C.M.Jones

ok I have an 84 Camaro with a 70s style LT1 V8 with a 700R4 I want to put a manual in it any suggestions? it has alot of HP so the T5 wont hold up and the T-56 is to damn expensive and I dont even know if it will bolt up to the engine

Gramps

iTrader: (1)

have you thought of a manual valve body? or do you want the manual because of 5 gears?

C.M.Jones

I want a manual bcause its funner to drive and I want a WAY better take off

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

The problem is always money unfortunately.

There are lots of ways to go, but none are cheap. Honestly, the 4th gen T56 swap is the cheapest way to go to reliably handle the horsepower. Even stock 4 speeds that you can get cheap are not as strong as the T56 and require more money spent to modify your car to accept the wrong transmission.

You should start saving for a T56 from a 4th gen and start cruising all of the wrecking yards and ebay until you can get one.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

T-56 is definitely the best choice, all around.

What is this engine, REALLY? What pistons, heads, & cam? Part #s please; no "¾ race", "mild", "stock", "194", etc. Are you familiar with the specific parts that the original LT1 was built out of?

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

I seem to remember a 70's style LT1 being a 1970 350HP or 375HP 350 cubic inch engine - gross horsepower numbers from Chevy and used in Z28 or Corvette applications.

If a guy had one of those in an 84 Camaro I'd say that there is plenty of fun to be had driving it. Even with an automatic!!

C.M.Jones

/\ thats about right an it is fun but I like gears will the T-56 run withut the computer?

will it bolt up to the 70s block?

and im sorry I don't know what exaclty is in it I bought the car with the engin in it but I was told it has a cam in it and it has edelbrock intake and custom exhaust

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

<sofakingdom looks at T-56 in his 83 car> Yup, looks like there's this big handle thing sticking out of it for selecting the gears... doesn't seem to be computer actuated in any way....

Yes a T-56 will bolt to a 70s block.

I remember well what the LT1 was. Quite a few of the part numbers in fact. The heads, cam, intake (which was not an Edelbrock, BTW), etc. People call all sorts of things that; about like, half or more of all 350s that get sold, are "out of a Vette". I would recommend that if you don't know EXACTLY what's inside your engine, you don't call it that. It causes you to lose credibility with people who know what they're doing. That RPO code had a VER specific meaning. It is not a "style" of engine.

There's a sticky over in the FAQ board, something like "everything you always wanted to know about swapping in a T-56 but were afraid to ask". Go search that board for T-56 and I'm sure it will come up. Read it first before making assumptions about what will or won't work, or asking redundant questions. It will tell you everything you need to make the swap; part numbers, prices, measurements, why you have to do what you have to do, pics, etc.

C.M.Jones

dude I know its a 5.7, 350 4 bolt main engine and thats all a LT1 is, and yes it's been upgrade with a edelbrock intake and Carp but its still the same engine. I read the Casting number my self ok. It IS a 350. I do know what im talking about and I didn't start this thread about the T-56 I'm simply asking suggestions on what kind of manual Tranny I have as an option givin my paticular setup and I've read the sticky it doesnt answer my Question Im asking here.

does the lack of a computer controled engine help or hurt my situation? The computer is still in the car and is still on (the check engine light is always on, thank got of eletrical tape) but is not plugged into the engone or tranny

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

No, that's NOT all that the LT1 was. There are probably at least 20 times as many 4-bolt 165 HP wonders out of trucks running around as there were LT1s.

It could be the same BLOCK, but not the same ENGINE. About like a 69 Camaro with a 6-cyl is NOT the same CAR as a 69 SS396, even though they're both 69 Camaros.

As I said, carelessly throwing around romantic RPO codes that don't apply to your stuff diminishes one's credibility.

And as you've been told, a T-56 is by far your best bet.

