bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

bought a 88 iroc with 5.7 8th digit 8 and g92 it has a alumium drive shaft and i think it was a auto to begin with i am being told it never came from factory with a manual trans with a 5.7 is this correct?
thanks
adam

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

that is correct only 5.0s got the stick.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

now i should of done more homework will this be bad for future value by being a stick now?

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

as far as originality goes, anytime you replace anything with something other than what the car came with, even if it was a factory option but for a different car, technically that would make it worth less to most people looking for original.
However, that doesn't necessarily make it worthless. It could still be worth a lot. As long as the transmission is in good condition, I don't see it being an issue. The manual transmissions that came in the 3rd gens were the T5's, which in 88 they changed it to a World Class T5, which was a better transmission. Neither were ever matted with a 350 from the factory because the power output of the 350 was said to be too much for the transmission to handle. (Sidenote- somebody I personally know currently has a 350 built up pretty goo in his 70's chevelle and bought a WC T5 from a 3rd gen camaro and matted it to it. He had some work done to the T5 before he put it in, but it works just fine). I am not an expert on this, but that is what I have found in researching. I have seen a few 350/T5 combinations, so I am assuming they built the transmission up a little bit based on the fact that GM didn't trust it with the 350 from factory. The T5's were 5 speeds. A popular swap is to the T-56 from a 4th gen camaro/firebird, which is a 6 speed transmission. Personally, if i was in the market right now for another 3rd gen, if I could get a good deal on a 350 T-56 combo, I would be stoked. But in terms of originality, technically a manual transmission in a 3rd gen that came with a 350 from factory, is not original for that car.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

how many miles on it ? any pics of the car ?

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

Close to 100k going in to body shop next week paint is orig and worn will post pics when done also getting all fluids replaced. Tires. Tune up new fuel pump some int work new upper dash got lots to do

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

The reason the Camaro never got the 350 5 speed had nothing to do with the tranny not able to support the power. It had everything to do with the Camaro being faster than the Corvette. That was a no-no in GM speak.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

^ That's not it. A T5 behind a 350 in a Camaro would not have outperformed an 87-91 Corvette.


The main reason the T5 was not offered with the 350 was the known weakness of the T5 case and the warranty claims that would have resulted. It was inadequate even when mated with the lower torque 305 TPI.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

Well, an '88 Corvette was a 14.3 second 1/4 mile car at 95mph. The Camaro was right behind it. The Corvette was rated at 245hp in '88 and the Camaro was rated at 230hp. The automatic Camaro 350 was running 3.27 gears and if adding the manual to the 350, would have gotten 3.45 gears.

Due to the Corvette's anemic numbers posted in the 80's the need to keep the Camaro behind it was a necessity.

I've heard people say for years that the T5 couldn't handle the hp/tq of the 350, but I've also seen the T5 added to cars with over 400hp without issue. Granted the Camaro had 330+ foot lbs of torque, but so do many other cars at the track running a T5.

I know the trans is not the strongest, but I was told by Tremec that the 80's T5 can handle 400 torque. I personally believe the reason is similar to why the 350 didn't have ttops in the later years. People have heard one thing and believe it, when the actual reason was something totally in another direction.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

im going to go with structural integrity for the no 350/5spd combo. these cars flex too much....they should have came from the factory with some serious SFCs. i wonder how long it would take for a stock l98/wct5 to start to twist up a stock t top chassis....bet not long at all if it got some hard launches. i will also somewhat bite on keeping the maro behind the vette, but in 89 they built a trans am that would rock the vettes world....so....lets face it, 80s vettes are miserable machines.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

but lets not forget what chevy released right after the turbo trans am came out .. the 375 hp zr1 corvette so the vette was king again ..

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

There are also many people on this board that have retrofitted 350 cars with 5 speeds from the same generation cars and have not had any issues.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

...and every different combo also has to be certified for sale too, so it's not as simple as just "doing" it. There are multitudes of factors that go into the why or why not, something was offered.

...I'm running a T5/modded 350 with no issues thus far, and my good friend road raced a 396ci/T5 for several seasons with no issues. Just two combos that I've very familiar with, but of course there are several. Again, doesn't mean it's the strongest option out there....but still.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

assuming you also installed some SFCs while you were modding that 350....

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

I did yes. ...it stiffened the car up SO much, that unless you're keeping your car bone stock/original, this should be the first mod anyone makes!

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

i plan on keeping the stock powerless Lo3 in my car for a while, and i still already have SFCs on my porch awaiting install. so yes i agree.

Re: bought a 88 iroc 5.7 need to know originality?
 

"Anemic" Ive seen old reviews of bone stock 86 corvette pulling 13s on street tires. Certainly by the time speed density systems came in the early 90s they got even faster. The T5 was suspect to failure under the great amount of torque the L98 made in the 3rd gen That's why it wasn't put behind it. Had nothing to do with keeping our 3rd gens slower than the vettes. Though we know they will always want the vette to be faster, it is their top car why wouldn't they?