area should check them out if they don't yet have a shop they use.

BTW: I may go for the 4.10s...my car pinns the needle just before 4th gear redline, and doesnt go anywhere in 5th...i dont think ill have a problem...besides, how many times do i drive >145 anyway? never

 

Sounds like the second shop is the better one. Any shop that doesn't know what gears are, I wouldn't even let them do an oil change. You checked out two. IMHO check out one more. Maybe nothing more then a sanity check. But the two shops you have listed are like Night and Day difference. I mean what auto shop doesn't know what gears are?

 

$350 is a good price assuming that includes oil. I have 4.10's and the whipple HO supercharge. You will need wider stickier tires if you go with a twin screw, but when I nail a good 1-2 shift it makes it all worth it. I drive around on drag radials. I had absolutely no traction with the stock tires in 1st and 2nd gear, probably third to. I could be rolling at 10mph in 1st and still spin them all the way to redline, shift to 2nd, spin second all the way to the revlimiter. I didn't shift to third. That was with the 8psi pulley which is around 400-420rwhp.

 

i actually just installed 4.10s in my car today and it took about 5 hours to get everything right. i cant wait until im done with the break in time so i cansee how it feels to launch with them =)

 

What do dealerships normally charge for a gearsinstall?[/align]

 

500-600

 

Mechanically, doing the rear end swap yourself can be rewarding, but you need to be aware it might not be perfect the first time and be very methodical, logical and write down allthe corrections you make so you can eventually get it right. After you add up all the effort of putting the car on stands a few times, multiple test drives, etc, etc, the shop charges don't seem that unreasonable! The shop you choose should speak gears like a second language. You're paying for the shops judgement and experience, so that you can take your car and drive it again quickly.

I agree that 4.10s are a great choice for a 5-speed n/a daily driver. It's a great match with this small block motor. In bumper to bumper, you can use 2nd. If I decide to supercharge, I'll probably still keep the 4.10s for a while. (although I'll probably get a centri, so I might not have quite the traction issues Moose had with his twin screw.)

Sleeper2