My coworker is selling me his running and driving lt1 trans am for 2000 dollars, I was planning on pulling the t56 out of it to put into my 88 auto GTA. Anything else on that car I might be aware of that would be an upgrade to my car?
I have a tpi 350 and a 9 bolt posi. I considered pulling the lt1 but decided if I'm going to swap an engine I will just swap a LS into it.

 

What year is it coming out of?

93's have a different tooth count on the VSS reluctor that makes it not read correctly on a electronic speedo. It requires a Dakota Digital SGI-5 to correct, or replacing parts in the tail shaft.

Also, the mainshaft has less splines and is generally weaker.

I have a 93 with the M29 gear set, very short first gear, 3.36, but spacing is super wide and I fall out of the power band pretty easy on 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd upshifts. I'm making around 500hp at the crank.

Its MUCH more expensive to mate a 93 T56 to a LS1 than it is a 94 and up T56.

Its expensive enough that by the time you throw in a basic rebuild, you might have well just bought a Tremec Magnum-F in your gear set of choice.

 

It's a 97

 

I was considering just flipping the car since it drives and just buying a t56 magnum or even a TKX but then I'm still going to need to find pedals a bellhousing so I would need to make a pretty decent profit to pull that off.

 

Does yours have an external slave cylinder?

 

Yes. 93-97 have external

 

I picked up the parts car today. It's really not that bad of condition. I started it on starting fluid and a jump box. So I would think a fuel pump and tires and it will drive. It's been sitting for 11 years and the clutch pedal is still strong.

 

One Man's opinion;

Fix it and flip it, use the profit to buy what your car needs.....

 

Agree here. If you can get it running for not much then flip it. Not sure what you paid for it, but you could stand to make a few thousand, which would pay for a nice Magnum-F.

 

I paid $2000 for it.
you might be right on this one. I feel like pulling the transmission from this car will be the easiest route to get to a manual swap, but it might not be the best route.

 

Third Gen pedals are a little easier to put in FWIW. 4th Gen requires more wrestling and cutting off the gas pedal.

 

I agree with the others who said to get the 4th gen running, clean it up and sell it. Take the profit and buy the parts you need for your 3rd gen.

Since Tremec now has a brand new TKO T56 with the F-body tailshaft and shifter location, that's the way to go. It used to be that a donor T56 from an Lt1 4th gen was the only option, but not anymore.

I went down the road of buying a T56 out of a wrecked 95' and sending it out to be rebuilt. The shop found a lot more wrong with it than I thought there would be and by the time I was done, the total cost of buying the used transmission and having it rebuilt was about the same as a new TKO T56. The only other component I'm using from the donor car are the pedals, but you can also use 3rd gen pedals. In either case, they are readily available used. New clutch, new hydraulcs, new short throw shifter and crossmember. With the new Tremec, you would also have to buy a bellhousing, should be able to get that used as well.

 

Looking at the car today, the fuel tank had a hole in it. The fuel pump was spinning but while I was doing a pressure test I was noticing a whole lot of wires chewed up and missing and some sort of fuel leak at the back of the engine but just as I saw that it caught fire. Luckily I have an extinguisher 60 yards away. It put out the fire. It didn't burn anything more that what rats have chewed up, but it is quickly becoming a better idea to harvest parts off of this thing.

 

If it's that much of a basketcase, you can certainly part it out and make some money. Stick the T56 as is into your 3rd gen and see how it goes. If it shifts through all the gears and doesn't make weird noises, then just run it. If it has issues, then will need to decide what to do from there.

 

Would I use a pilot bearing from the tpi? Or from a lt1. Or is it the same part?

 

I killed the fuel pump and hooked up the ole parking lot carburetor to a vacuum line . It runs pretty decent for not having metered fuel. Sounds mean still. Would be nice if someone on here would want to lt1 swap their car. It would have everything they would need.

 

how is the interior in that car? if its pretty decent, i would have to fix the 4th gen... just get a gas tank, work on the tail lights, and have it painted and it looks like it would be a nice car.
is it a 2.73 or 3.23 car?

 

I used a bushing from an LT1. Not sure if it’s the same from a TPI.