I'm doing a T56 swap right now. I am NOT using the LT1 bellhousing and clutch. I am using the adapter plate and a Lakewood bellhousing. This gives me several options as far as a clutch setup. My estimated horsepower right now is a little over 400. I am not running slicks but would like to get some for the track which I might go to a few times. The car will be drove hard though. I dont plan on high rpm clutch drops though.

The different options I'm looking at right now are...

1. Stock replacement T5 flywheel and zoom 10.4" clutch kit.
2. SFI flywheel (not real expensive though) and 11" clutch kit.

A couple of things. I currently have a brand new 11" stock replacement clutch. I dont know how much power these will hold though. If I got a new flywheel, then I wouldnt have to buy a clutch. Or I could get a new flywheel, use the pressure plate I have and just get a better disc to go with it. Or should I run the stock T5 flywheel and zoom clutch setup?

 

If I decide to use an 11" clutch, could I use a normal LT1 flywheel? Are they balanced the same? Also, how much extra holding power does an 11" clutch have over the 10.4?

 

My humble opinion is you step up to the 168 tooth SFI flywheel
and run either a 11" or 12" clutch since they both use the same
12 5/8" bolt circle bolt pattern. The use a organic/ceramic style
disc. This should be good to 500hp of hard use.

 

How would this setup be. It uses an 11" disc. Would I be ok with running a stock pressure plate and a good disc? Someone gave me a Sachs pressure plate and disc for free, thats why I'm seeing if I can use that at all.

Flywheel - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RAM-1530/

Would I be ok with the stock clutch I have for now while on street tires? I also have a Spec disc laying around that is 11" and 26 spline but it is out of a Mustang (fairly sure). Someone must have converted a stang to the 26 spline. Would that disc work with the pressure plate I already have. I hate cheaping out on things, but I am basically broke right now. I also work at a dealership and I am doing all this at work but am currently trying to get a different job so I would rather finish all this up while I can do it on a lift.

Edit: In all honesty after a lot more thinking I'm really considering using the stock clutch I have now with the flywheel listed above. That would actually be about $80 cheaper than a stock T5 flywheel and the zoom clutch I was going to use. I'm really itching to drive the car and I have a million things I want to do to the car before sticky tires. Plus if I go to the track more than once this year I'll be surprised. Will I be wanting to shoot myself later for doing this?

 

Just my personal opinion here, but I really think you're a bit too hung up on the idea of an 11" clutch. Clutch technology has come a long way in the past 20 years or so, and you'd be surprised at how well the 10.5" stock diameter clutches hold. There's honestly not a huge difference in the holding power by stepping up to the 11", especially if you buy a good quality 10.5". Another personal opinion is that the Zoom clutches aren't all that great. My suggestion would be to go with the Ram Powergrip clutch. If you need to save some cash, you CAN use it with the stock flywheel, or you could get a billet one from Ram or GM Performance. Just make sure when you install it that you either have a new flywheel or get the original resurfaced. You could also spend a little more for the Ram Powergrip HD, but I'm willing to bet the standard PG would meet your needs. I'm running the regular PG behind a 400HP SBC in my 69 Camaro, and it's never even attempted to slip. Here's a link for the clutch I recommended. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RAM-98730/. Also, here's a good flywheel to go with it. It's the equivalent to the 16 lb., lightweight flywheel that Z/28 3rd gens got, and it's SFI approved. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RAM-1512/ Of course if you're stuck on the idea of using an 11", just upgrade the flywheel and clutch set accordingly.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm not stuck on the 11" I was just wondering if it would be a good idea for me to step up to it or not. I went to Ram's site and read the description of the clutch you listed and it does sound like a good one. Its also $10 cheaper than the zoom one I was looking at so thats nice How important is the SFI flywheel to have? The new stock one I already bought cost me $100 so the SFI one is $200 more. Thats enough money for me to completely finish this project.

