If you have noticed, my info says I have a busted T5, soon to be T56. Here's the update. I pulled the Borg Warner T5 out yesterday and opened it to see what happened. One of the main gears had absolutely no teeth on it anymore!! (I suppose that the open element air cleaner was a little too much for that tranny, course, I'm not easy on them by any means, burnouts are fun! ! I meant to take a digital camera, but I forgot all about it .

Now on to the questions:

My car is an 82 Firebird, and I am looking for a few answers to some questions to make the process go smoothly. I have done a lot of homework on these mods, but I don't know everything....
I plan on the 94-97 T56 because they are stronger, and I didn't want to have to fool with the higher number of splines.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, like things that aren't found here: http://www.skulte.com/T56.html.

Also, since I'm buying the entire 4th gen to 3rd gen kit are there any special adapters/connectors I might need, I read somewhere about a reverse lockout that needs an adapter (the white plastic female connector on the T56). Is there any extra wiring that needs to be done, besides just plug and go?

I also like the way the early 3rd gen gauges look vs the later ones, so would it be better to get a new speedo, or the converter? I get irritated with 85 being the highest number the speedo shows. Has anyone put aftermarket gauges in the factory locations, and made it look good, like it was a factory job (no bezels sticking out, etc.) Has anyone done this to the whole dash, pics maybe? Any comments on guage style, I love the COBALT series by Autometer, b/c the blue would look awesome in my car, since it is blue, but they don't have a speedometer in that series!

Should I buy a new torque arm if it doesn't come with the kit (prob will buy anyway)? Do I have to buy one, will my torque arm bolt up to the T56 just fine?

Will the shift lever come through the console in the same place, I know the shifter hole in the trans tunnel has to be made 2 inches longer, but I wanna know if the stick comes up in the position that the T5 does now, or if it sits back 2 inches as well. I want it to be centered so it looks clean. Does anyone have pictures of their shifter location after the swap?

I also plan on building the motor when I get the money, does anyone know of good T56 rebuild kits, or what parts are needed to rebuild the T56 so instead of handling 400 ft/lbs it can take like 600+ ft/lbs?

I can't think of anything else at the moment...

Thanks for any and all input.