Finally, have all the parts for my T56 swap (Definitely try to get everything from the same car or in a kit) and I was wondering if anyone has the measurements for where to cut the hole in my floorpan for the shifter to come through ( It is a 91 Rs Convertible if that matters)

 

It's just 2" straight back from what I understand. I know a guy who only went 1". Either way just straight back I think. I haven't had my boot off at all but isn't it just a rectangle?
-Rippin

 

How much did everything end up costing you?

 

I dont have measurements, but I just did it. What I did was stuck the tranny up there with a couple of bolts. I didnt put the flywheel or clutch or anything on. I then jacked it up to where the spot where the shifter goes was almost against the floor and took a screwdriver and scraped the paint at each end of it. I took the tranny down and then drilled a hole in the middle(front to back) of where it went. If you have the rubber boot that seals the outside from the inside of the car from a six speed car(maybe t5 but dont know) you can use it as a pattern. It ended up to where the back of the boot where it bolts down was back against a ridge in the tranny tunnel where it starts to chage shapes to more round behind the tranny. Well, I dont know if that helps. I will try to take a pic or 2 if I have time, but my camera sucks so I dont know if I will be able to get any good ones.

Ben

 

I bought the transmission freshly rebuilt for $1400.... bellhousing $120... clutch/pressure plate/ throwout bearing $350.... crossmember $120..... resurfaced flywheel $75..... pedals $50.... slp/hurst shifter $175.... hydraulic clutch assembly $100..... I do not remember what the pilot bushing cost, but it was not much. So it cost me about $2500, but I chose to go new or rebuilt on all components.

 

I bought a used 93 m29(close ratio) t56 for 600 w/ centerforce dual friction clutch and all hydrolics, pedals bellhousing and flywheel. I have a 2 piece rear main seal block so I had to buy a 350 dollar centerforce flywheel. I traded my B&M Megashifter for a B&M ripper shifter to the same guy I got the transmission from. I also replaced the throw out bearing and pilot bearing. I think the trowout was 95(that suprised the hell out of me but I called everywhere and the dealership wanted 160. I paid 15 for the pilot bearing since it was a bearing and not bushing. I paid 60 for a used spohn crossmember, and about 40 for a billit alum shifter ball with the firebird pheonix from thunder racing. I also spent about 80 on a sgi 5 box for the speedo. Over all I have spent around 1250. I am installing it myself(already installed actually, just need to do some wiring put driveshaft back in and some minor stuff like screwing down the shifter boot) so there is no cost for that.

 

Not bad. Im in the process of trying to find a complete 4th gen car thats been wrecked. Ive came across them for as little as 2k with 70k miles. Im sure I could get quiet a bit of money back if I just take the tranny out of it.

I think that would be my best bet so I would have everything. Plus some Misc. 4th gen interior pieces

 

Momar that's a hell of a deal on the trans....congrats! Let us know how the Dual Friction is....I've heard they have problems with dragging on the T-56 applications.

88....if you have the time to part out a car that's definitely the way to go. They're getting old enough now that parts are fairly well in demand. I'd be willing to bet you can not only make your money back for the car, cut enough profit to pay for the rest of the 6-speed swap and have some cash left over.


As for the topic of the post....I also mock-mounted the trans, and marked the hole with a carbide-tipped scribe. I drilled holes where the corners fell and cut the sides from above with a Dremel.

 

Yeah, I got the tranny from my cousin. He bought a wrecked car for 1500 and sold me the tranny because he decided not to use it(was going to put it and LT1 in a 85 IROC he has, but decided to buy a car that already has a motor in it and is drivable. This one just had to many odds and ends that needed done. As far as the dual friction, I dont know yet. It was used, but still appeared to have a fair amount of life in it. The guy who had the car origionally said he never had a problem with it. I plan on using it till it needs replaced and then getting either a spec(probably stage 3) of if I can afford a street twin.

I drove the car for the first time today(just a couple miles). It shifted nice, but I still need to do some stuff done before I can drive it normally. I still need to wire up the speedo and reverse lights(shouldnt take long). I also havent screwed down the rubber boot yet. I should be able to get almost everything done tomorrow. The only thing I wont be able to do is the exhaust(I test drove it with open hooker LT's). Bet the neighbors loved that. The clutch seemed to disengage fine and it shifted fine, but I tried to tighten the spring tension on my secondaries before I took it for a test drive because it was bogging before. I think I went to far. It felt to tight after I tightened it, but I wanted to test drive it with the tranny so I left it for now. Also since the computer didnt have the speedo signal or the oxygen sensor signal(I have a heated o2 that goes in my exhust right after the header, but since the exhaust doesnt currently fit I didnt have it hooked up) it was running full rich(computer carb). So without the secondaries kicking(at least as much as they should of) I didnt get to test how hard the clutch held because of the lack of power. I did get to drive past a ***** car show with the open headers though. LOL

I talked to a welding shop in town, and I am supposed to take it out there next week and see if they think they can modify my crossmember or make one that will clear both the exhaust and sfc's. I had to modify the spohn crosmember to get it to fit with the alstons as is. If they cant do it or it will be to expensive I will just buy some bends and reroute my exhaust. I should just need to get some 45 degree angles to make it work. Anyway, I am hoping to get it on the road sometime durring this next week if possible.

Ben

 

That's what it's all about.


I have the SPEC stage 3 and can't say enough about it. I've driven Dual Frictions in other people's cars, and one guy I know used to have an LT4 plate with the Street Twin disc. I didn't like either one as much as I like my SPEC. GREAT clutch.....it'll slip just a little if you ease into it slow enough, but when you pop it it's just grab-and-go. Doesn't chatter when it's hot (except backing slowly uphill) and it doesn't snap your neck because it uses a sprung-center disc.

I love mine.

 

Yup, I have heard bad things about the centerforce clutch, but I was also reading on camaroz28.com and it appears that if you are using the centerforce flywheel people dont usually have problems with them and I had to use it. If I was buying a new one I wouldnt have gotten centerforce, but I couldnt see wasting this and paying for a clutch I really cant afford(or would rather spend the money on other things right now) if this one works fine.

So what material did you get on your spec? Also do you have the old 4 puck design or the new 6 puck? Also, as far as the street twin, I thought that the clutch disk that mcleod sold seperate was different than the street twin. I dont think I would run the street twin disk without the rest of the setup even if you can though. Their kit comes with the clutch pressure plate flywheel, adjustable master cylinder and bearings I believe. Supposedly it is all supposed to work together. I thought I read that you cant use the street twin without their flywheel but maybe that was because of the pressure plate.

Ben

 

Bolt up the clutch and bellhousing, then measure on your tranny while it is out of the car from the front lip to the shifter opening and then the rear. Get under the car, and measure from the bellhousing straight back, drill four holes. Take an air chisel and cut off the auto brackets. Take sheetmetal air cutters and blow the rectangle cut out in there.

 

I actually cut my hole the shape of the boot because the boot has a lip that is supposed to drop down in the hole.

Ben

 

I'm not sure about the setup of the Street Twin....I'm just going by what he told me and there's no gaurantee on the accuracy of that. And I can definitely see holding onto the money when you have a perfectly usable clutch.

I walked into the front office at SPEC's shop at about 4:15 on a Friday afternoon and told them what I was doing and what I was running it with, and they recommended the Stage 3 with carbon material. They were still using the 4-puck design at the time and I paid cash for it. They liked seeing cash on Friday afternoon.

 

Just measure the distance from the end of the bellhousing to the shifter, then take that distance from the block.