I couldn't find this anywhere, but I know the shifter opening needs to be enlarged to make the T56 shifter fit. I called D&D about a tranny and they said some guys are buying a Viper shifter, or some Viper part that moves the shifter forward 4 inches. Does that place the shifter in the stock location?

Hopefully someone can post up tonight, I placed the order already but I can probably get the Viper shifter if I call them tomorrow (14th).

Thanks.

 

Assumuing this is a 4th gen T-56 trans and it's going into a 3rd gen
F body I will answer for you.

You DO NOT need to buy ANY special parts (Viper or otherwise)
when doing a T-56 swap in a 3rd gen Camaro or Firebird. You
only need to cut the center console floor back like 2-3 inches
to clear the shifter assembly. There's no need to modify any
thing on the trans either. It should bolt right up and line up
fine assuming that you are using a SBC Chevy motor with
1 piece rear main seal. All you need is either the stock 4th
gen shifter or upgrade to a new short throw.

Also, when reinstalling the center console, you will need
to use a T-5 shifter boot plate instead of the auto one.
Just a head's up in case you forgot.

The T-56 trans. is already in "stock location". Just
need to cut back the floor. That's it.

What happened to the detailed sticky thread on
the T-56 swap?????? It had step by step instructions
and a ton more.

I haven't been here in a while.

 

Thanks for the info. They told me at least 3 guys had purchased tranny's for 3rd gen cars and they were buying that part. I'm pretty sure they said it moved the shifter forward 4 inches, but that doesnt' make any sense if the shifter opening needs to be moved back.

Oh well, I have the tranny now and it's the stock location with a 5.0 shifter. Hopefully it'll be installed next month.

I did a search for this info but I never saw a T-5/T-56 conversion thread. Hopefully I didn't miss a sticky somewhere.

 

I believe fb305vs (sp?) ran the viper T56

 

I believe fb305vs (sp?) runs/ran the viper T56 and the shifter ended up in the stock location.

 

Well here's what the one from a 96 or 97 F-body looks like. It puts the rear of the shifter boss about 1-1½" behind where my T-5 one was; I had to elongate my shifter hole by about 1" to clear it. Wasn't a real big deal.

Don't know if the Viper one is in a different place though.

 

I'll post back up after I get the thing installed. I have a T56 with a Chevy bell housing and a Viper back half; the shifter location looks the same as an F-body's right now.

 

The only thing different about a viper and f-body 6-speed is the torque capacity and the shifter mounting locations. If you look in the pic that "sofakingdom" posted, the metal plate about 5" in front of the shifter is where they put it in a viper. On and f-body, its in the same place for both 3rd and 4th gens. The actual transmission is only a longer so you have to trim the hole back 2" or so. The shifter will line up in the normal place and feel natural.

 

I Just finnished up the t56 install in my car. Mine sits about an inch further back than the norm since I'm using a LS1 Steel bellhousing. Since i did all the work in germany and parts availability is pretty limited, I just took a few hours and made my own handle.

Not sure if this is helpful but here is how I made it for probably a buck or two in materials:

I made a shifter handle using a piece of round stock that I heated with a torch to get the correct shape.
I cut it to length and ran a die over the end so I could thread on a shifter ****.
I drilled a couple holes in a 1/4" piece of bar stock and welded the handle to it.
Test fitted with the console cover in place and did a couple more tweeks with the torch to get it just right.

I welded a washer and a piece of tubing to the handle to keep the shifter boot in place. Lastly, I put a couple pieces of 1/8" thick rubber to help isolate drivetrain noise.

You can find another picture of it here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...installed.html

I got my T56 from D&D also. When they say Viper spec, they mean it has the larger viper output shaft. They included a slip yoke with mine which takes a larger 1350 U-joint.