Hello All,

I just picked up an 84 Z28 that had a manual T5 originally with the 305 L69 package. The transmission is missing, i have the crossmember and original pedals in the vehicle.

I am not sure which way to go here, I am going to put a 350 in the car (do not have the motor yet) and I am pretty sure I want to go with the manual transmission, unless someone can convince an automatic is better.

What I have been reading is that the t-5 is not a good transmission. Does this mean not good period or not good for drag racing or what? I am thinking about a 400 hp street machine, the t-5 would be an easy install since it is the original trans. If the T-5 is unacceptable for my application and the T-56 a better fit, what would I need if I got a 1-piece rear seal 350 block for the project?

 

Maybe I am on the wrong board... I'll try to ask the questions slightly different.

Will the T-5 transmission work alright behind a 350 ci engine in an 84 camaro with slightly less than 400 hp?

What would I have to change to get a T-56 in the car besides the speedo setup?

Thanks for any suggestions or help.

newZman

 

That would depend on your definitions of "work" and "alright".

Bolt up, sure. Assuming you have the right parts. Work, as long as you drive it like there's one egg between your foot and the gas pedal, and another one between the clutch and its upward-travel stop; because you'll sure have one between your engine and your drive shaft. I guess if that's "alright" to you, then, .... it's "alright".

I tore up my first 4 or 5 T-5s when I still had the L69 in my car. I shredded at least a dozen more after I put a 400 in it. I did however put about 100,000 miles on it in the process, in spite of having to refill the fluid every couple of weeks and the whole back of the car being covered in it and the car reeking of that crap for YEARS. So I guess you could say, it "worked" sort of; but to me, it was ANYTHING BUT "alright".

To put a T-56 in your car, assuming a LT1 one, you'll need the right flywheel, the right hydraulics, the right clutch, a different crossmember, a shifter, and the speedo dealt with as you mentioned. I also put a Spohn torque arm in my car, which I highly recommend also even though not strictly "necessary", since even before I tore up my frst T-5, I had already trashed a couple of trans mounts; and I had put a TA for the T-5 in it a LONG time ago, which was ALTOGETHER BETTER IN EVERY WAY than the stock rubber band thing. I wasn't about to go back to that.

I don't miss T-5s ONE BIT.

 

Thanks Sofa that's exactly what I wanted to know. I dont think, based on your input, that I want to put a T-5 back in there. So I am going to go the T-56 route, I wasn't sure if my tranny mount would work or not.

Tell me if I am missing anything. When I get my tranny (probably from a wrecking yard) I'll want to get these parts with it;

master and slave clutch servos (not sure I got that right)
Flywheel/clutch assembly
Cross-member from new trans. (or do I need to make up something?)

where to get parts for modifying for the speedo output?

Thanks again I appreciate the help, I am an okay wrench but not fimiliar with too much.

 

Yes you'll need the master and slave cylinders, and the line that goes between them, and the little spacer that's about 1½" thick that goes between the BH and the slave cyl.

Yes you'll need the right flywheel; which if your engine is a 86-up, the stock T-56 one will work fine, but if it's 85-back, you'll need a $$$special$$$ conversion one such as the Centerforce 700107.

No there is not a stock crossmember that will work. You can get a "conversion" one from any of a number of places, and either use a stock rubber-band torque arm, or get a Xm-TA combo as a package (which is what I did).

THe speedo thing on a T-56 is not in the right place to put a cable in it.



As you can see, it's directly in line with the mainshaft, whereas the one for a cable has to be about 1" BELOW the mainshaft centerline, and about 1½" CLOSER to the manishaft than it would be in the hole you can see in the pic. It is not a trivial matter.

Here's what a T-56 has where a speedo gear would have to go.



Unfortunately I don't have a pic handy of the $$$special$$$ little piece that has to be made to accept a speedo gear housing, or of the machine work to the trans necessary to accept it. But there's a couple of people on this board that will do it for you for a price.

 

Thanks again. This is good information, although a bit intimidating, I still feel it is the better route.

I am going to pulling one probably out of a wrecking yard...

Is there a quick "fool proof" way to identify the T-56 compared to the T-5?

I see your pic of the T-56 but I have never seen a T-5 so I dont know if they look alike or not. And probably couldn't tell which is which sitting next to each other even after seeing your pic.

newZman

 

For a ton of info on the T-5, check the sticky at the top of the page.

JamesC

 

Sure. They're COMPLETELY different, no trouble to tell apart.

Just go to the world's biggest archive of carefully-taken pictures of EVERYTHING, and browse through what people have posted there, trying to sell their stuff.

eBay. Biggest database of photos of physical objects on the planet.

I hope you got a kick out of that pile of trashed T-5s in that one pic; that's a shelf in my garage. Don't worry, there's more.

 

I did look around a bit on the T-5 page, lot of good info there. I checked out ebay and they are hard to confuse between. Wow what a cost difference I didn't really expect that, it looks like I need to plan on the tranny being the high$$ portion of my project. T-5 about 500 bucks, T-56 about 2000 bucks. I still think it is the better way to go.

I think I have enough to get started with, I just to get the funds and start at it. I have plenty of prep to do while I wait so I wont be board.

 

I talked to Alloy regarding the tail piece conversion! A big that is knowing that resource is available. Definitely seals the plan for T-56.

I do have a question about the shifter on the T-56.

It looks like it sits back a bit farther than the T-5 did. Will I have to cut the tunnel for it, or will it fit under without tunnel with an extension of some sort?

For clarification this cat did have the T-5 originally.

 

I meant to say "A big relief that is knowing that recource is available".

 

Yes the shifter extends slightly farther back. The hole will have to be elongated slightly.

I had to cut my car about an inch. Others report as much as 1½". Depends on the car I guess, there's ALOT of tolerance there in the stock setup. It fits in the stock boot and stock console in any case.

 

I'll note his down as a todo. Thanks again sofakingdom.