 

Hell yeah, if the Ram is actually cheaper than the Zoom you were looking at, definitely go with the Ram! They're FAR superior to Zoom clutches. If you already got a brand new stock replacement flywheel I'd say go ahead and run it. SFI approved is nice, but not totally necessary for what you're doing. Besides that, the latest design on the Ram PG clutch disc uses organic material on the flywheel side of the disc, so it's not real abusive on the flywheel surface. Their old design used sintered iron on both sides of the disc, and sintered iron is aggressive enough to really dig into the flywheel surface. The new design only uses sintered iron on the pressure plate side of the disc, so it's safe to use with a stock flywheel. My old Ram PG clutch had sintered on both sides, and I even had an SFI approved billet flywheel, and it still dug into the FW surface pretty significantly. Since I put the newer design in with the organic material on the FW side, I haven't noticed any slippage at all, so it's apparently equally up to the task! Btw, I did have to get my billet FW resurfaced when I put the new clutch in to get rid of the groove that the sintered iron material put in it! So as long as you're using a disc with organic material on the FW side a stock FW will work just fine.

 

Cool. On Rams site they say the clutch you posted the link to is good to 550 HP. Thats more power than I have now and like I said I have no plans to upgrade anything major anytime soon. So that one would be fine for me. Hopefully in a few weeks then I can order the clutch. I'm ordering the hydraulic throwout bearing and adapter fittings to let me run AN line out of the clutch tomorrow. The clutch will then be the last part to buy other than taking the driveshaft to get shortened.

 

You'll have to let me know how that hyd. T/O bearing works out. I've eyeballed them many times, and seriously considered buying one for my car before. I have the TKO 5 speed in my 69 Camaro and either Ram or McLeod, can't remember which, sells one for the Tremecs that bolts in place of the original bearing retainer. Of course on that car I'd also have to rig up a hyd. m/c and line since it's a mechanical bellcrank setup. That's one thing nice with the 3rd gens, all the hydraulic stuff is pretty much already set! Probably just need a couple of AN adapter fittings to hook it up to the new T/O.

 

I'll defiently post up the build of putting the trans in the car as from what I've seen noone has exactly the same setup I'm using. I'm going to actually make a plate to cover the hole in the bellhousing where the clutch fork would normally come out. I'm going to have both lines for the T/O bearing come out of the bearing and then to a bulkhead AN fitting on this plate. Then my line coming out of the master cylinder will connect to the T/O bearing at this plate making disconnecting the line to pull the trans much easier. I'm also going to run the bleed line out of this plate and above the bearing to make bleeding it easier. Hopefully the car will be driving by the end of the month. If you want to run an AN line out of a stock master clyinder I'm fairly sure these will fit. I'm ordering them tonight so I'll see later this week when they come in.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RUS-640281/

 

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Sweet, I'll definitely be interested in hearing how everything works out! At one point in time I was considering a T56 swap for my 3rd gen, and I was going to use the old style clutch setup too. From what I've seen on the boards here, and also talking to guys with the T56 style clutch, they don't seem to be very durable, not to mention they're ridiculously expensive! I ended up buying a TKO 5 speed because it uses our clutch, and I also have a cable-driven speedo, so it's much easier to use for that as well. I just barely had my 700r4 all redone with Dana's Pro Built street/strip kit and a 2600 stall, and it still feels kinda mushy, and I can't get the damn lockup to engage at the right time no matter what I try! So I'm just about ready to say the hell with the 700r4! I may just go ahead and take it back out, mothball it for now, and put the TKO in. I've already bought/collected every single piece needed to put the 5 speed in, so it's all paid for. I'm really starting to regret all the extra money I spent on redoing the slushbox auto! There's no smoke and mirrors involved in setting up a manual trans properly, they're a piece of cake. I've always had a stick in my 69 Camaro and it's a blast to drive! Yeah definitely post back up after the install, I'm hoping it all works out great for ya!