I was wondering if you need a custom driveshaft to change out a 700r4 for a T56.

I decided on installing a T56 instead of building my 700r4 because my Dad just bought an LS1 with the Trans out of a Vette and he doesn't want to use it.

I think this will be cheaper anyway.

If the stock driveshaft does not work, how about the ones out of the fourth gens???

 

The drive shaft will work fine.

But if I understand your post correctly, you are going to use a 'Vette Trans? Those are Transaxles. I have never done this swap, but I'd imagine that you're going to need a bunch of parts to make it work, IF the basic trans housign is even the same...

 

I am using a T56 out of a 2000 or so Corvette that is mated currently to a LS1 motor.

From what I hear, I need a LT1 bellhousing cause the LS1 bellhousing will not bolt up to a regular small block.

 

A 2000 LS1 corvette has the trans located in the rear of the vehicle, as a transaxle assembly. The trans does NOT bolt directly to the engine.

 

if you have a trans bolted to that motor, then your dad got ripped.

its a Fbody motor.




the LS1 T56 has a diff input shaft and cannot be used with the LT1 clutch stuff.
you need to either modify that trans for it to work (and then use LT1 stuff) or get a LT1 tranny.

 

He did not get ripped. He saw the car it came out of, and the motor says Corvette on the valve covers and all that. Anyway, I'm in CA and he is in HI and he's super busy so I am just trying to see what the deal is.

He has all the clutch stuff except for the master/slave cylinder and pedal assembly.

What do I need to make it work on a regular small block????
I figured I'd need a bellhousing anyway.

ALSO: How do you figure my dad got ripped when LS1's are pretty much the same in Vettes and F-bodies??? BTW: he got the entire setup out of a 2001 Vette with under 20k on it for under $4,000. W/ computer and sensors etc.

 

Whether or not your dad got ripped, the T-56 in a 'Vette is not bolted to the engine. The engine and trans are seperated by about 4 -1/2 feet.

Can you post a pic of the thing?

 

the C5 corvette has a Torque tube running from the engine to the back of the car.

the rear of the car has a transaxle. there is no tranny.

 

Would you guys read my last post before you repeat what you already said??? NO. I cannot post a pic of this cause it is in HAWAII. I am in CALIFORNIA.

My dad probably has the T56 standing alone without all the trans axle crap you guys are talking about.

Sorry that I said it was bolted up to an LS1, what I meant to say was that the engine and trans are both out of a vette, What do I need to make it work????

I need to know what will be less expensive, fully rebuilding my 700r4 w/ a new converter, or this T56 swap.

 

Ever heard of email?? I dunno, just a thought. Didn't seem like an unreasonable request, and it'd be very informative for you AND us.

I don't know if is can work. I suspect you're looking at a different input shaft, output shaft, and possibly front and rear housings. I don't *think* this is a viable endevor.

More info needed (like pics or go crawl under a vette and an F-bod and look at both housings). I'd bet the 700 would be the ecconomical route.

 

getting a T56 + other misc parts out of a local LT1 car will be ALOT less expensive.

the trans in the vette is NOT a T56. some internals are the same though... so if you went out and got the right casings and rebuilt it all in that case, and got the right input shaft, ect... that could work... then you just need the rest of the stuff from a LT1 T56 setup.

or you could take out your rear, cut the floorpan, custom fab some way to mount the transaxle, make acustom rear suspension, have someone fab up a way to connect the TQ tube to the small block chevy..... and you would have a C5 vette transaxle in your car...

this is all after you pay for it to be shipped from hawaii of course.

 

Build the 700

 

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/cgi-...5.jpg&img=&tt=

there is what youre gonna be dealing with. im not saying it cant be done, but why bother when you can get one from a 97 LT1 equipped car and put it in? just my 2 cents.

 

No shipping. The motor and trans are sitting next to my Car , IN Hawaii. I can get all the rest of the parts in state too, no problem. Looks like I'm gonna just build the 700 though, less hassle.

 

for the price of a performance build of a auto, you can swap a T56 in.....

just use Lt1 car parts..

its your car, your call.... manual or auto... if you really want a manual, you're never going to be happy with a auto..

 

Listen to the Man!!! I wanted one but went with the built up 700. Now i find myself looking for "deals" so that maybe i can sell my set up and get a manual. If you want to sell what you have in HI, maybe you can get this much!? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2445610530 Assuming that is what you have there.

 

Sell it and buy a 94-97 T56 from an f-body, you may even get a reputable salvage yard to trade you one with hydraulics and flywheel for it. Actually, for what a complete vette T56 transaxle setup would bring you if you sold it....you could buy a blueprinted D&D T56 which is based off of a Viper T56 and modified to fit 93-97 f-bodies (which is what we use for swaps). They're pretty much bulletproof. I've never been impressed with the T56's after Tremec bought out Borg Warner (around 97). The ones after that that went behind LS1's just don't generally hold up to as much as the ol LT1 versions. If you were going to modify an LS1 version to fit your motor....you'll spend alot more that what you realize to make it happen.

