I am in the process of converting from my T5 to a T56, which requires that I enlarge the back of the shifter hole by about 2" or so (as everyone knows). That's no problem, but how do you cover the enlarged hole with the lower shifter boot? I know that I need to get a 4th gen lower shifter boot because it has a slot in the center for the T56 shifter (P/N 10267518), but is that boot actually larger than a 3rd gen boot so it will cover the bigger hole? I guess I'll have to rig something up if it doesn't...any advice?

 

I just put my stock boot back over the hole, put the bolts back in, and left it like that. Obviously the back two bolts wont go in anymore, but it hasnt been a problem for me.

 

So, you just left the expanded part of the hole uncovered? Seems like that would let exhaust fumes in the car...I have seen several posts where people have complained about that, anyway.

How much did you have to open your shifter hole to get the shifter to fit? Maybe I don't need to take the 2" I was thinking I needed to remove...

 

If there is a part of the shifter hole that is just dead space (im gonna guess up toward the dash) you could cut a little piece of sheet metal and rivit it to the body paint it and put the boot over that .. works great.

 

No, its not uncovered. The metal part of the boot still covers the hole, but there's no metal in the floorpan to bolt it to.

 

Gotcha...I see what you mean now. I enlarged my shifter hole with a sawzall tonight and I only ended up having to remove about 1" of sheetmetal. Like you, I think my factory boot will work, but I went ahead and ordered the 4th gen T56 boot today anyway (just $30 from www.gmpartsdirect.com with shipping). I think it will seal up against my shifter handle a lot better than the T5 boot.

Could you believe what it took to remove your console when you did this swap??? Man, I had no idea there were so many little brackets holding that thing in place. Now, if I can only figure out how to put it back together... (j/k)

I still need to update my web site, but check out http://www13.brinkster.com/scbaeb/camaro/ for updates on my swap. I'll try to upload some more pics this weekend.