How hard is an lsx swap in a 3rd gen fbody?
01-17-2007, 09:59 PM
#21
Just for some first hand information on a built T5 vs. a T56.
A local guy has a third gen bird with a 406 in it that's supposed to run somewhere in the 11s I believe. He wanted to go stick so my buddy and I both told him to go with a T-56, especially with the second overdrive to complement the 4.10s he had. He said he didn't want the 6th gear just because he wanted a 5spd (??). So he orders a G-Force trans.
Fast forward a few drives, and he breaks the trans going into third (don't remember if the gear broke or something else off the top of my head right now). He gets upset and calls G-Force and they tell him they won't warranty their labor, just the parts or something or other and that makes him mad so he goes with a TKO trans. Fast forward a few months when we talk to him next, and he's telling us how that one broke too (I believe it was also going into 3rd, but again don't remember exactly).
He was also telling us that he'd wished he had listened to us and gone with the T-56 to begin with. Plenty of T-56s out there are being pushed deep into the 11s without fail. I'm sure some GForce/TKO trannies are out there that fast too, and I'm sure some T-56s break under stock power (a friend lost 2nd gear in a stock LT1 car), but overall, the T-56 seems to have a far better record than stock or built T-5s.
Also, there's no way a stock T-5 will handle road racing/autox-ing with an LS1 for very long, lots of quick upshifts and downshifts and high RPMs. Built T-5? $2000. Built T-56? Less than $1500 in most cases. Plus an LS1 T-56 will bolt right up (LT1 will with a bellhousing/front cover change) and work with all stock parts, whereas with a T-5, you'll need a special clutch/flywheel setup I imagine. The parts might be out there as stated above, but I'm sure stock parts for an LS1/T56 combo will be cheaper.
A local guy has a third gen bird with a 406 in it that's supposed to run somewhere in the 11s I believe. He wanted to go stick so my buddy and I both told him to go with a T-56, especially with the second overdrive to complement the 4.10s he had. He said he didn't want the 6th gear just because he wanted a 5spd (??). So he orders a G-Force trans.
Fast forward a few drives, and he breaks the trans going into third (don't remember if the gear broke or something else off the top of my head right now). He gets upset and calls G-Force and they tell him they won't warranty their labor, just the parts or something or other and that makes him mad so he goes with a TKO trans. Fast forward a few months when we talk to him next, and he's telling us how that one broke too (I believe it was also going into 3rd, but again don't remember exactly).
He was also telling us that he'd wished he had listened to us and gone with the T-56 to begin with. Plenty of T-56s out there are being pushed deep into the 11s without fail. I'm sure some GForce/TKO trannies are out there that fast too, and I'm sure some T-56s break under stock power (a friend lost 2nd gear in a stock LT1 car), but overall, the T-56 seems to have a far better record than stock or built T-5s.
Also, there's no way a stock T-5 will handle road racing/autox-ing with an LS1 for very long, lots of quick upshifts and downshifts and high RPMs. Built T-5? $2000. Built T-56? Less than $1500 in most cases. Plus an LS1 T-56 will bolt right up (LT1 will with a bellhousing/front cover change) and work with all stock parts, whereas with a T-5, you'll need a special clutch/flywheel setup I imagine. The parts might be out there as stated above, but I'm sure stock parts for an LS1/T56 combo will be cheaper.