 

The trans is actually an F-body trans come to find out. My Dad had no idea the corvettes were setup like that and all. The guy he bought the setup from knew the vette trans was not going to work and gave him an F-body one but my Dad told me the whole she-bang was out of a vette.....anyway it was a bunch of mis-communication- LOL. I was yelling at my dad and saying " does it have a regular freakin tailshaft or what???" LOL.

 

the input shaft is longer on the LS1 T56 and the bellhousing pattern is different (close, but different......one hole is moved)

 

yes, so now all you need is the bellhousing, so is the engine out of a corvette then or did they just put corvette valve covers on one out of a f-body?

 

you should use the VIN to find out whether he did get screwed or not...

 

The guy and my Dad are friends, have been for quite some time, and they do some business with cars together so I doubt he would do somehting stupid=Bad Business

My Dad also said he saw the car the motor came out of.

Anyway, who cares if the motor was out of a vette of not??? My dad is putting a LS6 cam and intake in, as well as a diff throttle body. The truck will have Long Tubes and a nice dual exhaust as well as easy provisions for a real cold air intake.

The truck will weigh about 2000-2100 lbs. with the new motor in it. I would estimate the motor to put out at least 450hp.....and he's going to either get a magnacharger or a 9psi ATI blower for in the near future.

 

well alright, thats good i guess but the corvette engines did put out more power than the F-body ones did, thats why it matters, but i guess... sounds like he will have a fast truck, should put it in a car though!

 

If you saw this thing you would not be saying that. Boy I tell you what, it's gonna be the hottest thing on four wheels!!!
The roofline in actually lower than a camaro's and you can't put anything in the bed cause there isn't one. The roll cage actually comes out of the cab and down into the bed, looks awesome. There's prostreet rubber in the back with a 4 link and at least 5 inches of tire is tucked under the rear fender. It's got suicide doors, and the seats are out of a newer Muctang GT.

When I go home I'll take some pics for you guys.

 

tremec t-56 swap you need to shorten the driveshaft by 2'' or get a new one, if you have an Auto trans. I would think an LT1 or LS1 t-56 would be about the same, shorten by 2'' or have one made. tremec and GM units are almost the same in most respects.

 

is it like a custom truck or what make is it? sounds cool, but im not into trucks so i wouldnt want one like it, how much money has he thrown into it? what kinda tranny does he have in that beast?

 

With regard to the viability of the project, if the T56 is an LS1, you still can run it: It requires a special bellhousing however, and you probably will need to shorten your driveshaft by about 3/4".

I just did this swap in my '90 GTA. I used a Weir Hotrod Products bellhousing, but I believe the new McCleod bellhousing will also now accomodate this swap.

With the Weir setup there is no need for a special LT1 style clutch set-up. I ran the same clutch set-up as I was running with my T5. I changed the hydraulics over to the LS1 clutch however. The Weir bellhousing does not accomodate the externally mounted slave. A hydraulic throwout bearing is used instead--the same thing as the LS1 guys run.

Everything bolted up fine, except for the driveshaft. The LS1 has a longer input shaft, and that extra length means that the driveshaft has to be shortened accordingly. I believe the difference is 5/8", but 3/4" is probably a safer number to use.

Also, if your driveshaft is like mine, there may be an extra charge to machine the end of it down: GM flared the end of the tubing and put a corresponding taper on the driveshaft end. Since the shop could not reproduce the flare they had to machine the taper out of the end in order to fit it into the shaft before welding. This should not pose an obstacle--just be aware of it.

 

i dont really remember but i think we were arguing about the rear mount T56 from a corvette, not the one from an f-body

 

About a dozen posts back he said that while the engine is from a Vette, the seller actually included an F-body tranny because he knew the Vette unit would not work for the application. He just wasn't explicit about what he was selling. Tried to be considerate and just confused everyone. No good deed goes unpunished

One detail I forgot to bring up about using the LS1 T56 is the mount is also affected by that extra 5/8". I used a Spohn crossmember and had to redrill the mount holes farther back. There was just enough material to get away with it. I also had to trim about 3/4" of material off the bottom of the tailpiece of the tranny in order to get it to sit down on the mount without interference. Again, not a major obstacle, but be aware of it.

Also be aware that connecting the clutch master to the pedal can be a challenge. I suspect that the best solution is to use 4th gen pedals. I have seen that some guys are doing that, and I suspect this is why. The 3rd gen clutch pedal is not designed for either the LT1 or LS1 master. I have a lathe and a welder, and that allowed me to make a new pivot and weld it to my old pedal. Lacking that, I do not see a safe, secure way to attach the master linkage to the pedal. The stock pivot on the 3rd gen pedal is too short to use anything that I could dream up.

 

meh, i dont feel like arguing... i wasn't trying to insult you b4, sorry if i did...

 

No offense taken at all.

I did not intend for my response to come across as argumentative. I am sorry if it did.