what kind of power can a stock close ratoio toploader 4 spd handle? i am thinking of making an offer. also, what the difference of this and a long ratio one?

 

I think its the final drive.
Most of the close ratio were picked up and put in track use.
I think you can rebuild them either way, I chose the street wide for mine.
As far as power I havent tested it but they are as strong as a tko 500.
And the tko 500 is what I switched my toploader out for the extra gear.

323 gears and 15" wheels was a nice combo with my 4 speed.
373 was too low for me on the highway with that setup.

 

Toploader 4 speed
Close 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Ratio
2.32 1.69 1.29 1.0
Tooth Count
32 28 2523
Counter Gear Tooth Count
15 18 21 25
Wide 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Ratio
2.781.93 1.36 1.0
Tooth Count
32 31 25 23
Counter Gear Tooth Count
15 21 24 30
Note: Gear ratio is determined by tooth count on second gear. Close ratio has 28 teeth, wide has 31.

Since the tooth counts are the same on every upper gear except 2nd speed, you can count the teeth on 2nd to determine if you have a wide or close ratio transmission. You can switch a toploader from wide to close and back by just changing the second upper gear.

The advantage of one over the other is the wide has low gears. Closed has a little higher gears. I personally run a wide ratio which allows me to run a little higher rear endfor highway use and still have good gearing in the lower gears. Most of the drag pack cars cam with a four speed toploader close ratio with a either a 3.91 or 4.30 rearend. This was great for drag racing but bad on the highway in 4th gear.

Here is the math

Closed with 4.30 rearend
2.32*4.30 = 9.976
1.69*4.30 = 7.267
1.29*4.30 = 5.547
1.00*4.30 = 4.300

Wide with 3.50 rearend
2.78*3.50 = 9.730
1.93*3.50 = 6.755
1.36*3.50 = 4.760
1.00*3.50 = 3.500

As you can see, you get almost as good of gearing in 1st for launches, but get better highway gearing in the 3rd and 4th.

 

Negative, the final drive remains 1:1, but the rest of the gears are spaced much closer together. IIRC, 1st is 2.42:1. Makes for an excellent road racing transmission, but not so great for a higher-geared street car. They tend to be more valuable as they're more rare and in higher demand for racing applications.

Power capabilities would be the same as a normal wide-ratio toploader or, as cmanf mentioned, the TKO 500's which are based on the toploader. They're nearly bulletproof, so unless you're running a monster big block or a blown small block stroker, I wouldn't worry about how much power you're putting through it

Edit: nm, urban covered it

 

that was pretty much gibberish to me urban lol. i have NO experiance with trannys other than some basic knowledge. but it seems like it would be great and as i understood, i can make it a wide ratio if i want it?

 

Eh, don't bother. Usually the close ratio cost more. Just wait for the right one if you want a wide ratio.

 

well i really dont care much, it will be more of a weekend warrior, i offered him 325. im sure he wont take it but i can negotiate a little bit

 

Ha, my point is go with a wide ratio and a little higher speed rearend (3.00to 3.50 depending on your focus). You will get good launch gearing and still have decent gearing for highway use. $325 is a good price if it is working well. You can get a nice rebuilt one for $1800-2500 so keep that in mind.

 

At 325 you'd be getting a great deal depending on whats with it. I think I made out pretty decent at 450.00 for a complete 4-speed wide setup with everything including a nice hurst shifter, bellhousing, linkage, etc. I see them selling on ebay for 700+ and without anything else. Good luck!

 

Wow, the Hurst setup with the linkage is worth a good $150 in itself; $450 for both is a steal.

Racin, if you're building a street car, I wouldn't put a close-ratio tranny in it. You'd either have to gear it down to make it streetable but useless on the freeway, or you'd sacrifice off the line pickup for better gearing at higher speed.