Conversions & Hybrids - T56 transmissions

I am curious how difficult a t56 makes it to swap into certain cars. I have heard they are larger/longer than most trannies such at t350/t400/ is this true? what other things must be kept in mind when swapping a t56 into a hot rod. I know it will always depend on what car its going in but are there any cons to backing a motor with a t56? Any help is appreciated. Thank you

The tranny is a beast, seems most cars need at least some massegaing in the tranny tunnel, if not cutting it and making it larger.

Clutch set up can take some time, I used the hydraulics from my donor (2004 GTO) adapted to my stock pedal and am still trying to find a good balance on the pedal feel, more just me being anal-retentive than anything. You'll want a remote bleeder if the tranny is in a tight tunnel.

The shifter is pretty much in a fixed location so you have to adapt the car, if needed, to the that location.

Down sides... traffic.

Upsides, full control.

What are your other options? A t5? Psh. t56 will take you where you need to go. Get a gto or SSR t56 if your shit is heavy. f body if its light. they will take some serious abuse. I have a good friend who makes 500 wheel++ and its still alive after 10K.

You can build them to take serious abuse, and shif perty damn nice.

Will the LT1 t56 work on an LS motor if you change the bellhousing? Or is the input shaft different to?

Input is different on lt1 t56.The width is not too bad on the t56,but the highth required is a lot.I am putting one in a 66 chevy II now,started with a small cut,wont go,cut alittle more,wont go.Finally cut the tunnel above the trans out,now it fits.I will have to build a new tunnel that will be probably 3inches taller.It will be all good though when I get through and In my opinion well worth it.

Input is different on lt1 t56.The width is not too bad on the t56,but the highth required is a lot.I am putting one in a 66 chevy II now,started with a small cut,wont go,cut alittle more,wont go.Finally cut the tunnel above the trans out,now it fits.I will have to build a new tunnel that will be probably 3inches taller.It will be all good though when I get through and In my opinion well worth it.

Thanks man. I love those chevy II's. Im plotting on a t56 for my 68 chevelle,just trying to do my home work first.

Thanks man. I love those chevy II's. Im plotting on a t56 for my 68 chevelle,just trying to do my home work first.

You can do a little less surgerey on the chevelle,it has a little more room to work with.You can move the motor and trans a little further forward and the tunnel fits a little better,but that causes other problems that you have to solve.I like to put my passenger side head about an inch to inch and a half off the firewall and just do what has to be done to the tunnel.Its not like its going to be original anymore anyway when you put in an ls and t56 and I can promise you, you wont want to go back to original ethier.

You can do a little less surgerey on the chevelle,it has a little more room to work with.You can move the motor and trans a little further forward and the tunnel fits a little better,but that causes other problems that you have to solve.I like to put my passenger side head about an inch to inch and a half off the firewall and just do what has to be done to the tunnel.Its not like its going to be original anymore anyway when you put in an ls and t56 and I can promise you, you wont want to go back to original ethier.

Ive already done my swap got about 120 miles on it now backed with the th400
ive got my motor sitting in the stock location as the bbc, i would say im bout 1.5" off the fire wall now. The 400 just doesnt do justice after driving my buddys camaro with the t56.

Don't forget the speedo!You will need an aftermarket electronic one,or a cable conversion box,neither are cheap!Also,do your homework on the flywheel/clutch combo required,some of them can get stupid expensive,or even worse not possible!

Don't forget the speedo!You will need an aftermarket electronic one,or a cable conversion box,neither are cheap!Also,do your homework on the flywheel/clutch combo required,some of them can get stupid expensive,or even worse not possible!

Is there any way to run non digital gauge if you run a t56? Or is it impossible?

Don't forget the speedo!You will need an aftermarket electronic one,or a cable conversion box,neither are cheap!Also,do your homework on the flywheel/clutch combo required,some of them can get stupid expensive,or even worse not possible!

About the flywheel/clutch combo.....Do you have any suggestions? How much do the reasonable flywheel/clutch combo cost?

Also I just saw the answer to my other question about digi gauge---cable conversion box.... How much so they usually cost?

About the flywheel/clutch combo.....Do you have any suggestions? How much do the reasonable flywheel/clutch combo cost?

Also I just saw the answer to my other question about digi gauge---cable conversion box.... How much so they usually cost?

Abbot cable x is about $350 I think,a lot of people use them and some like them.I dont like them much.There are some better solutions for this coming,hopfully before too long.See the thread titaled (a new mechanical speedometer solution)search under SuperBoost.Also you can get your tailshaft modified or trade yours as a core on one to accept a speedo cable.I would do this before using a cable x although its more expensive.Zipster a tec member, is developing abetter way to do this,I wont try to tell you about it just see the above mentiond thread,its huge.I am waiting on this for two projects now:chug: Flywheel clutch setups start at about $400 and go up to thousands,depending on how much hp you will have and what you you are going to do with the car,cruize ,drag race,etc.