I know there is a ton of info on here about this topic but just looking for some quick
opinions on doing this swap - those that have done it, are you happy you did?
Looks like a straight forward easy swap - your thoughts?? I am contemplating doing
this swap on a all stock 87 GTA - please chime in - Thanks!

 

I cant speak for all because mine was already swapped,but I love my T56. I don't know your skill level,tools,or budget,but it will take a lot of all of these things.
We need a little more information as to say it would be worth your while.

 

Who is "we" ??......unlimited budget - Master Technician for the last 33 years - have $60K in tools
You think that qualifies me to perform this task??

 

I did not mean to offend,I did not know.

 

no worries

 

Well, my '88 L98 had a "hillbillied" T5 swap when I bought it. Took a while to go through it to do it properly, they'd used an S10 clutch, and done it badly, so I took it all apart, and put it together right....

...and have enjoyed it so much the past 40,000 miles that I'm doing a T56 swap now.

When I first bought the car, I'd never owned a manual transmission car before, but knew how to drive one, and the first few weeks I'd worried I'd made a mistake.

Then came the first drive I made on The Dragon (about an hour from where I live), and after an afternoon of that, being able to select what gear I wanted, I'd never own one without a manual.

 

I swapped a t5 into a mostly stock 89 iroc 5.7/700r4 car, with no issues. I'm very mechanically inclined, and have a lot of general wrenching experience, but not formally trained at all, and I had no troubles. Actually rebuilt the T5 before the swap, and that was far more challenging than the swap in the car.

AWESOME swap. Never enjoyed automatics in "fun" cars. Worth every penny and every minute.

 

I managed to pull off my own T5 swap as well, and I have zero formal training with auto work or auto repair. It's made the car a blast to drive, even with the current rear gears (I'd like 3.73's someday). I've never been a fan of automatics.

The only suggestion I would think to give someone at your level would be to find a donor car with everything you need. Unless you just have money to burn, buying a car with all the little bits and pieces already present saves a lot of time and money.