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Ok so a little field trip from the hot-box shop. Finally a job I can do with whiskey in my hand.
Polished the headers. I think I could have kept going and it would have gotten incrementally better but this is about an hour with a set and I think the pics show a decent before/after. Actually a more noticeable difference in person; I took these with a phone. Doesn't seem like it really took any thickness off...like wet-sanding a clear coat at most.
Keep in mind, these headers really looked very nice out of the box. A good silver ceramic at 2-3 feet. You only see the cloudiness up close. Many ceramic parts I get are like this. The polish really takes it from a "silver ceramic" to more of a "metallic ceramic" IMO.
Worth an hour of your time I think.
Again, this stuff:
Lightly polished on left side, untouched on right:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Unpolished header on top of polished header:
Unpolished header on top of polished header:
Polishing ALWAYS removes some material...just like wet sanding. I think it came out nice though and worth it, good job! I'll be interested to see how it wears, almost as interested as I am in your build. Thanks for posting!
Polishing ALWAYS removes some material...just like wet sanding. I think it came out nice though and worth it, good job! I'll be interested to see how it wears, almost as interested as I am in your build. Thanks for posting!
Yes, you are right. I guess a better way to tell it is that this stuff is more like pudding than paste. No discernable "grit" to it.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Makes it easier to stay motivated.
Decided I am not going to do all this work and still be shifting a 20-year-old design with remote shifter.
Having something built. Magnumish.
Going to have to sell some goodies to pay for it, likely including my tight, nice-shifting, quiet V1 T56 with installed-10-miles-ago Brian Hurst shifter, poly bushings, slave, and bellhousing.
Hopefully make it to the shop in the next few nights after work to take some pics and get that thing listed. Too bad I already spent time cleaning it. Oh well.
How are you getting rid of the remote shifter and what's that gonna run?
The only way I know for sure to get rid of the remote shifter is to swap the v2 tr6060 into the car but that would require some fab work.
Fuzzylogic has been referring to a "Magnum XL" that they're "going to introduce" that would allow us to do this. Haven't seen it but I'm hoping it comes because I would be a buyer....
I'm still waiting on final measurements from George @ RSG.
The V2 still uses a remote shifter; just a better remote shifter...so still not that interesting to me.
I think Fuzzy is right; the Magnum XL DOES exist..for late-model Fords. Since 2012. Longer tail(with direct-mount shifter) and everything that goes with it. Tremec indicates GM but all the part numbers read "TBA" so no idea if/when they might actually release it. Seems like a builder should be able to take the front section off a GM Magnum and mate it to the rear of a Ford Magnum XL but I may be wrong.
Trying to get some dimensions on what they are planning from Tremec. It occurs to me that unless the V1 shares engine-to-shifter length with a much more popular platform, it's unlikely the GM XL would just pop up through the shifter hole. Also worth noting that there wouldn't be an option to keep the V-style driveshaft. It would be slip-yoke.
So the plan right now is a LS1/QuickTime scattershield, LS1 McLeod RST, LS1 slave, Philistine master, close-ratio Magnum, custom slip-yoke driveshaft and a GTO-style shifter in a direct-mount scenario. Again, waiting on dims, but I guesstimate the shifter mounting point will be about under the A/C controls and then the GTO shifter(which offsets to the rear ~4") will put me in the hole. This won't be a completely bolt-in affair and I will have to make my own crossmember and driveshaft.
Toward the latter portion of the conversation, George said the right words unfortunately: "well we could do this and then you'd have a fricken race car." So I couldn't NOT buy that, right? By the end, this landed up at what RSG builds for GM Racing so it's expensive.
I don't have to send my trans in as a donor for anything so at least I get to sell all that. Also my one-piece driveshaft should be a pretty standard deal so nowhere near as expensive as some of the aftermarket bits for the V1. We'll see.
Please, comments. I am about to drop some decent dough here(hoping I can later recoup some) so all eyes and thoughts appreciated.
26.5" face of trans to center of shifter mount. It is 30" for the V with remote shifter so I only have to make up 3.5" with the shifter. I'm not going to paint this with too much positivity right now and jinx myself, but it seems possible.
