well, I recently aquired this car. It is in pretty good condition, it needs a motor. The car originally had a 2.8L V6, and I was planning on tossing in a rebuilt 350. The car has a 4 speed manual transmission, and I have been doing some reading, as well as asking around and some people say I will have to change transmissions, some say it should work. Any help with that would be appreciated. I need to find a donor car for all of the mounts, as well as a radiator. How necessary is it that the donor car I choose is a camaro? Would a fire bird with a v8 have all the mounts I would need? Or could I possibly strip an old 1980 chev pickup that has a 350? I am hoping to get this car done in a month or so. I was going to have a mechanic do it, but because of all the mounts I think I will do it myself as to save some $$$. Hopefully with the knowledge I gain from this website and you guys, I can get her running by may long weekend. Any advice on what transmission I should put in, as well as driveshafts, and mounts would be very helpfull. Thanx a bunch.

Welcome aboard.

The engine side mounts can come from anything of that type. Last year there was a post about the actual left & right part numbers, might try a search for that. The chassis side can come from either a Camaro or Firebird, and possibly other types/models of GM vehicles, but I wouldn't hazzard a guess what all they would be the same as. When you buy replacement chassis side mounts, they're typically only the insert, so that doesn't help much.

The transmission should work on a V8, but you'll need a V8 bell housing. I'm afraid I don't know much more about those specifics.

wow you are quick. Thanx for the info, I will do some more reading.

Well I have done some more reading and I have some more questions.I have to admit I am more of a truck guy, haven't dealt much with cars. I have never had to deal with suspension either other than rear leaf springs in a pickup. Anyways.. It sounds like if I want to put a 350 in, I will have to beef up the suspension. Looks like I need new leaf springs on the front as well as sway bars. Should I beef up the rear suspension as well? Also.. I was wondering what all I can aquire from auto wreckers / donor cars, and what I should purchase new? I was going to buy some shocks any names you would recommend would be great.

Any suggestions on what standard transmission I should get?

thanks for all the help, glad I found this forum.

before you ask what you need as far as suspension, you need to state what the intended use is. i only use mine for drag racing. my car has the original v-6 struts in the front. the sway bars can be removed completely. the rear has airbags in the stock coils and adjustable drag shocks. you're level of susp. modification depends on you're power and how serious you want to race it. best bang for the buck is fix up the rear first. if you have an 80 chevy pickup you should grab the trans also if its a 2wd th350. they make conversion kits for that. if you want a manual trans there are many options but you're going to be into more bucks. you'll need a driveshaft. i had mine done at fleetpride.

i would think that the trans in the car would be a t-10 4 speed. just a guess. those sould be a side loader much like the muncie style trans. if you want a stick you have a good start because i think that all the stuff will transfer over to the muncies if you break the trans you have. if you are looking for simplicity i would go with a th350 with a shift kit and a ratchet style shifter. I would not bother with the suspension untill you have the motor and trans set up in the veh. also your veh does not have any leaf springs front or rear. your veh has struts in the front w/ coil springs and the rear has shocks with coil springs. good luck on the swap.

Suspension upgrades:
New: struts/shocks (V6 & V8 are the same), I've been running Gabriels for almost 7 years now. Subframe connectors, I'd recommend the Spohn units from our sponsor, weld-in no matter what you get. Poly bushings all the way around, including engine & transmission mounts, torque arm mount.
JY or used: Front springs (they're coil, by the way). Sway bars (could argue for new there).
Rear end: Check out this tech article: 10bolt upgrade

As to which manual transmission: Depends, as stated above, what the intended use is. A T5 would probably give the best street economy, but they aren't known for their strength. T56's can handle a lot more power, have an additional overdrive gear, but would be a lot more expensive to install. Aftermarket units such as Tremec are also available.

So much information for me to absorb and try to understand. The cars intended use would be for everyday driving, but I like to drive hard. The car wouldn't be rodded on a regular basis, only casually I would of thought it would be easier to do the suspension before the motor / tranny. Would the T-5 hold up under reasonable power? The motor I am getting is probly kicking out no more than 300 horse. I am pretty certain that I want a stick shift, would the T5 bolt up to my 350? I have found a donor car it is a transam, not too sure of the year. I think it has a 305 under the hood, I am going to go take a look at it. Thanks again for your guys' time.

A prolific-contributing member here says he ran a "regular" (not World Class) T5 behind a stout 400 for years with no problems. The keys are no clutch dumps and no speed shifting.

The instructions for the subframe connectors said to have the car supported by the suspension as it would be on the ground when the connectors are welded in. That pretty much makes them an after-swap item. Otherwise, I don't see a problem doing the suspension first, although the front springs can be a challenge to compress using car weight if the engine/transmission aren't there.

I like to drive fairly hard as well (all within the bounds of the law, of course), and I'd have to say the poly bushings and subframe connectors made a big difference in its manners. I've got stock factory V8 Sports Coupe sway bars in so far, some day I may be motivated to upgrade.

would a 5 speed standard from a 1986 camaro V-6 work with a 350?
bleh, dumb question.

The V6 T5's have smaller input shafts and weaker gears internally. Some guys have had custom clutch discs fabricated to accomodate the input shaft difference, and have been okay. Again, only by taking it easy on the transmission.

