[Tigers] Toploader overdrive

[Gary Crandall]

  The toploader overdrive transmissions of the 70s were known for their lack of capacity to handle the torque, but with the anemic engines of the late 70s it wasn't necessary. i would shy away from them. The original Tiger/Ford toploaders were bullet proof and could handle the torque of the 427 Cobras just fine and even the heavier Shelbys.
   
My first Tiger had the original close ratio transmission with the standard 2.32 first gear, 3.31 rearend gears and 13" tires. The low rearend gear was nice off the line, but I was burning up my engine on the highway, e.g., 3500 rpms @ 70 mph. During the restoration of my present Tiger, when I had my drivetrain out, I kept the original 2.88 gears and converted my transmission to a wide ratio setup with the 2.78 first gear. This combination of the lower first gear and the taller 2.88s still gave me a 5% better hole shot over my 3.31 close ratio setup, while at the same time decreased my highway rpms by 15%. Plus, I do a lot less shifting around town, while 4th gear is almost exclusively for the highway. Now it's around 3050 rpms @ 70 mph.  With today's gas prices I need all the help I can get, yet still want that grunt when I need it. The added bonus to all this is that when I blew my engine up last winter (that's a whole 'nother story) and removed the drive train, I
 installed a 2.90 first gear from David Kee Toploaders. This ultra low first gear gives me an additional 5% better hole shot than the standard wide ratio and 10% better than the standard close ratio. My transmission's gear ratios now match the first 4 gears of a 5 speed almost exactly. A 5 speed would be nice, but I don't want to cut up the car or pay the ~$3500 for the conversion. The car now has so much mechanical leverage, that I can't even nail the throttle off the line. With the 331 stroker I have to wait until I'm going at least 20 mph or I just fry the tires. This ultra low first gear setup is especially nice, if I ever want to change to a 14" or 15" tire with a larger diameter. With this setup my car has no 'bog' whatsoever off the line, pulls like a mutha' and cruises just fine. I would never go back. It is so nice, I have converted two other friend's Tigers as well.
   
  Gary

       
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