Ok. So I'm building a carbed 385 sbc for my 92 bird. I want it to be a 6 speed and I've read a lot about the conversions and all of that. I found an offer on craigslist for t56 from a 95 Formula. It should bolt right up to my gen 1 sbc if indeed it came from the stock LT1 instead of a converted LS1 or something.

My question is what should I ask and look for in the offer?

He's asking $1000 and included it says: "transmission, shifter, bellhousing, clutch, pressure plate, and the hydraulics.
everything you need to swap or put in a project."

This sounds like a great deal and I don't want to miss out, but I also don't want to buy something I don't need. This will be going into a car that WAS an automatic 3.1L.

 

I paid 1400 shipped for my swap with all of what you mentioned with I think 120k miles. I would check it out asap and probably jump on it. That's a pretty smoking deal.

Just try to get the flywheel as well.

As for buying something you don't need... that is entirely up to you.

 

How much are flywheels for these things just in case he doesn't have one? Not familiar with the term pressure plate; same as a flywheel?

Also, I know to be aware of the clutch/slave cylinder/master cylinder condition as those wear a lot. I'm hoping these won't be in horrible condition to be replaced, but if they are, how much am I looking at to replace them? Around another $1000?

And I didn't mean don't need. lol. I meant something I can't use. sorry

 

I believe a pre-bled master/slave cylinder new is $108, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I think a flywheel is around $150 or so, but I would check on ebay to be sure. The pressure plate is part of the clutch assembly.

In my swap thread, I have the cost of what everything cost me. In about 7-8 months I am going to be selling my T56 crossmember if you are still doing the swap. Here is my thread.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...swap-made.html

 

Ok. Awesome. I'll ask about mileage and condition of it, hopefully he's trustworthy. Maybe he'll have the flywheel. Worst case I buy a new one.

It sounds like it's either coming from a junkyard or some type of autoparts shop. If he throws in a crossmember I'll take it. If not I'll be in touch with you because I don't have enough time this summer to finish the swap anyways. Will have to start and finish next summer between classes.

Thanks for the thread link. I'll look into yours as well. Haven't read yours yet.

 

His crossmember will not work if it is coming off a 4th gen. It must be a LT1 T56 crossmember made for a thirdgen. Spohn makes them... I honestly think you can get the swap done for under $1500 if you take your time getting parts. I had to rush and order all my stuff when I was overseas. Deals are popping up all the time. If you can talk him down to around $900, then that's just more money saved. I think 1k is a good deal if the stuff is in good condition.

 

And that's why I post on these forums. Thanks for telling me about the cross member. I'm still learning. lol.

And I'm planning on talking him down. Not by much for him to walk away but hopefully the full time college student part will help.

Where will I look for the casting numbers on the tranny. I just want to be sure I'm not being lied to.

BTW: Thanks for the QUICK reply. I feel a lot better about this.

 

Here is a thread that will tell you what to look for to verify it is indeed an LT1 T56.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/new-ls1-ow...56-tranny.html

 

I talked to the guy today. He said it comes with the flywheel. He told me everything I would need for the swap and that he's done a 90's 6 speed swap before so he understands.

He told me that the car isn't running and that it's got 188k on the odometer, so I guess that's the downside. But for that price I'm still all for it.

What do you think?