Hib Halverson
How to Rebuild and Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions is a welcome addition to CarTech’s “Workbench” series of gear-head/techie titles.
Outside of factory service information, there are few useful books of recent publication. On stick-shift gearboxes, Author, Paul Cangialosi, an acknowledged expert who owns Mediatronics a business which both sells transmission parts and and services a variety of domestic stick-shift gearboxes from the “musclecar era” such as Muncie four-speeds, Borg-Warner T10/Super T10 four-speeds and TREMEC T5s, has done the DIY enthusiast community a big favor in writing this book.
While this title contains detailed service information on a few transmissions, it is not strictly a “service manual”. Its first few chapters on manual transmission theory, generic assembly tips and later chapters on clutches and shifters are worth the price of admission even if you never intend to work on the stick-shift gearbox in your car.
The hardcore service information in this book covers mainly the four-speed manuals Borg-Warner, GM, Ford and Chrysler produced from the mid-50s to the mid-70s. Chapters are devoted to the Warner T10 and Super T10, the Muncie M20/21/22 series, the Ford “Top-Loader” and the Chrysler A833 four-speeds. Additionally, the Borg-Warner T5, used mainly by GM and Ford in modern times is also covered.
Each trans is covered with step-by-step assembly and reassembly information illustrated with color images. This reviewer is most familiar with Muncie four-speeds and the T5 and found the information, helpful and informative. If you are looking for a good book on manual-transmissions typical of American performance cars, CarTech’s How to Rebuild and Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions is the only show in town and it gets “two thumbs-up”.