<sofakingdom looks at car again> No, I still don't see any computerized anything hooked up to that big handle thing sticking up out of my console from the T-56... for some reason I thought that had something to do with being called a "manual" transmission.... not sure what you're asking?

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

The only thing that your computer will be "confused" about is that there will no longer be a lockup torque converter to engage and disengage...

Your confused engine will probably run better with an old HEI distributor with vacuum advance and an old style quadrajet with no computer controlled mixture anyway. That means your computer is just there to turn your check engine light on and nothing else...

C.M.Jones

it already has the old style HEI distributor with vacuum

and that was a stupid analogy v6/ss396

STOP BEING A DICKWAD

the casting number says its out of a 70s Camaro or Corvette ok

I know my car stuff and I definantly know my Camaros The HP is some where upwards of 300 or so Im not on here for creditability ok I'm on here because I love Camaro's and I post for answers to questions, not to listen to smart asses like you.

there are connections on the T-56 like reverse lock out and the clutch anticipation switch and what about the lever that moves over to allow you to go from 1st to 4th when saving gas? I don't want the Tranny just to WORK, I want it to work RIGHT.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Let me guess... 3970010?

The casting # does not contain any info about what body style the engine was used in. That same casting was used in every application... trucks, Impalas, Novas, etc. .... from 69 to about 80. My wife's dad's 74 Impala 2-barrel that he bought new in 74 to repalce his aging 58 BelAir had that casting. So did my 78 Z28 equipped with the mighty L48, with its 180 blazing, tire-shredding HP!!. As stated though, BY FAR the most common application for that casting # when 4-bolt main caps were installed on it, was in trucks. Probably at least a million trucks, vs 50,000 Camaros & Corvettes. Just because the LT1 also used that casting and also had the 4-bolt caps put on its block does not make any motor built with such a block "LT1 style".

Explain how my analogy was "stupid", but your claim that your 010 block which is most likely from a truck connects your motor with the LT1 in some way is not.

Stop making silly claims that have no basis in provable fact.

I'm here to help out people who want to be helped, not to get argued with by people who want to make up fanciful claims about their block and then brag about something that doesn't apply to their engine.

Now, on to why the T-56 is the best manual transmission for one of these cars: none of those electrical functions is required for the transmission to "work right". The CAGS solenoid can be removed and replaced with some size oil drain plug, I forget which one exactly, but I got it from the "Help!" aisle at the parts store; and the "reverse allow" solenoid can be removed and replaced by a freeze plug, 30mm I believe it was. It's "reverse allow" BTW, not "reverse lockout"... if the solenoid is absent, then reverse is available, but if the solenoid is present, it blocks the shifter from going into reverse, and energizing the solenoid is required to allow reverse. If it is left there and not hooked up it prevents using reverse. Some people hook it up to their brake lights so that they can't put their car into reverse unless their foot is on the brakes. On the other hand, some of the rest of us have simply become accustomed to not putting a car in reverse accidentally while driving down the road. Every stick shift transmission I've had - which I've been driving stick shifts since when the LT1 was new, and I've had some cars that are FAR older than that - didn't have that "feature", so it doesn't bother me in the slightest that it's not there. All of the Muncies and T-10s that I've had, and the Chevrolet 3-speeds and even the T-5 that this T-56 replaced, didn't have either of those "features". Their presence or absence isn't a part of the transmission "working right". CAGS is easy though, if you want that function; the T-56 comes equipped with this nice big long piece of metal with a **** on it sticking up into the passenger compartment that you can operate that function yourself with MANUALLY, if you really think skipping 2nd and 3rd is going to save you some gas (which isn't what it's there for anyway, no matter what the salesman tells you, it's an EMISSIONS device). The clutch anticipation thing is not a function of the transmission at all; isn't part of it and has nothing whatsover to do with it. It's in the interior of the car.

