Before starting my turbo build, I was thinking what I was going to do to have a reliable 6 speed setup with the power I plan on putting down. I had my T56 at the shop, and sold it to buy a nearly new TR6060 for a great price. Fast forward 6 months, and now here we are converting it into my TA.

We currently are not done with the conversion, but will update from here on till it's done. Here in this thread I will let you in on what you need parts wise, and what it's going to take to convert a 2010 SS TR6060 into a 4th gen fbody.

The reason for having to do this conversion is because the TR6060 comes with a plate in the front of the output shaft, and uses an external style shifter which puts the location of the shifter further back from the stock fbody location. Swapping mainshafts to a T56 Magnum mainshaft will allow us to use a slip yoke style driveshaft instead of with the plate (which are prone to breaking), and will put the shifter in the same location as stock. The T56 magnum mainshaft is 31 spline, and about 3 inches longer than a LS1 T56 mainshaft, and will have to be cut (discussed later).

Lets get started...

Parts you will need (I got most parts from thegearbox.org):
- 2010-2011 Camaro TR6060 (has to be from a Camaro since they are mated to the engine, unlike the vette TR6060). (bought used with 3K miles for $1250)
- T56 Magnum mainshaft ($145)
- 1350 31 spline slip yoke PN: SPI-3-3-5431X ($60)
- SSR Tailhousing seal PN: 23049496 ($6)
- SSR Tailhousing PN: 89059986 ($240 from superchevyperformance.com)
- LS1 T56 Shifter Lever ($35)
- McLeod 11" line -4AN to female quick disconnect fitting (pn 139203-11)
- Big pilot bearing (pn 12557583)
- Camaro LS3 style clutch (not sure if you can use LS1 style flywheel, I just bought an RXT for the LS3 camaro that came with the flywheel)
- some fab skills

Here's what the stock TR6060 looks like:






Just as reference, difference in length in stock form, so you all can get an idea...




Doing this swap makes the converted TR6060 a 1/2" longer than a regular LS1 T56. Also, these TR6060s use an internal pump to pump oil on 4th gear, I plan on welding some AN fittings on the case and running a cooler. Another thing to note with these transmissions, is that the bellhousing is mated to the front case.

Hydraulics:
You will need to use the slave cylinder that comes with the TR6060. You can use your stock or aftermarket master cylinder as long as it connects to a female T56 quick disconnect fitting. Here is where we use the McLeod line. The TR6060 slave uses a different style disconnect fitting, so to fix this we will be fabbing a piece of aluminum from the slave to a -4AN bung to connect to the McLeod line, then to your master. Simple fix. There are other ways around the hydraulics issue, but this is what I chose to do.











Mainshaft swap:

- Unbolt the stock tailhousing


- Start disassembling the stock mainshaft and countershaft (REMEMBER WHERE EVERYTHING GOES, write it down or take pictures if you have to!). Most of the bearings and gears are pressed in, so you will need a puller and a bearing splitter.


- Once you have all that off, you can stand the transmission up, remove the case, and continue to remove the gears from the mainshaft, and remove the shift rails (leave the rest of the countershaft assembled).


Just for comparison (stock T56 input shaft left, TR6060 input shaft right)




T56 Magnum mainshaft left, stock TR6060 mainshaft right:


- Once you have the stock mainshaft completely removed, it's time to re-assemble everything back on the T56 magnum mainshaft just how you took it off.


- all back together (still need to cut the mainshaft, and install the bushing and seal).


Tailhousing/ Shifter linkage modifications

This is the yoke you need for the SSR tailhousing: 1350 31 spline yoke on left, TH400 yoke on right.



New SSR tailhousing on left, TR6060 tailhousing on right.



Swapped out the cluster from the 6060 tailhousing to the SSR tailhousing:



Swapped out sensors from the 6060 tailhousing to the SSR tailhousing:



Test fit new yoke with the new SSR tailhousing in:


Made a rod for the shift rail linkage:





Connected to the T56 shifter lever:



31" from the bellhousing to the shifter stub







Bronze shifter lever cup (optional):


Mill SSR tailhousing shifter pad down .430"









Also, found some push on AN fittings that go into the case so we don't have to weld them on. Now need to order some -6AN hose and fittings, and a cooler. (optional)



2" cut off the mainshaft:



1 1/4" cut off the yoke:



Welded the plate where the shifter linkage was and took out the original shift rod in it:



Pic of it all done... was a fun project. Can't wait to test it out.

 

Whats your length from where it bolts on to the engine to where the shifter stub will be? I'm guess its going to be about 2" longer than an f body is.