Really cool - I was having a heart attack over the cost to add fluid sprayers to the RSG build - 5x more than what the other guys charge to add "bungs and sprayers."
Come to find out they build theirs with an internal pump - mechanical. So no wiring, thermostat, external pump, any of that bullshit. Seems to me when I am getting this thing sorted out at the drag strip, I can just loop the in/out together and prevent input starvation and then monitor to see when I actually need to add a cooler.
I was _dreading_ the electric setup as I couldn't find any pumps rated for constant duty - all had to be run with a thermostat, WOT switch, or something like that. Smelled like complexity I just didn't want to add to the project. If only I could get this built into a 8.8!
I've never driven a t-56 equipped GTO so I can't speak for the shift quality of it but before spending this kind of coin, I'd try and find out.
This would obviously be easier than a V2 6060 swap but how do you make up the last 2 inches? I guess you can extend the offset on the GTO shifter another 2 inches but I'd be curious why GM didn't just do this to begin with.
Other than that, the questions has been legitimately raised about the piston size of the PMC so I'd ask the guys at McLeod about it.
.......so I only have to make up 3.5" with the shifter.........
So what I'm taking from this is that the transmission they are talking about building for you has a slightly different tail housing than a stock GTO piece and that you can use the GTO shifter to make up the rest???
I've never driven a t-56 equipped GTO so I can't speak for the shift quality of it but before spending this kind of coin, I'd try and find out.
This would obviously be easier than a V2 6060 swap but how do you make up the last 2 inches? I guess you can extend the offset on the GTO shifter another 2 inches but I'd be curious why GM didn't just do this to begin with.
Other than that, the questions has been legitimately raised about the piston size of the PMC so I'd ask the guys at McLeod about it.
Keep us posted!
To me, it's not the shifting of the GTO that is the measure. This trans should have significantly better internals than even the GTO trans. It comes down to the shifter itself. I can't say I wouldn't prefer something like the XL where I ?might? be able to have a straight-down stick right into the internal rail. But this should give me DIRECT MOUNT even if the stick has to be a little longer to provide a few extra inches of rear offset. I was honestly planning to put a much longer stick on Brian's shifter(when I was going to keep the stock trans) as I like some travel. Not for everyone, but I like it. The short is short and efficient, but not my preference.
V1 bell is actually 5.75" (at least the one I took out of my car) so I question the overall validity of that image. Not throwing stones here; I've referenced it umpteen times myself in the past. That being said, 5.75" + 30" gave a stock engine to stick center distance of 35.75" by my measurements for a V1...well at least *my* V1. The trans being built it 26.5" face to center of shifter rail. Add a LS1 5.5" bell and we are at 32" leaving 3.75" to make up. The shifter I posted earlier should easily take this up as would and standard GTO shifter from what I can tell. I am taking a *small* leap of faith that this offset (yet direct) shifter is better than the remote-mount shifter. Worth noting that company also will make it exactly to measurements I provide, so this is promising at least. I worry about height above the actual shifter mechanism where it enters the trans and have resigned myself to the possibility that I may need to BFH or cut the tunnel a bit right under the radio. We'll see; hoping not.
I told George that I was embarrassed for GM and Ford that the best-shifting 6MT I ever owned was in a '03 V6 Accord and didn't understand why we couldn't get close to that in a much pricier piece. He said "wait until you try this." Hopefully this is more truth than marketing but RSG is fairly well-accepted as the pinnacle of big sticks and I am betting that they will come through on this.
**EDIT: I don't know what I was smoking..V1 bell is 5.5" as well.
So what I'm taking from this is that the transmission they are talking about building for you has a slightly different tail housing than a stock GTO piece and that you can use the GTO shifter to make up the rest???
That's my understanding. 3.75" to make up. Seems doable but I'll wait until I have my grubby little hands on it before I declare it +/-.
Looks promising, provided a crossmember mod isn't overly-complicated.
This option, once available, and even what I'm getting I am expecting to require a custom crossmember. It's not like the stock one is such a strong/fine piece so I'm just not that worried about it. I think I'll probably end up with a better unit as a result of having to build one. Of course my welding sucks but hopefully I can tack something together and then ask a professional to fix it up without laughing too much.
