Description
MODERN DRIVELINE Offers five and six-speed conversions for
Small Block, Big Block & LS swapped Sunbeam Tigers
Our line of products offers simple ways to upgrade your 3 or 4-speed
to a Tremec five-speed or a complete automatic to five or six-speed overdrive
We have you covered.
Benefits:
- Increase in fuel economy with overdrive.
- Lower RPM’s for more drive-ability and a much quieter in-car feeling.
- Reduce wear on your engine & drive-train parts
- Reduce engine temperatures, promoting a longer-lasting engine.
Experience the MDL Difference,
- We extend the manufacturer’s warranty by an extra year… with a 1-year grace period.
- We offer the best in the industry customer service.
- When you purchase a complete MDL Conversion Package you get, lifetime technical support.
One day a good friend come to us and said can you build a five-speed to fit a Tiger?
It just so happened we were developing our Side shift program for the TKX. As it turns out the new shifter is the right solution for the Tiger.
Working closely with Root Group Depot in Santa Clara CA, Bill provide the guidance needed for us to build the right five-speed to fit the Tiger without modifying the car.
Since Tiger was produced with both 260 and 289, we need to develop a five-speed package for both the five-bolt block and the six-bolt block.
After looking it over, we were able to not only provide a well-fitting that defined the belief we work well. The TKX can handle can anything you want to throw out all the while providing a pleasant drive experience.
While auto-crossing at a Tiger United event, a long-time Tiger owner test-drove one of the first TKX installs. He came back and asked if he had shifted on the course?
Without a doubt he did but it was smooth he didn’t remember doing so.
If you want to make your five install stealthy, you can.
The TKX is offered in two shifter types, one that will allow for the stock four-speed lever to be reused, and the other is for a Hurst lever to be used.
Only you will know it’s there.
Bill Doolittle’s Sunbeam Tiger |
Modern Driveline’s Sunbeam Tiger 5 Speed Conversion TREMEC TKX Five-speed overdrive transmission, is engineered to fit your Sunbeam Tiger without cutting or modifying the tunnel.
You get durability surpassing Ford’s legendary Top Loader four-speed with vastly improved fuel consumption.
You get brute performance in gears one through four and efficiency in overdrive for highway cruising.
You really can have it all in a great British/American classic.
Bolt-in swap

The case is specially modified to bolt into the Sunbeam Tiger without cutting and modifications. Modern Driveline’s TREMEC TKX is the most rugged five-speed transmission you can bolt into a vintage Tiger.
The TREMEC TKX from Modern Driveline has been field-tested in a Concours-restored Sunbeam Tiger and it is ready for installation in your vintage Tiger.
The Tiger TKX is a bolt-in swap with no special modifications or cutting. Once installed with a stock Tiger shifter handle, no one knows it’s there but you.
We are confident you will love the TKX Tiger package from MDL and expect your Ford Top Loader to be on the shelf for a long time to come.
Custom Fit
Offset shifter enables perfect alignment with the Shifter location and uses the original shift lever. The TKX New design provides the clearance to fit within the tunnel
What makes the TKX such a good fit for the Tiger?
MDL has massaged the TKX’s main case to where it clears the Tiger’s transmission tunnel without modifications to the vehicle.
The shifter is offset, which puts it in the Tiger’s correct location. With the Tiger’s original shifter handle, no one will know there’s a TKX underneath.
Shift-ability
The difference between a TREMEC TKX and a Modern Driveline enhanced Tiger TKX is the important details most driveline companies miss completely.
Our Tiger TKX is perfectly matched to the Tiger’s tunnel to be a bolt-in. Tiger TKX shifts so smooth you don’t have to even think about it while being tougher than a stock Toploader four-speed.
Configurations to match your needs:
Whether you have the original 5-bolt block or the 6-bolt block we have you covered.
Different overdrive gear ratios are available to match your rear-end ratio.
Everything from the back of the block to the driveshaft is available too.
Five-Bolt Block
- Tiger Spec TKX Transmission
- Five bolt TKX SFI spec Bellhousing
- Kevlar/Steel Back Organic Clutch Set
- Custom TKX Tiger Crossmember & Mount
- Steel Driveshaft with 31-spline Slip Yoke
- Speedometer Drive Parts
- OEM Style Ford Shift Knob, Handle & Boot
- Back-Up Light Harness
- Complete Hardware Installation Kit
- TKO Spec Lube
Six-bolt Block
- Tiger Spec TKX Transmission
- Kevlar/Steel Back Organic Clutch
- Custom TKX Tiger Crossmember & Mount
- Steel Driveshaft with 31-spline Slip Yoke
- Speedometer Drive Parts
- OEM Style Ford Shift Knob, Handle & Boot
- Back-Up Light Harness
- Complete Hardware Installation Kit
- TKX Spec Lube
- Note – that No bell housing is required as the stock four-speed bell housing is retained.
Available Options & Upgrades
- Carbon Fiber Lined synchronizer rings on the 2,3,4th gears for improved high rpm shifts.
- Aluminum or Lighten Billet Steel 157-tooth Flywheel with 10/10.5-inch clutch bolt pattern
- Full Kevlar clutch set in either 10” or 10.5”
- Internal Tilton Hydraulic Throw-out bearing
- Polished Gears for friction reduction and lower operating temperatures
We also Have OIL COOLERS click this link to find out more
Convinced that you need a Sunbeam Tiger 5 Speed Conversion?
Additional information: