[smbrouss70]

Lately I'm having very bad thoughts...

I REALLY want the TKO, but the reality is that I probably won't have the $3,000+ to spend on that and still have enough time to get it in before March, when the Blazer has to come out of the shop again. I picked up the original SM465 4-speed and all associated parts that came out of the Blazer in 2015 from my Dad's shop for Thanksgiving... It's been upstairs in his shop all this time.

Now that all of it is in my own shop sitting right in front of the Blazer, I'm tempted to throw it back in and switch to a set of 2.56 rear gears that a buddy has laying around... According to my gear/tire size calculator spreadsheet that I made, I would only run 2099 RPM's at 70 MPH versus the 2141 RPM's with what I have right now. Second gear of the SM465 would still give me an effective final drive of 9.16:1 where a TH400 with 3.73's would give a final drive of 9.25:1 in first gear. So I should be able to accelerate pretty well with the 2.56's. Hmmmmmmm..... Then I would have a transmission that shifts exactly when I want it to... everytime. When I CAN afford to drop the money for the TKO, I'll just have to switch the clutch disc due to the input spline differences, and it will bolt in. I'll just need to shorten the driveshaft, cut a new hole in the floor, and swap the 3.73's back in. Hmmmmmmm.....

I know it's not the performance manual that I really want, but it will solve my automatic problems while I save my pennys for what I really want. More importantly, it will keep it on the road! Do y'all think I'm crazy?