First off, I'm a bit of an outsider here... I don't own a thirdgen -yet. I'm currently in the market, but I'm still waiting for the right car to come along. However, the exact car I want is somewhat of a 'unicorn'- I've found that it's rather hard to find. Namely, a manual transmission Firebird (or T/A) with T-tops, that is still in decent running condition.

After thinking a bit on this dilemma, I began to wonder how difficult it would be to convert an automatic transmission third gen to a manual transmission. I haven't heard much about swapping over transmissions, but I've heard it's something that most mechanics prefer to avoid. Can anyone here give me any advice on my best course of action? Should I consider swapping out a tranny (thus making my search for the 'perfect' car easier) or should I just stick to my guns and wait for a car with what I want to come along? Money is an issue, I don't have a lot to invest into a car at this point. However I'd really like a manual tranny because I'm planning to race my Firebird once I get it.

Thanks!

 

If you're planning to race it (and I'm not sure exactly what type of "racing" you're talking about), I'd just go ahead and pick up whatever car catches my fancy and disregard the type of transmission that's already in it, because you're gonna have to swap in a better transmission regardless. The factory T5s don't take much of a beating in a racing environment.

 

Get the car of your choice and go with a T56. Pretty simple swap and lots have done it. Then you have the best of both worlds.

Jim Buckingham
91Z 350 T56
98Z

 

For racing, I'm planning to mostly run the quarter mile... good excuse to install Nos.

Thanks Jza and Jimbuck for your help, this will definately make my search for a car much easier. How much does a T56 normally run, and where is a good place to aquire one? I hate to be asking so many questions, but I've never really done any work on a transmission before.

Thanks again!

 

I picked up tranny, bellhousing, all the bolts and clutch for $850. Tranny had 76k miles on it.

Jim Buckingham

 

Well, this does make my search a lot easier. Thanks a lot for your help!