hi, i'm looking to convert my 91 formula to a manual setup. My car has a 4 bolt 350 carb setup. motor is mild maybe 260-270hp. Theres a guy selling a t-5 out of a 84 trans am with all the peddles,clucth cylinder, yata yata. will the t-5 from that 84 trans am fit in my car? he's asking 500, but i'd give him 300. If i had the t-5 built how much power could it take? Think the stock t-5 could hold with a 260hp motor? at least till i do the heads and cam. also is there a link to a step by step tranny swap? i checked a while back and found a write up, but can't find it now.

 

do a search, or try perusing the tech articles. you'll find this one: https://www.thirdgen.org/f-body-auto...al-tranny-swap

it has most of the details, then go asking specific questions. also, since the avg hp at the flywheel was around 240-260, that shouldn't cause problems for you. but if you powershift it, or beat on it hard, it won't last long. it's a t-5, that's what they do.

 

that article isn't bad, but i found one before with actual detailed picks. A built t-5 has to be worth something, no? what do you think would be better a built t-5 or a performance rebuilt 700r4?

 

Both can withhold power but the 700r4 will hold ALOT more... the T-5 will hold the 350 hp if you never dump the clutch or race.... crusing it will be fine, a built t-5 will be fine for some beats and stuff but will not take the abuse a 700r4 will... plus if you plan on racing look at dragsters you don't see manual trannys in dragsters.. basically look:
T-5 - Crusing
700r4 - Racing, crusing.

Bottem line is t-5's don't hold up.....

If you want a manual get a T-56. They are ALOT better!

 

you don't see manuals as much because auto's are more consistant. nothing to do with how they hold up, just results that can be duplicated time after time. also, if you're thinking about a swap, have you looked into a T-56 swap? better able to hold the power of you future mods, an extra gear, and the same process as installing a T-5. if I hadn't gotten such a good deal on my swap stuff, I'd have done that instead. just food for thought.

 

i would certainly prefer a t56 over a t-5, but they cost twice as much. Auto's are consistant, but in my opinion your not truley driving the car. i like shifting and i like the extra stress of being consistant. Cause at the end of the day whats cooler a consistant auto or a consistant driver. Not to mention better gas mileage and more fun... From a cost perspective though i may be stuck with this 700r4. Don't get me wrong it's still fun. How much would i be looking at, on average, if i wanted to have a performance rebuild done on this auto? when they overhaul the tranny do they readjust the kcik down cable? i think mines all messed up cause the car will not down shift when i floor it full throotle. it just stays in the tall gear.

 

Thats basically what i mean also.... cause ppl can't shift as fast as a built up the A** auto.... especially drag racing with a dragster or somethnig.... Go t-56 but the downsides are..... you gotta have a 4th gen rear, the tranny, new crossmember, and misc. parts to install it.... Good luck It'll be worth it in the end if you go T-56.

 

negative. lots of mis-info there. you need the the tranny, master/slave cylinder, flywheel, starter, and clutch kit. the pedals will work with the T-56, but you should grab them as well to maintain the correct cylinder pressure. the drive shaft is the same, the rear is not necessary at all. I'm unsure about the x-member, I believe you can use the t-5 x-member as well. do a search. but some of the parts, if you're set up for a manual, are re-usable. you can also use the McLeod conversion parts... the adapter plate and bellhousing and clutch kit allow you to use the T-5 flywheel and your starter, and the old hydraulics. look into it. do a search, then make a decision.

 

too costly for a swap. i'm gonna focus on the auto i suppose. to me it seems like the tranny slips. what about kickdown cable issues will a shop fix that if i get the tranny overhauled? i've never had a tranny built so i don't know whats included.

 

Get the tranny rebuilt and tell them you want performance parts put in... and tell them about the kickdown cable... or you could not tell them then they have to fix it cause they thought it came in fine.....

 

sounds like a plan. yea i want a professional to sweak the kick down cause i have no idea how to do it. plus having the kickdown cable set incorrectly can really hurt the tranny. I wanna get a place that will warranty the tranny and the work done. Any one recommend a place in the rochester ny area?

 

a built tranny and a t56 will probably be the same price the earlier t56 i believe allows you to use more of your factory parts and the K member is not reusable with a t56 but there are after market products. also the speed sensor proposes an issue search Google man it will bring up thindgen.org posts pretty often and other good ones.

 

crossmember.... not K member. the former holds the trans and the latter holds the motor. otherwise, he's pretty much right

 

I think he means my article I wrote when I swapped during christmas vacation....

It's really gone...I put in about 20 pictures of every step and everybody loved the thread...some said it would be a great sticky....where has it gone??
admin?

I'm not in the mood of writing everythig again
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found it:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...y-t5-swap.html

had the link sent to my brother through e-mail so I pasted it in...but I could not find it with the search.... weird...

wouldn't this be a great sticky...I think a lot of people just need pics to actually SEE how it looks...

 

it's really not possible to find it via the search option!?!?????
not even if you search for all my threads....

here's the link again:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...y-t5-swap.html

 

i hate that. you tell someone to search, and the search doesn't find... uh... feces. yeah, that's it. feces. anywho, great thread. I'll be tackling this over the weekend for sure. thanks Benny.

 

I did the swap. I'm now the proud owner of one of the few 5-speed 82 Trans Ams in the world. this swap is extremely simple to do if you have good power tools and a lift. it's moderately difficult without those two factors. if you have good tools and no lift, it's only time consuming, not difficult. I loved it, had a lot of fun. I recommend if you want to, do it. take your time though.... I had lots of patience and it paid off. the swap looks factory, and I couldn't be happier. now if my motor would get back from the machine shop....

EDIT:::

anyone have pics, like from the side? I'm trying to see how much the trans itself sticks up out of the floor where the shifter comes into the car. everything else is GTG and bolted up, i just want a reference so I know what it should look like BEFORE i put the lower shifter boot on. anyone?