Hey everybody! How's it going? I just had a few questions, as my 700r4 is on it's last leg, and my 6-speed(a '94 T56) that was going to be installed mid spring is being bumped up to now.
I plan on either a 454 TBI or Holley 670 w/ an Edelbrock performance manifold with adapter plate

#1. What is the best rear gear for my application? Whether I go with a 383 or not, I plan on keeping TBI (if it matters as far as powerband)

#2 With my stock rear gears in there now and until I do change them, should I expect to actually feel a loss in first and second gear? The 700r4 had a first gear ratio of 3.06, the T-56 ('94) has 2.66. Or will what is lost in the gearing ratios be compensated by the fact that its a manual (less parasitric loss) and that I can shift to higher rpms in second?


Thank you for your help- Roy

 

A few things to consider is what cruising speed you spend most time at. Many people see 80mph on the highways and in my 4L60 and 3.73s I'm around 2800-2900rpm.
If I got a 6 speed and wanted to have the most fun with it I would go with 4.10 gears. If it was a daily driver a mile 3.73 or the lowest I would go is 3.42 (stock in 6 speed vehicles). If you want all out racing you want to cross the 1/4 in 3rd gear and at your peak horsepower. When you figure out your power band and horsepower than you can make a more educated pick. The reason I say horsepower is because the mph you cross the 1/4 mark can determine what gears you want. Most likely the 3.73 gears will be your best pick for a street machine and 4.10s if you want best performance at the track. Use the equations link on the home page here to do some caculations for yourself.

 

r90camarors, leme know what you find out, I want to switch to a T56 (or something similar) when I do my 350 swap next year and I'd like to keep my highway RPMs at about 2100 RPMS. I've heard that with 2.73s and a T56, 80mph = about 1600 RPM. So I'm thinking 3.42 or 3.73 gears as well.

 

4:10's

The 6th gear in the close ratio 6 speed is .50 and even with the 4:10's the final drive will be 2:05.

My 5 speed in 5th (.63) and 3:08 rear is 1.91 or so and it sucks unless you can go 80 all the time

 

id like to switch to a manual but i dont wanna go with a t5 but also i dont need 6gears with a 305...would a 305 even be able to use the 6th gear? or is the t56 a 5 speed?

 

The T56 is a six speed manual. The '93 thru '97 T56 can use the stock drive shaft thats in your third gen -though if your's is like mine, it sucks after about 75-80 mph.... I'm going aluminum. The 305 can use the sixth gear....depending on your rear gear will determine what speed you'd be able to use it in. The stock 305 TBI has descent torque, and is good for enough pull in sixth gear.
Though you'd probably only be able to use it at about 80mph with the stock 2.73 rear....

 

how much do you think i would be looking to spend to do the swap? i know i have to have alot of stuff..what automatic transmission did the 4th gen camaros come with? i sort of want to stay auto cause i wanna run juice

 

The T56 swap from an auto is expensive. The tranny I found was used with 45,000 mi on it, and was a little over $1,100. It is a complete tranny, i.e. flywheel, master, bell housing,slave cylinder, shifter, etc. Shipping was another $200. A brand new T56 is generally over $2k without bell housing, shifter, what not. You'll also need a new custom cross member($100-150), tranny mount($25), clutch-pressure plate- throwout bearing(starting at $250 depending on what kind you want), and clutch/brake pedals($50 from a junk yard). To name a few things.
Oh ya, if you plan to have a mechanic install it, expect them to quote you some where between 15 and 25 man hours. I'm in Missouri, the rate is considered cheap at $40 an hour..... You do the math. I've decided to let them install the new pedals and slave/master cylinder assembly and do the rest with a few friends.
By the way, there is a tech article on this sight for it. I also did a search on dogpile and found a real good tech page on it that goes into much more detail than the one one this sight. The one on this sight is all you need though, if you have experiance doing tranny swaps.
I'm not sure what auto the 4th gens use, its somthing like 4L6E....You're probably better off getting your 700r4 rebuilt for racing/NOS if you decide to stick with auto.

 

I know a fella from work who put a T-56 in his '90 T/A. For a while after the swap he still had 2.73's and he couldn't put that puppy in 6th unless he was going like 80-90 mph, comfortably of course.