[decooney]

Flygirl,

I've tried Close Ratio (CR) and Wide Ratio (WR) Toploader transmissions with 3.08, 3.31 axle ratios in my cars, and 3.54 in a buddy's car. Crazy as it sounds, even tried a 3.08 axle ratio with a Close Ratio trans for a 1st gear slingshot result. I find the 3.54 to be useless in an ERA FE big block car, unless you have a really large (super high rpm) camshaft, and that's not what you are going for from what I've read.

If you must go with a Toploader for your own authenticity purposes, and a 5speed is not in your vision, FYI: combining a Wide Ratio transmission with a 3.31 axle ratio is pretty much the preferred standard in an FE ERA powered car. Its been talked about on CC for over a decade. In my case I wanted the large input/output shaft setup so I had David Kee Toploaders build me a custom Wide Ratio gearset mated to a large "Bullnose" input and output shafts for the best of both worlds. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just get a 5speed Tremec Road Race transmission and call it a day. Good Luck.