I was just wondering how hard and expensive would it be to make my GTA Manual and which trans would be better T5 vs. T56??? it orginally has 5.7 w/700R tranny

 

I converted my car to a 5 speed from an automatic, and I didn't think that it was hard at all. You will need a manual transmission, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder set-up, shifter, console plate, pedals, and the torque arm mount is different for a manual also. My swap costed me a little over $1000, not buying any cheap parts either. I think that a t56, tko 500 or 600 would be better to swap in because of how much more power than can handle compared to a t5.

 

Like 85iroc-Z said it s not hard at all as long as you have all the parts. I did the the conversion to my camaro and i didnt have theTorque arm mount for the tranny and had to special order it from a GM dealership. It not cheap like $90 and that was with a discount.

 

Thanx guys for the replys.
The only think taht gets me worried is the slave cylinder set-up. Would it be good to get this part form the original manual car or to buy it new(autozone, etc..)? And is any special tool needed to install the slave cylinder? I'm guessing i can get the torque arm mount form the original manual car right???

 

Well i would get the entire Slave cylinder set up from the original car just to save alittle money. You could look up prices of a new setup compared to what you could get for it out of the original car. But thats just me. As for the Installing the slave cylinder to the bellhousing i used two long 3/8in bolts to pull it close and switch to shorter ones, one at a time. or just use your palm to push the rod in and quickly install it that way. And i would definatly get orginal torquer arm mount from the Manual car. The most important part is the steel clam shell you can always replace the bushing part with a urethatne one latter.

 

as for the swap itself, how hard is it exactly?
is it something that can be done in a weekend or is it a bigger project than that?

 

if you have everything on hand, are mechanically inclined and have a decent set of tools yes it can be done in a weekend easily.......

 

Check out the sticky and FAQ. Plenty of info there. Only hiccup is mating the trans to a 2 piece rear block.

 

whats the hard part about a 2pc block?

 

an lt1 style t56 clutch requires a special flywheel if you have a 2 pc rear seal engine it is availible from centerforce and its about $400,

if you have a 86' up 1 pc seal engine, you can use a stock lt1 flywheel, i scored one at autozone for about $60+$100 core

 

I'm thinking about doing this too and just buying a cheap ol' automatic camaro with low mileage and well taken care of body/interior. I just gotta choose the engine I want now that'll easily mate with a t56.

I'm new to the american muscle scene. I've always had a japanese import lol. Hope you do the auto swap successfully. I like to DIY since it puts more sentimental value on the car and you learn something from tearing/rebuilding.