How to Build & Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions (S-A Design) (Sa Design) (Performance How-To) [Paperback]

Paul Cangialosi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Performance How-To | Publication Date: June 15, 2008

Once upon a time, if you didn't know how to drive a car with a manual transmission, you didn't know how to drive a car. Early in the 1950s, the major manufacturers figured they could broaden their audience and increase their sales by developing a transmission that would shift itself. While automatic transmissions became more and more popular among commuters into the '60s and beyond, manual transmissions remained required equipment among performance enthusiasts.

Fast forward to today; only 5 percent of all vehicles come equipped with manual transmissions, and 99 percent of all parking valets don't know how to drive them. But there was a time in the not-so-distant past that if you had a performance car, you had a manual transmission, and if you were a driver worth your weight in salt, you knew how to use one. For all the performance junkies who have hung in there and insisted on doing your own shifting, this book is for you!

How to Build and Modify High Performance Manual Transmissions, by author Paul Cangialosi, is a complete guide to all manual transmissions, including theory and design, disassembly, inspection, rebuilding, tips and techniques, and performance modifications. Borg Warner T-10s, ST-10s, and T-5s are covered, as well as Ford Top Loaders, and GM Muncies. Peripheral systems are covered as well, including clutches, speedometers, assemblies, shifters, and shifter modifications. Also included are tables, speedometer ratios for GM cars, torque specs, oil capacities, and ratio charts of all the popular transmissions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an excellent reference guide for any muscle car transmission. ---Muscle Car Review, July 2009

About the Author

Paul Cangialosi heads Medatronics Corp. Founded in 1981. His design work spans many industries, from bio medical to aerospace. His love for automotive manual transmission design spans over 30 years. He has been an innovator in developing new rebuilding techniques, rebuilding aids, service parts for General Motors as well as parts to anyone with a desire to build their own transmission.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Car Tech (June 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932494057
• ISBN-13: 978-1932494051
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,403,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Cangialosi is President of Medatronics Corporation. 2011 is the 30th anniversary of this business.

He has relentless determination for perfection landed him a responsible position as an engineer for a medical packaging company at the early age of 21. The main thrust of his job was designing liquid pump systems for medical testing kits. His designs are still being used today and were implemented in NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

Frustrated with big companies and small minds, Paul repeatedly observed their failure to complete a product without endless red tape and wasted funds. In '81, at age 23 he cut the umbilical cord from corporate dictatorship, and gave birth to the Medatronics Corporation.

There were two main reasons for starting "Medatronics". The first was he was currently touring with a punk rock group as a drummer. A typical 9 to 5 job would no longer work with that schedule. Second, was his intention to select only choice projects, lease his brain to the highest bidder, and design what he felt was important. Some of these project designs include: An electronic enclosure for prototype Sony video cams. The M1 army tank power take-offs that drive cooling fans. Customized parts for 4 and 5 speed gear boxes.

Oddly, It is the automotive aspect of Paul's work that kicked up his adrenaline and became the focal point for Medatronics. Paul says: "I kept the old name of Medatronics. It confuses most people because it is a rather odd name for an automotive parts business. However it never started as an automotive transmission parts business. So I left it!" His automotive drive began at the early age of 12 when his father died and a family friend took Paul under his wing. This friend of his dad's was Fred, chief mechanic for Oldsmobile and a legend in his own time. He claimed Paul as his go-fer and soon the menial tasks grew into oil changes, tune ups, powertrain rebuilds and working as Fred's right hand man. Paul fondly reflects about those days. "There wasn't one thing we didn't do. Most people never have the opportunity to learn what I did." Soon enough, he was in demand by street racers to tune their cars for the Sunday morning dragstrip races.

However, street racing and car shows did not overpower his dreams for the future, so he attended Brooklyn's Polytech for computer science, a choice that formed a rock solid foundation for his destiny. Moving on, he graduated SUNY Farmingdale in '79 with a degree in Automotive Engineering Technology. Driven, focused and dead serious about his aspiration to create a business under his own rigid guidelines, he created Autodyne, the automotive division of Medatronics. In fact his website www.5speeds.com is one of the earliest automotive websites. The website was started in 1996 as one of those personal pages on Prodigy. The business changed from a local supply business to an international mail order business within a few years.

There are many products designed by Paul in these 30 years that have been used in thousands of cars worldwide. Book discussion and support is welcome on our Facebook page. Please visit www.transmissionbook.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Excellent Content, April 6, 2009

By 

Belle Plaine "Tom" (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Build & Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions (S-A Design) (Sa Design) (Performance How-To) (Paperback)

I purchased this book, not knowing whether I would be able to open up a Muncie 4 speed and get it back together again. I read it thouroughly and now I am convinced that I can do it. The photos are excellent and the content of the book is to the point. It was designed for the reader to realize what he is getting into, and to get the job done. The author is sincere in his desire to help you get a manual transmission apart, figure out what needs to be repaired or replaced, and then get it all back together again. For the reader such as myself who wants to get a Muncie repaired, I would definitely recommend the video by the same author, as the book and the video go together very well. Both are worth the money. They will both save you money because you can do the job yourself.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with a lot to offer., July 26, 2008

By 

C. A. Ciaffone - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Build & Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions (S-A Design) (Sa Design) (Performance How-To) (Paperback)

This book offers the most comprehensive information that I have come across.
The photography and instruction are exceptionally clear especially for novices like myself.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the newer, completer edition., September 16, 2008

By 

Ross E. Nelson (Casselton, North Dakota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Build & Modify High-Performance Manual Transmissions (S-A Design) (Sa Design) (Performance How-To) (Paperback)

I bought this book partly for its overview of manual transmissions, but mostly for its supposed information on the A833s. The front cover promises detailed coverage of the A833 (and other transmissions); the rear cover says the book will guide you through the "rebuilding process" for the A833.

Surprise! The book has absolutely nothing on working on this transmission. It spends 39 pages on the BorgWarner products, 21 on the GM/Muncie gearboxes, and three on the A833. Those three whole pages include several useless pictures of castings, no teardown, and no how-to text. It does have several paragraphs of useless fluff about the A833 history.

For my main purpose, this book is misleading and worthless.

P.S. March, 2010. The latest edition does cover the A833 transmission so those interested in it can now get their information. I've changed the stars for my review of this first edition from 1 to 3 as this current manual appears to be a solidly helpful resource, and its shortfall is now remedied by the newer manual. Given the inexplicable absence of the A833 info in this first manual despite its advertising that that transmission was covered, I can't give a higher rating.

To the chuckleheads who negatively rated my first review, just what kind of approval do you think should be given to a book that advertises on its covers an important section that's missing inside of it? Meanwhile, I have the newer manual for use with my Plymouth.