So I've decided to build a truck for the dunes. It will be a 2wd '97 Ford Ranger desert race truck. Long travel suspension, full cage front to back.. I've decided on an LY6 with cam, headers and intake for now, unless I find a reason not to. However, I'm having trouble finding people with first hand experience building a similar vehicle with this motor with advice on what transmission to use.. (most just use a 5.0 for ease of installation). I won't be racing the truck in any events so there's no need for an automatic. I'd rather it be manual anyway. I've been looking into the Tremec TKO-600 and the TR-6060. Both are rated for 600 ft lbs. Not really worried about the difference in price, both are pretty affordable. I would prefer a 5 speed over the 6 but if one has better durability and longevity for the specific application, then I might just go with it no matter the number of gears. Any advice? Also I'm sure there are other transmissions that would work for what I'm doing, so I'm open to any suggestions. Needs to be able to handle around 600 ft lbs though (motor will be around 500) and able to take a beating off road. Won't be doing much speed shifting either so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

So nobody on this site does any offroading?