Honestly, the XL in "Ford" form looks a little too long. But the Magnum shifters, as I understand it, can be turned around for a different offset, and then there are offset levers as I am intending. Probably closer than what I am going to end up with, but the tunnel gets narrow back there so too far forward might be better than too far back? IDK. Tremec needs to just post some lengths.
The XL is very close to the correct length. The center of the shifter on the V1 and T-56 XL are both located about 14.50" past the crevice marking the separation between the transmission tail shaft and main body. The provisions for the crossmember on the XL are straightforward compared to the regular T-56 and open up a world of aftermarket options. The Hooker 12616HKR crossmember (distributed by Holley), designed for LS-series / T-56 swaps, should be high on your list for replacement crossmember designs.
The XL is very close to the correct length. The center of the shifter on the V1 and T-56 XL are both located about 14.50" past the crevice marking the separation between the transmission tail shaft and main body. The provisions for the crossmember on the XL are straightforward compared to the regular T-56 and open up a world of aftermarket options. The Hooker 12616HKR crossmember (distributed by Holley), designed for LS-series / T-56 swaps, should be high on your list for replacement crossmember designs.
That does look like a damn fine starting point. Thanks for the link.
That does look like a damn fine starting point. Thanks for the link.
Keep in mind that your T-56 XL will probably come with the standard crossmember and mount... don't do a whole lot of work until you see what's in the box. If you don't like that, you can always pick up the appropriate Prothane mount.
That does look like a damn fine starting point. Thanks for the link.
Keeping the driveshaft as short as possible makes sense here so I'd look for the combo that offers that. Just remember that clearance in the transmission tunnel is just a ball peen away. I think you'd be fine in all seriousness.
I've got an extra crossmember if you need one to play with and if you want to pay someone to fab it for you, I'd buy into that so I could have a crossmember ready to go. I also have it bolted to a spare V1 t56 if you need pics or measurements.
The v2 6060 swap idea was a result of having seen a $1500 v2 transmission on eBay and for what it's worth, it would be a marked improvement but this setup is going to be worth every penny IF it delivers.
Keep in mind that your T-56 XL will probably come with the standard crossmember and mount... don't do a whole lot of work until you see what's in the box. If you don't like that, you can always pick up the appropriate Prothane mount.
I did not get an XL per se. Builder indicated that this will have a length I haven't seen before(longer) but not as long as the XL. AFAIK, the XL for GM is still not available from Tremec. Have heard of a few hybrids being built but didn't gather that I could "have it all" at this point. I am enduing up with something a bit shorter(~3.5") but much more robust. The features I got in this build were worth it...I think. Will know more when I bolt it up and start pulling hair out.
Keeping the driveshaft as short as possible makes sense here so I'd look for the combo that offers that. Just remember that clearance in the transmission tunnel is just a ball peen away. I think you'd be fine in all seriousness.
I've got an extra crossmember if you need one to play with and if you want to pay someone to fab it for you, I'd buy into that so I could have a crossmember ready to go. I also have it bolted to a spare V1 t56 if you need pics or measurements.
The v2 6060 swap idea was a result of having seen a $1500 v2 transmission on eBay and for what it's worth, it would be a marked improvement but this setup is going to be worth every penny IF it delivers.
Thanks for posting...
I agree; once I took the rubber out of everything else, I was totally over the two-piece shaft and such. Leaves me wondering why they didn't just slip-yoke it in the first place. I guess NVH but with all the other slop, seems like that was overkill. They still could have rubbered up the other end.
I greatly appreciate the offer. I am likely not going to sell my stock trans, mount, etc. until I get the new unit in and can measure. Will definitely keep you in mind.
V2 trans was definitely a nice option, especially to keep the cost down, but in the end I realized that I've always just wanted a car that shifts well(really well) so I decided I would forego the factory GM options with all of their financially-motivated compromises. Mechanical fluid pump alone took a lot of stress out of the situation for me. Going to have to sell a lot of other parts to make up for this one but hopefully bought a transmission for life instead of something that I might wince at clutch-dumping 1-4 or winding out 5th gear.
07-27-2016, 08:47 PM
By the end, this landed up at what RSG builds for GM Racing so it's expensive. 
