ok guys, i am about to undertake a hugh retro/resto project on my first car- 1985 Z28 coupe with 1986 L98 out of a corvette. i have searched and read threads, theres a lot of pros and cons about every tranny named up here. it seams noone can agree that one tranny is "the best", but that makes sense since everyones ride and use is different. so heres my delima, i need a STRONG manual-5 or 6 speed. i am having the motor stroked 383 with new heads and hopefully holly stealth ram intake and engine management system... from what ive researched it should give me about 460 horses and 451 ft lbs of torque. this is a street car but will enjoy myself at the strip a couple of times.... keep it safe! so the t-5 is def. too weak, im not sure if the t-56 can handle that much power. i have thought about a six speed from a corvette- it would be nice if corvettes in 86 came with a 6 speed, then it would be a very easy swap. oh, by the way, the car is an auto right now, i think a 700r4? anyway, what was strange to me was when i pulled the console out of the car, there is a rubber shift boot in the floor just in front of the shifter linkage... the car origanally had a 305 carb. (checked it at carfax when i first bought the car at 15yrs old) so i guess it came with the t-5? anyway, im getting off subject- so i need a strong manual tranny(5 or 6 speed) to bolt to a 383 pushing 450 horses at the flywheel. any suggestions would definatley help. and if i get the pedal assymbly from another 3rd gen camaro and hydrolics from "u-wrench it" or somewhere along with new centerforce clutch, flywheel, lakewood bellhousing. what about driveshafts? can i just get this one modified for the dif. in lengths or will i need a upgrade? as far as the rear end, how difficult is it to find a 12 bolt with stock suspension locations? did any 3rd gen come with 12 bolt? hope there are some answers to go with all these questions. thanks

 

the 12 bolt would be aftermarket only.

a stock t56 is good for, iirc 450 torque, you should be fine.
the tko600 is a good strong trans. I like mine, putting 520lb/ft through it
the rubber "shift boot" you see is probably the shifter cable boot. The actual 5 speed boot takes up the whole area under thge shifter, its probably 10x10".

Both of the above setups will run upwards of $2500, new
actually the 12 bolt would too

You can get an ls1 driveshaft, 3" aluminum, tough piece, and it will bolt right in. The Tko however, requires a different trans yoke a ford c6 style

 

Agree, the T56 can handle the power if it is freshly rebuilt or was well maintained. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go TKO 500/600 and deal with the swap issues. I don't like the T56 clutch setup, but to each his own...

The rear is most common to buy from Moser and Strange. They both sell 12 bolts and Dana 60s for 3rd gens. Nothing really tough was ever offered in our cars. The 7 1/2" ten bolts suck, the 9 bolts are okay but tough to get parts for, and the Dana 44 is like panning for gold; good luck scoring one. You hve to go aftermarket to get a good rear.

 

i meant the rubber boot is behind-and its about 10x10. looks like was not installed by factory, has about 15 self tapping screws around the perimeter and had a matal plate screwed over top of it to keep water and dirt out i guess. anyway, does anyone know what cars the tko600 came in?

 

the Tremec TKO 600 is an aftermarket transmission

 

the tremec 5 speed comes in later model mustangs. though it will not swap right over. It needs a custom input shaft, adapter plate to bolt to the bellhousing, different shifter, ect. Forte's Parts Connection sells the kit.

 

hey guys, check this site out!!! i was searching google for info about the tko 500, 600 and came across http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/3rd_gen_camaro.html if your doing a tranny swap and plan on using this model, you can get ALL parts from here for the conversion... auto to manual, and t-5 to tko. wow!!

 

and pay premo(sp?) for it. Most the parts can be found at better prices, some parts can be used. It is handy to buy it all from one sight, but if you are willing to dig a bit, you can save some money here and there

they do seem to have a slightly better price for the trans than fortes... but the clutches are WAY expensive, as for the bellhousing, a lakewood housing is about 350.

actually, looking further, i think fortes price is old, and it seem that 5speedtransmissions.com, sells fortes stuff.

 

yeah, i agree the prices are high but for a one stop shop its not a bad place to look at a full parts list for the swap. summits lakewood housing is cheaper and the clutch price also, the trans is about average but could find one at a tranny shop, rebuilt with 0 or very few miles for almost half the price. thats probably what ill do, because i want to reliability and warrenty of a new tranny but dont want the new tranny price. looked on ebay and found ONE tko 500 for gm and it was just under 2000. im not in a hurry to by a tranny but am trying to get a parts list together- about to start the body work, then the suspension and rear end/brakes will be upgraded, then the motor/tranny then interior. so a large list over a couple years but gathering info first is more important than quickly gathering parts and waste loads of money returning parts or trying to resell... thanks for the help everyone

 

you will not find a converted tko in a trans shop, wont happen. It has to have the gm input shaft and the adapter plate to mount it to the bellhousing, its unique to the third gen
----------
good luck on that

 

ok, so about the t-56... a freshly rebuilt from a tranny shop will fit then right... will it need any custom shafts, etc to fit the camaro? its a motor from a 86 vette- L98... it was introduced to the camaro in 87 with a roller valve train, but 85 86 was not... thats not going to matter but im currious if its a 1 or 2 pc rear main seal? that could make a difference because i think the flywheel bolts/ maybe the flexplate... i cant remember... are different and will not swap over... if you guys think the t56 will handle the power, and its a pretty easy swap, can get the tranny at a good price than thats what i will do. i kinda like the idea of pounding an extra gear! anyway- if you guys dont have any objections on this choice and everything is copasedic(<-SP?) then its going on my wishlist... thanks

 

im not totally up to date with the t56, but i believe that the 86 corvette block would be a 1 pc rear main. I think the Lt1 style t56 should bolt right to it. You need a aftermarket trans crossmember, either one with a torque arm from spohn, or just the crossmember and use the stock torque arm connection.

it wouldn't necessarily need to be freshly rebuilt, a low mileage one would probably be fine.

as for the "ease" of the swap, that all depends on you mechanical ability. There is a post a few threads down "my t56 swap" or something like that, and its been chronicling the whole deal for a little while now, though he has an older block.

 

yeah, im kinda mechanically inclined. i work maintenance in a steel mill, i weld, do electrical, gears boxes and hydraulics, etc... anyway i will search and research the lt1 t56 if that will bolt right up that would be awesome. would i need to run a clutch for the lt1 or the camaro?

 

Clutch AND flywheel from LT1 if you have a one piece rear main seal; if you have the old two piece seal you need a custom flywheel from Centerforce. You'll need the 4th gen hydraulic setup as well.