Well I found a very large thread talking about the t5's and how well they hold up while bolted up to a 350. I need this car to be reliable.. and I dont want to dump the clutch and tear my tranny apart. So.. I am going to have to go with the T-56. Just for clarification.. in order to get this car running with the v8, I will need motor/tranny mounts,torque arm kit,sub frame connecters(necessary?), adapter plate for t-56 tranny,modified driveshaft, front springs and sway bars.

Do they sell an adapter plate for this tranny to bolt up to the 350?
Will I have to do any fuel changes?
Will I have to get a different clutch?

I almost have a game plan... thanks so much for all your help

Well, I found a donor car, it is a 1986 trans am, it has a 305 carburated v8, automatic transmission. I am assuming this car will have the required suspension upgrades I need, will the motor mounts on this car fit my 82 camaro?. I am courious to know if the trans am would have a 700r4 transmission or not... hoping I can use the torque arm.

305 and 350 are the same block, different heads right?

You dont need any adapter plate. Any SBC or BBC tranny will bolt up to any sbc or bbc (i dont know about the ls7). Also a t56 has the bracket for the torque arm. You will need an aftermarket crossmember tho, you can find one by searching through the sponcers.

The diffrence between the 305 and 350 is the bore.

if the car is a 305/auto (yes, 700r4)theres not much you can use off of it. if you're woried about the torque arm you should get the one from spohn. they have a package that adapts the t56 (or several others) crossmember to your car. it also has the torque arm and a driveshaft loop. the connectors you do need. the springs and sway bar you dont need (right away, maybe never) try it before you spend the effort. you should get new poly engine and trans mounts anyway.

Well.. this just sucks.. I really want to put the 350 in the car, I didn't think the transmission would be so expensive. Calling around to auto wreckers it will cost me around 2000 for a rebuilt T5, and there are alot of people saying that the T5 is weak. If I do this car I want to do it right, I dont want to spend 2000$ for a tranny that is borderline on handleing a 350. So.....

I live in canada, and when asking around for a t-56 they told me.. "good luck" I want to do it right, but at the same time I am not prepared to drop 8,000 into the drive train, when the interior and exterior will need a few thousand as well.. I have come to the conclusion that I might have to put in a cheap.. used.. v6, then worry about the body of the car, as well as interior and suspension.

I either have to take that route, or use my donor car which has a 305 / 700r4 transmission, for a complete swap. In the end I will not be satisfied with an automatic transmission, or a V6.

Anyone know what v6 motors will bolt up to my T10 4 speed transmission? Or am I stuck with the 2.8L? thanks a bunch, looks like I will still get my car done my may long, just will be temporary

at summitracing.com I found this super t-10 4 speed manual transmission, used for SBC and BBC. Will this work for me? I shouldn't have to change any mounts.. or drive shafts.. correct? This would be awesome.. any help?

As long as you don't abuse it with clutch dumps and speed shifts, a T5 will do just fine behind a 350.

Your V6 4-speed should work behind a 350 as well. Same story. It's not likely to be a Muncie, those few that were installed were in the Z's.

You aren't going to break a T5 while the clutch is engaged. Don't fret over it so much. You should be able to do a lot better than $2k, even in Canada. Check out the Classifieds on this Board, they come up all the time. Your best bet would be a World Class '88-up, but even the non-WC will survive if not abused as defined above.

Well, I was thinking.. that super t10 from summit, doens't come with bellhousing.. and the tranny that I have.. will fit onto my v8, if I change the bellhousing over to a v8. so.. If I buy the bellhousing from a wrecker or whatever.. put it on my v6 T10.. use that for the time being, if it goes I can buy the super t10, or the T5... wutcha think?

I didn't think the input shaft on the v6 t5 was actually smaller, I know it's a different spline count, 15 (I think) as compared to 26 on the v8. You can actually use a v6 clutch disk, it's smaller yes, but it does "work" but I wouldn't gurantee no problems.

When did they go to hydraulic clutch set ups? This would be a limitation to what year vehicles he could grab a bellhousing from wouldn't it?

Last time I checked, the JY in my area was asking $500 for used V8 T5's, why they wanted that much for non WC junkies I don't know. That was a year ago as well, not sure which way it's went since then.

Good luck!

The splines are the same size. In order to get more splines on a shaft, you increase the diameter (and therefore the circumference) of the shaft.
That is true. However, holding power will be reduced, and it will wear out more quickly.

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/stor...9-P824C53.aspx

is that a decent motor?

<table class="bodyText" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>part #MTGM024</td> <td>T5</td> <td>88-96 CAMARO W/V-8 5SP WORLD CLASS </td> <td> $1,215.00 </td> <td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
thats the tranny im lookin for I would think.. they want 350$ for a core that I dont have..

that seems to be alot of money for an engine that is basicaly stock. plus you need everything still. seems like you could get a deal on a used block, have it rebuilt, and upgrade as you have the cash. i found my engine for 800, intake to oil pan. (no rebuild needed). get everything else settled and running then upgrade the engine.

That's a fairly popular stock-type crate. It's a new engine, which is nice. For the use and goals you've mentioned, it will be fine. You'll still need intake manifold, distributor, carb, water pump, fuel pump, damper, and exhaust. And the little things like hoses, throttle cable, wiring modification, belts, power steering pump (assuming you have power steering), radiator, etc.