In 1992 Dodge and General Motors trucks started appearing in showrooms with one of the most versatile transmissions ever to be offered in a production truck: the New Venture Gear 4500. This transmission is a fully synchronized (except reverse on GM models) five-speed gearbox with all of the strength and low-gear benefits (and then some) of the older creeper gear four-speeds, plus 27-percent overdrive.

The cast iron case is combined with massive gearsets in an almost compact 200lb package. As far as driveability is concerned, this unit surpasses the rest with smooth, short action and very distinct shift gates. It has become an extremely popular manual-trans swap and kits are available for Jeep CJ’s, Wranglers and Cherokees; Toyota Land Cruisers; and 66’-77’ Broncos.

Commonly referred to as simply NV4500, the transmission is identified by Dodge Truck as NVG4500, while Chevrolet and GMC designate it as the MT8 and MW3. The manufacturers’ code names for the two transmissions are different and so are some of the internals.