Hey guys I didnt know where to post this but. I need help finding all the parts to do a auto-to-manul swap. I know I need pretty much everything for a 95 thur 97 Camaro but I cant find one. Are there any placese that sell a hole conversion kit or do I haft to have good luck and fing a totled out car

p.s. sorry if i posted this in the wrong place

 

I realize you're in Arlington, which is far from any kind of a major metro area, in a very sparsely populated part of the country far from any concentration of vehicles (I helped a business move out of the Ballpark recently, so my memory of the town is fresh), but surely there's at least one junkyard within a couple day's drive or so of there.

You're looking for JUNK PARTS. Unfortunately, nobody (well, not many people anyway) schedule cars to be totalled so they can gank major sub-assemblies out of them intact and sell them as "kits". Sometimes you just gotta wait until one shows up, and snag it the instant you see it. Nobody is going to "have it in stock", where you can go look at it and wait around and expect it to be there next month (or even TOMORROW). Likewise, just because there was one there yesterday, doesn't mean one will be there tomorrow or next week or next month. This isn't the grocery store or something. The whole supply chain for this works VERY differently from a store.

First thing you need to do, is save up the cash. Have about $1500 in nice crisp $100 bills ready to go at a moment's notice. There's no "layaway" on junk parts. Money talks, REAL LOUD, in that business. In fact, it's the only thing that junk dealers listen to. Pleading and whining is useless. Prepare to pounce instantly when the right deal shows up.

That said, have you tried car-part.com and such as that? There's virtually ALWAYS a handful of those in there, probably no shortage of them even in your area. Have you walked up to your local junkyard's counter with your stack of $100s in your hand and got them to surf their computer hookup with the other junkyards? Checked tacreations.com yet? They're in Florida, so shipping will be obscene; but they scour the country watching for them, so they're as likely as anybody to be able to come up with one.

If all you've done is ask your buds if they have an extra one, you aren't trying hard enough yet.

 

Hawks, Billy Grahams Salvage yard, and some other places have pull outs. Cruise the classified boards here, you can usually find a good deal on a six speed every month. I wouldn't spend over 1800. I spent 2200 thinking there was nothing out there and weeks after that i kept seeing newer and better transmissions for 1500 1800 dollars. I ended up putting another 500 on top of the 2200. In the end I am sure I will 3000 into a 1500 transmission. So shop around.

 

I might also mention, the less of a hurry you're in, the cheaper you can get stuff. Like I said, grab it when it shows up; be ready, have your cash in hand, jump on it the instant you see it, don't wait because the good deals don't last. Don't be afraid to make a list and snag the pieces individually as they appear. Watch the classifieds and whatever to see what's a good deal and what's not.... some sellers are mighty greedy, others may bargain if you're flashing cash, some may give you more of the pieces for the same price if you ask, and so on. You gotta watch out for cheats and liars and fraud though. It's capitalism and the free market system at its finest.

I picked up my T-56 itself with the BH for about $1000, then over a period of time came up with a Spohn torque arm & crossmember, a Centerforce "conversion" flywheel for 2-pc rear main seal, an aluminum drive shaft, and the JTR converted extension housing for cable speedo, all used; for a fraction of the new price. Then when I was ready to install it, bought a new Hurst shifter, new clutch, and new GM hydraulics. Took me about a year and a half or 2 years, but it's all in there and driving now, perfectly. Well worth it IMHO.

 

Check ebay. There on there all the time. Remember to search for T56 & T-56, it makes a difference. Also check out the classifieds on www.camaroz28.com. That site is more for fourth gen camaro and T56 tranny are on the classified board often.