And what did you do about the rear cluster gear bearing issue in the tail housing?

 

I can't remember off the top of my head, I think it measured 30 inches from bellhousing to where the shifter stub is. We're going to make a 0.060 spacer to fit around the needle bearing in the tailhousing.

 

FWIW, We found that a 1.5" pipe can have its ID turned in a lathe to press in the caged bearing. Then you can turn the OD down to the inference fit of the tailhousing race cup and cut the completed piece off the length of pipe.

Nice build

 

I could see where coupling the shift rail at the shift guide lever would work; hadn't thought of that before. But I think I'd prefer a new F/GTO rail. Nice doc.

 

I've wondered if this conversion can use the SSR tail housing with the Spicer 3-3-5431X (Ford 31sp C6, 1350) slip yoke?

That way you would only have to machine the shifter pad of the SSR tail down (~0.430") for the normal shifters and not have to deal with enlarging the bushing and seal on the F-body tailhousing.

This should also work as a pretty simple change to a stock T56 Magnum to make it a direct F-body bolt in, and not cost an arm and a leg..

 

Do you know if it's the same length as a T56 tailhousing, and does it put the shifter in the same location? If so, I might order that tailhousing instead, and try it out. I haven't ordered a tailhousing yet, I've just been using my friends as a mockup.

 

External dimensions are exactly the same except the shifter pad is 0.430" taller due to the longer shifter arm of the SSR truck.. I detailed the dimensions and machining of the shifter pad in my SSR-T56 conversion thread/write-up..

https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tr...ock-parts.html

http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28..._Fbody_T56.pdf

The larger Ford slip yoke has the same OD (1.885") as the TH400/SSR yoke, but has the 31-spline ID that the TR6060 use (AFAIK)

 

So to clarify, if I got the SSR tailhousing, all I would need is to mill the shifter pad? I wouldn't have to worry about the spacer for the caged needle bearing, or boring out the tailhousing for the larger seal/bushing?

 

Assuming that is the correct yoke (maybe thesource can verify?), then you shouldn't have to worry about the spacer,bushing,seal. I know the TR6060 1pc shares many of the same parts as the T56 1pc because I've used them in the SSR hybrid.

 

Sweet! I am going to order the SSR tailhousing then. I'll update this soon with results.

 

I am pretty sure the Magnum uses a Ford 31 spline yoke. I ddn't knnow if you can find a 31 spline yoke with a Th400 od on it. I would think a bored out F body housing is going to be your best route.

 

Well according to the spicer manual, the 1330 u-joint Ford C6 31-spline trans slip yoke (2-3-10201X) and the 1350 u-joint Ford C6 31-spline trans slip yoke (3-3-5431X) both have 1.885 OD, which is the exact same OD as the TH400/SSR 32-spline slip yoke.. Sounds like it's worth a try to me.. I'd get the ~$60 yoke first and verify the measurements before committing to the $260 SSR tailhousing... Just thought someone may have run into this before.

 

I thought the Th400 yoke was larger around. I know the bushing is different from a C6 bushing. Maybe it was on the od of the busing not the id. It's been a while since I have messed with that stuff. 99% of the stuff I've been doing lately is low end stock rebuilds.

 

It looks like the standard Ford C6 yoke is smaller (1.688") but was also used in some truck applications with a larger (1.885") OD. Both are listed as using the 1.390" 31 spline ID.

 

Well when I bought the T56 magnum mainshaft from thegearbox.org I also bought a spicer 1330 31 spline yoke (link), I'll see if that one is 1.885 OD, if not I'll order the one you are referencing Mike.

Thanks again for all the input guys.

 

No reason it couldn't, given the locating of a large o.d. Ford C6 31 spline yoke. Same counter length & bearing.

 

Yup. I had wanted to engineer this and the magnum conversion for a while, but most of my time&money is tied up in my '92 C4 vette LT1/ZF6 to L92/T56 project... Knew someone would get to it eventually..

 

I don't see the point of this. The Camaro Tr6060 has a 3.1 first gear and there is obviously a lot of hassle involved. Why not just do the T56 Magnum?

Andrew

 

First gear will be useless for me, and I'm running a 28" tall tire and a 3.50 gear anyways, so not worried about it. Not too much hassle; mainshaft swap, shift rail linkage, and tailhousing swap. Looks like a lot of hassle because no one's done one before. I got the TR6060 basically brand new for $1250. A new magnum is $2600, plus bellhousing, plus oil pump.

I will end up spending about $1800 in total (tranny + parts) for a badass transmission that will withstand the power I will be making.