I'm planning on converting my 1988 V6 Firebird Automatic to Manual.

Couple of questions...

What advantages do the T-56 have? Six Speed is always fun,... but is it worthwhile for the roadcourses? Is the T-56 a bit stronger?

Is anyone selling a manual tranny for an FBody? I'm probably going to stick with the stock MT for now due to finances. It's a T-5, right?

Is anyone in the market for a 700-R4? It's in great condition. My friend sold me this car because he needed to get rid of it. The fuel pump was clogged and someone didn't know how to put in a distributor (High School mechanics put it in 180 degrees off.), but the tranny was rebuilt 10k ago and I haven't put a single mile on her since she's been in my garage.


I know I can find information on either conversion, but I need to decide if the T-56 is worth the added cost to me.
The 'bird wont always have the V6. I'm toying with it for now to play, then dumping an LS1 in when I scrounge up the huge barrels full of change for it.

Opinions? Input?

Thanks

 

Getting a T-56 to bolt up to a 60* V6 is gonna be a major project. The bellhousings are different and you'll probably have to get a flywheel custom made....IMHO it's not anywhere near worth it. Plus you'll have to change it all again when you go to a V8 (whether it be LS1 or LT1 or 2-piece RMS) so it's really just a lot of excess money spent. You can probably get a V6 T-5 out of a junkyard car for a couple hundred bucks, that's the way I'd go. Then you can get all the conversion parts out of the same car.