The one drawback to the GF-5R versus traditional stock-style transmissions is the initial investment. The base clutch-assisted unit runs $5,850 just for the transmission. As Papitto explained to us, though, racing competitively with a 700hp machine is costly; it just depends when and where you spend the money. It's better to spend it once and get the best parts than to break substandard parts over and over. If you plan to race or apply big power, you will eventually get the good parts-it's just a matter of when you buy them.
"I've blown up four or five street-style trans-missions, including three modified TKO transmis-sions in one season," Papitto says. "That's about $2,800 per transmission, and that's not even figuring in the cost of entering the event and traveling to and from it just to go out of compe-tition in the first round."
"Al was really trying to put way too much power through the trans he was using," says Mike Long of G-Force. "The TKO wasn't made to handle that kind of power or be shifted that high. He was also using a TKO with the Fifth gear removed, and he wanted to try our five-speed."
It sure looks like there was a lot of metal taken out, and there was. With a purpose-built race car, ease of maintenance is far more important than aesthetics, and the hole in the transmission tunnel will be re-covered with a fabricated piece of new sheetmetal.
More than 700 hp at the crank is what Papitto's mean machine puts out. Add in 8,100-rpm shifts in a 3,000-pound-plus car, and you can imagine the abuse going on in the transmission tunnel.
After ordering his GF-5R, Papitto dropped off his ride and the new gearbox in the capable hands of Dick Arbitelle of Dick Arbitelle Performance in Vero Beach. Though Arbitelle usually restores vintage musclecars, Papitto told us his craftsman-ship is excellent and that he's meticulous-just the guy for a custom installation like this.
Papitto was able to reuse the Lakewood safety bellhousing from his TKO unit, as well as the McLeod Soft-Lok pressure plate (PN 4968-00). A new clutch disc was needed to match up to the new input shaft's different spline count, and Papitto had Precision Shaft Technologies in Clearwater, Florida, spin up a new driveshaft that uses the G-Force hardened slip yoke. A little sheetmetal cutting and relocation of the crossmember was all that was needed to make this install complete.
What's more important is how the car performed on the track. The Cobra's previous best was a 9.8 at 138 mph, and with the GF-5R, the snake has slithered to a 9.29 at 143 mph.
"I used to run the car with one turn in the clutch adjustment," Papitto says. "I could barely move it around the pits, but that's the only way the trans would survive. With the G-Force, I can put so many turns in it that I've almost put the car on the bumper a few times." The other benefit from this swap is that Papitto has already put 60 passes on the transmission without one problem. "I haven't done anything but put gas in it," he says.
The GF-5R necessitated moving the crossmember forward, which was a pretty simple procedure. | 
The front of the crossmember needed to be massaged a bit to clear the back of the transmis-sion. A 1-inch spacer was employed at the trans-mission mount. | 
With the transmission installed, you can see how easy it is to access the transmission. Even with the larger shifter attached, you only have to unbolt the transmission, slide it back, and drop it out from under the car. |
Since this is for all intents and purposes a race car, the trans tunnel cover is a simple yet easily removable piece of sheetmetal. Dick Arbitelle Performance handled the tin work in addition to the entire transmission installation. | 
The carpet needed to be trimmed so it wouldn't interfere with the shifter mechanism. The factory console was ditched as part of the overall weight reduction effort. Papitto was able to pare off 240-250 pounds from the snake, getting its race weight down to 3,140. | 
The driveshaft is a Precision Shaft Technologies unit that uses a G-Force/Mark Williams hardened slip yoke at the transmission end and a 1350 yoke at the rear axle. Papitto was extremely happy with the end product and one-day service. Now he can go out and powershift with confidence. |