How hard is it to install a converter in a C5? I'm new to Vettes but have alot of experience modding cars. Also what is the converter of choice these days? How much gains? Four to five tenths? Thanks!

 

I had converter and billet flex plate installed at NLP with a tune. IMO, converter is the single best part you can install. Yank SS3200, 5 tenths 11.90's in fl heat

 

This job is one hell of a PITA! You need to drop the exhaust, then the center tunnel plate, then undo some of the torque tube bolts from the motor so you can tilt it far enough back to unbolt the tranny and drop the tranny/diff assembly. Obviously if you're going for gears now is the time. The entire rear cradle needs to be dropped to get the tranny/diff assembly out. I would estimate a good 5 to 6 hours for someone with Vette experience. Dealer bills out a rear diff R&R at 8.5 hours and I think the tranny R&R is at 9+ so you can estimate how hard this really is. The real difference lies in the fact that the dealer service manual requires you drop the torque tube while most experience guys use the "tilt" method.

A tranny jack is a must. Power or air tools are a must. Good torque wrench is a must. You could almost say a partner is a must because in certain spots you are manuevering some pretty heavy stuff while trying to reach out-of-the-way places. In my mind a lift is another must.

I've had the rear diff priced at a couple of different places. Horsepower Sales in Pompano wanted something ridiculous like $850. SS Performance in South Miami isn't much better at $750. It's a job that's a little too big to sneak through a dealer as "side work" so I haven't even tried that route. Cheapest I have found is a friend's shop called FyneTune Performance in Kendall. They want $525 plus whatever the fluids cost.

There are a couple detailed "how-to's" floating around the net including a good one from our forum brother.....Cajundude. Check it out and see for yourself if it's a shadetree mechanic type job or something better left to the pro's with proper tools. Hope this helps...

 

yep, its a bitch, hope you've got alot of tools and a tranny jack, I did my clutch on jackstands, but they're heavy duty ones so I could get it up high enough, you might have everything apart in like 3-4hrs, be carefull poping the lower balljoints because if you split the rubber boot you cannot replace them, you need to buy a whole a-arm assembly, dont ask..... getting the driveline back to line up will require a friend, a good one that dosent mind getting beat up and cursed at, lol...

 

Thanks for the detailed description. I'm past this kind of work in my life. Five years ago I would have done this, but there are two shops in the area that specilaize in LS1's.