i have an 86 firebird with the enormous 2.8 liter. im wanting to put a T-5 manual, and obviously swap out the 700r4. i konw people do it all the time but is it really worth the trouble? and can anyone give me an estimate on how much that would cost me since i dont have any way of doing it myself? thanks guys

 

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!! Lots of headaches, and the T-5 WILL TAKE A DUMP.

 

Well I disagree with the above post heavily. Borg-Warner makes great Trannies, you just have to massage them a little. T-5's are not set up very good for power shifting like you will probably do at the strip. They are however a very reliable 5 speed for a pretty streetable car.

There are a few questions you have to answer first:

Does the T-5 have the right input shaft for your engine? (did it come out of a 2.8L car? or a V8 car?)

How many miles does it have on it? What kind of miles? (street or highway)

Are you fabrication inclined? You will have to weld in the clutch pedal and to do this you have to move your brake booster (and master cylinder assembly)

The only real cost to do this swap is changing input shafts if you need, and the release (or "throwout") bearing for the clutch. You will also need a clutch if you didn't get your tranny with one.

There is a great tech article on this swap including the parts you need, just go to the home page, and click on tech articles, and scroll down to the transmission section and there are a few.

All in All I would say if you want a manual tranny, the T-5 swap is worth the time and effort. It won't cost you much if you are resourceful and know how to yard stuff out.

_bR3T7

 

You don't need to weld in the clutch pedal or modify the brake booster. You just need to kit the pedal assembly out of a parts car and it will bolt right it. You will need to drill a hole in the firewall for the master cylinder. Do a search and you'll find a parts list for the swap. At the last shop I worked, we charged $900 for the swap. That's labor only and it covered installing the pedals, swapping the transmissions and wiring up the lights, reverse lockout and neutral safety switch. First one took me about 11 hours.

 

"move your brake booster" as in take it out to hang the clutch pedal, not reposition it.

All the swaps I have read weld in the clutch hanger, but if it bolts right in, sweet!

_bR3T7

 

you've "Read it"..........have you actually done it? Weld in your clutch petal?

If you want to do this, here's the parts you'll need:

14 spline BW T-5 (assuming you're keeping the V6)
Correct bellhousing (you can probably find both at a Boneyard)
Flywheel (as opposed to the Flexplate for the Auto)
Pilot bushing
Hydraulic clutch linkage (interchangable between V6 and V8 F-bodies)
Petal setup from a Manual transmission car
New Clutch, Throwoutbearing, pressure plate and possibly transmission mount

Here's the Tools you'll need:

Angle grinder or Sawzall (handy to have both)
Drill
Metal boring drill bits (I think I used a 13/32nd drill for the slave cyl in the firewall)
1 3/4" Holesaw
Basic set of Metric and Standard wrenches and sockets
9/32nd allen wrench (for bleeding they hydraulic cylinder once installed)

If you have any mechanical experience or skills, this is pretty easy to do over a weekend. I STRONGLY reccomend having a second person there.

if you keep the stock wiring, you'll have to steal a couple wires from your shifter or converter lockup switch (one black and one orange, I believe, but I forget...) to rig up a neutral safety switch. I just bypassed it. Unless you are planning on racing and have to conform to NHRA rules, I see no need to have one. Also be sure to take the ignition switch to shifter "lock" cable out otherwise you'll never get your car to start.

Also, if you have VSS, be sure to either find a T-5 with VSS or if you have a cable spedometer, find one with a Cable driven spedo gear.

good luck. If you need more help, do a search on here, it'll give you more ins and outs of the swap

GOOD LUCK!