C.M.Jones

Finally you were actualy imformative, albeit still in a Dickwad-Smart-assish way
I know what my engine is because I see it and use it every day the only reason I brought it up is because I was going to put in a T-5 and even had the transmission but, when I went to ask about if it needed to be rebuit and such I was told that it wouldnt hold up to the HP that car has so I was just informing ppl that the T-5 was not an option. How is that a "fanciful claim"?

why do you feel the LT1 code is so sacred? most ppl hear that and understand that its a bas a$$ engine and I know I have a bas A$$ engine (I'm not being cocky)

ANYWHO thank you (no sarcasm intended)

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Glad to be of service. No offense taken. I'm .... not subject to being offended.

You can explode a T-5 to shrapnel with a 305; or you can make it live for years behind a hot 400. I've done both. But as you can tell, I made the same choice you're looking at; namely, how to get something in there that you don't have to treat like an egg. The T-56 works GREAT. I thoroughly enjoy mine. It has about the same 1st 2nd & 3rd ratios as an old 4 speed, but then has 2 ODs on top of that. What a deal!!

The LT1 code means something VERY SPECIFIC. It's basically a bill of materials complete with part numbers. There's more to it than a block casting. It's not just a cute set of numbers and letters that anybody can apply to anything with 350 cubic inches that they happen to have; strong-running or not. Which your motor may well be, I won't argue that one way or another because I have no knowledge of it. On the other hand, calling a motor "LT1" that DOES NOT contain the same parts that the LT1 was built out of, is "fanciful", period; by the definition of the word "fanciful". Look it up on dictionary.com: you'll probably see words like unreal, imaginative, or not factual.

Those of us who have been around a bit, find the appropriation of RPOs like that, highly offensive. If you think I got bowed up about it, go try posting something like that on a Corvette or 2nd gen Camaro board. They'd probably ban you for such disrespect.

But hopefully we're past all that now and we won't ever see it or have to worry about it any more. Good luck with your project!!

gottfuel

lol

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Although it'll cost you about the same as a T56, another option you can consider is the Tremec TKO 500 or 600 5 speed. These have a few advantages over the T56 if you ask me. For one, to get a good clutch for a T56, it's outrageously expensive (about $500). With the TKO, you can use the same 10.5" 26 spline clutches that the T5 uses, the same bellhousing, and the same flywheel. The flywheel you need to use a T56 behind an older 2-piece rear main 350 is also quite expensive since it's a specialty "conversion" piece. The other nice thing about the TKO is there's no electronic doo-dads anywhere on it, like the reverse lockout solenoid. Then there's the speedo issue. The T56 is only setup for an electric speedo, so you have to buy an expensive converter box to run a cable driven speedo with it. The TKO uses a mechanical speedo drive. You have to buy an adapter since it's Ford style, but the adapter is only about $75, versus $300-$400 for the converter box the T56 requires. The T56 has a 2.66 first gear, so you really need a low rear end gear to get a good take off with it. You can ask Sofa about that issue. Lol. The TKO 500 has a 3.27 first gear, and the TKO 600 has a 2.87 first gear. Fortes Parts Connection sells complete TKO swaps for thirdgens if you decide you want to buy one. Just another option you might want to consider. I managed to pick up a barely used, thirdgen TKO 500 from a guy on here for $1K a while back. The only thing I still have to buy is the Spohn TKO conversion crossmember, but that's only $115. Just made more sense to me than the T56. As far as your "check engine" light goes, you can fix that for free. Just pluck it out of the socket and throw it away. Lol. That's what I did. You can still scan the computer for codes every once in a while without having that annoying light on all the time for some problem that doesn't affect anything as far as how the car runs.

5678TA

ok i skipped 90% of this post but how does a manual have a WAY better take off than an auto?? from what i experience, manuals are just a pain in the *** to launch with a decently strong motor.. i cant even hook up my car..

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Speaking of the speedo cable problem with a T56, I just noticed the post a little further down the board. Read the one titled T56-speedo-JTR Tailshaft. What a PITA.