I just finished my t-56 swap and i thought i might mention some things for those of you who are looking into it.....

1. You must remove the distributor to allow the engine to tilt back far enough to get to the bellhousing bolts. It looks like you can just take off the cap and be ok but DONT TRY IT!!!! The distributor will hit the firewall and you will bend the distributor shaft. A new distributor is $100 at autozone. (dont ask me how i know this )


2. An aftermarket crossmember is helpful, but not nessicarily required. You can modify the stock one. The center section needs to be cut out and moved exactally 3 1/2'' back. When you have the two transmissions side by side you can look at the mounts and you will see what im talking about. I braced mine with 4 sections of angle iron and welded it up. Its very solid and has no problem holding up to my heavy foot when i chirp gears. Im sure the piece that Sphoon sells is great but i wanted to save myself $120. (like to buy a new distributor! )

3. I threw away the stock shifter and got a Pro 5.0. I love it. There is no slop at all and the shifts are very firm and have a very positive feel. I highly reccomend you invest in one. It will be $175 well spent.

4. I have 3.73s and at about at 50mph im turning 1500rpm. Having 2 more gears to play with its really worth it!

I hope this helps someone.....

 

is there certain years t56 to swap out ie. lt1 of ls1 or are they all the same with the case, bellhousing, pressure plate yadayadayada. i know the flywheel is differnet. i wanna put a t56 behind my 383.


i believe most if not all liberals are soulless ghouls.
vote nra and keep your guns

 

i think its the LT1 t56s that will work but it could be the LS1s too, im not sure. mine came out of a 93 trans am. 93 was the only year that they had close ratio gears. but it has a .6 OD in 6th gear instead of a .5. Oh well, it keeps me happy. as for the flywheel, LT1s are 1pc RMS so they will bolt right up to any 87+ SBC. not sure about the 2pc RMS though....

trust me, my guns arent going anywhere. i just got a new shotgun yesterday actually. a Mossberg 500 12ga tactical. tomorrow im going to take it out and "excecute" my smog pump

 

Ummmm, no.....

93 was the only year with WIDE ratio gears. 94-97 had CLOSER ratios, by a considerable amount, than 93. The 93 has 2.97. http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/T56Ratios1.pdf

I have about a 96 or 97 one, 1st is 2.66 (similar to old 4-speeds). All I have is the lame stock gears too (3.73), maybe someday I'll put 4.10s or something in it, that would be ALOT better with the close ratios.

 

It is very easy to break the distributor if you are not watching when you tip the engine but you don't have to remove it. I got to the bolts without removing the distributor or taking the cap off. You just have to use a bunch of long extensions. Also use a 6 point scoket instead of a 12 point. Those bolts are tight and I almost rounded one off even with a 6 point socket.

 

really? well ill take your word for it, i didnt do my homework on that i was just going off what the guy told me who i bought the trans from. in any event it i think it matches perfectly with my 3.73s. i couldnt be happier with it.

thanks for the correction sofa...

mike,
i looked at the clearance and i thought i could make it without bending it but i didnt have another jackstand to support the engine so i had to let it hang all the way down. it was totally my fault that the distributor got phucked in the process. oh well, another lesson learned the hard way. ive never removed a trans from a thirdgen with the motor still in the car before. ive done the manual swap 3 times before i tried this one but all of those times was during an engine rebuild so i just pulled the engine and trans as a unit. ive heard that it was a real PITA to take out a 700R4 with the motor in the car but id never attempted to do it until now. its not fun, but it is possible with about 3 feet worth of extensions. another thing i learned is that the 700R4 is a LOT heavier than it looks at 2am!!!

oh well, the important thing is i did it. i have all the kinks worked out now and i couldnt be happier with the results!

 

Another few things to add...

The LT1 T56 will bolt right up, and the LS1 T56 will not. However, an LS1 T56 can be modified into an LT1 style quite easily. You just have to change the front bearing retainer (front part of the casing), and input shaft to an LT1, all the rest is the same.

Also, 4.10s work VERY nicley with the T56, with the RPMs at 80MPH being 2300

Hope this helps!!!

 

with my 3.73s i turn about 2500rpm at 70.

damn i wish i had that .5 OD.......

 

the bell housings are different as well.
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poly motor mounts and no worry about the distributor have had my tranny out a couple of times now with no issues about the distributor.

 

i have no idea how in the world you would bend your distributor, but i took the t 5 out and put in the t56 (and took it out a few times unfortunatly) with no problems. car was on a lift and all i used was wobbler extensions

by the way, if you do a lot of work on your car, spend the $100 or so and get a set of these, they are one of mans best inventions makes it a lot easier to get to tight places

 

I find that when doing the bellhousing bolts on our cars, that an impact "ball" swivel and extensions is the easiest way to remove or intall the bolts. If you have two thats even better. I hate the u-joint type swivels, they are worthless junk and only good for ruining bolts and busting knuckles. i have take out and put in about 10 or so transmissions in these cars, both manual and auto, and NEVER had to remove the dizzy, in fact I think I only had to remove the cap 1 time. Proper tools make all the difference.

if you guys have never used ball swivels, get a set and you'll never go back to the junky u-joint kind.

 

hey guys have one question on a t56 swap to a third gen. what type of pedal assembly should i use? have my fourth gens but i think i have to do some mods to get them to mount up. first time doing a third gen swap kinda sucks lol fourth gens take me about a 1/2 day to a day.

 

I didn't need a sivel of any kind, just long extensions. I just pulled and replaced my T56 a few weeks ago. Let the whole thing hang.. the distrubutor and cap stayed in place and was no where near the firewall.

I used 3rd gen pedals for mine because I got them at the junkyard for $15. I've seen people say you have to use the 4th gen.. seen some say use the 3rd. I've had no problems.. well related to the clutch anyway.

 

the 4th gen pedals are almost a direct bolt in, not all of the bolts lined up for me but enough to hold it in, and the clutch master rod works better on the 4th gen pedals. only thing you have to do is cut off the gas pedal. i havnt heard good things about t56's with 3rd gen pedals, but have never tried it. really the decision is up to you

 

i used thirdgen pedals. no problems here...

 

Either set of pedals should work. I tried both. I put in the 4th gen pedals first. They were much closer to the floor but I kind of liked that. However, when I hooked up the master cylinder to the clutch pedal the rod was cocked way off to the left. It was so bad that it was starting to bind up. The clutch pedal was also higher than the brake pedal. I know others have used 4th gen pedals and didn't have these problem. Anyway I swapped to third gen pedals and everything lined up much nicer. The only down side to 3rd gen pedals is that the engagement point is higher and the pedal is a bit stiff. However, I am happier with 3th gen pedals.