Posted by Rick Hogan on Sunday, July 15, 2001 at 1:02PM :
In Reply to: It's like a new truck! posted by travis kingsbury on Friday, July 13, 2001 at 12:23PM :
I have a 71W200 with a 383/NP445 combo. It is a remarkably efficient and capable mating. Having put many a mile on both this set-up and other transmissions, both synchronized and not, I have fallen in love with the 445. Clearly not a granny-low, the trade-off for me is the more appropriate spacing of the ratios of the gears. The ability to more closely tailor engine speed to load/grade/road-speed conditions weighs far more heavily in my estimation than the neccessity of a granny gear. That's what low range is for. In my old '41 WC, I had to have the low gear for lack of a two speed transfer case, but I hate to recollect how many times I spit when I had to wind 'er up in third and hold on a gentle grade insted of being able to pull high gear just because the mill couldn't span the neccessary rpm differential. Of course the experience taught me patience, a must for a real Dodger, but I love my 445. I like the full-synchro, too, even though I can double-clutch with the best of them. Actually, not having synchronizers in the way makes shifting sometimes. I can feel the gears so much better. It's kind of a crap shoot shifting without the clutch on a synchronized rig, but smooth single-clutched(or clutchless) shifts on a crashbox are a soo satisfying. As for the 445 being built on a five-speed case, I'd like to see where the fifth gear would go. I have had mine apart, and I don't see where it could go.
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