I was wondering what kind of work is involved in swaping a auto trans out of a 1997 camaro for a T56 and if its worth it. Would the crank accept a pilot bearing? would the driveshaft or crossmember have to be modified? and what about the clutch assembly and master cylinder? I've been in the market for a ls1 m6 car for a while and now my brothers friend is looking to sell his 97 supercharged camaro for a decent price, i know its not a ls1 car but the supercharger should give me as much power. only thing is i absolutely have to have a car with a manual trans. if i wanted a auto id buy a mini van. thanks

 

http://www.afrashteh.com/tranny_pics/T56.htm

that is the write up i used and it should tell you everything you need to know. pilot bearing is no different, driveshaft is the same, need a new crossmember. read for the rest.

the only thing is that write up makes it seem like you reuse the automatic flexplate bolts for the 6 speed flywheel setup. you can't and you need to get new bolts, but they are standard SBC so it's like 7 bucks.

 

thanks for the link. do you know what the general price is for this swap? i know t56 trannys are pretty expensive.

 

nevermind, i see it now. thanks

 

I am with you a auto sucks for street rods...autos are good for the track but a stick is much funner on the street. I put a stick in my 86 and 96 T/A's..not that hard to do.....good luck with it....MM

 

Is there a company that sells a kit for this or does it have to be pieced together? I did some google searches and checked the links on that write up but didnt come up with anything.

 

tennessee auto sells a kit for the full conversion. it's pretty expensive but it allows you to get everything at once.

 

do they have a web site? if not do you know their phone # or the price?

 

i don't think they're the only ones, but i don't know who sells the conversion kits.

i bought a rebuilt t56 from a local guy that came with almost everything i needed. i paid 1200 for that and only ended up having to buy a new master, VSS pigtail, and M6 torque arm mount. i never got the reverse lights pigtail or the reverse lockout pigtail and ended up totalling the car about a month later. now it's in an body with an M6 wiring harness so it's all good.

you can find good prices if you are willing to shop around.

 

they arent the only one's ive heard of but theyre the only ones i can find online. their site is http://www.tennesseeauto.com/t56trpaandki.html for t56 parts and conversions. it would be cheaper to find all the parts yourself but they simplify the process alittle bit.

 

$2895.00 ooouch. and it doenst even look like it comes with all the parts needed.

 

I got all my parts out of a donor car, ended up paying about 1200. Definatly not hard to do at all as long as you have EVERYTHING and take your time. I swapped mine out in 3 nights in the garage.

 

not to hijack your thread but i am willing to trade someone my 6 speed setup for someones auto setup. I am wanting to go auto very badley so if someone live around indiana and wants to swap let me know

 

I think your best bet would be to find a cheap donor car, or trade someone for your Automatic Transmission. Keep in mind that if you plan on racing on the strip quite often, Stalled Automatics perform better than Manuals, and are more consistent. But if you just have a cruiser, and don't plan on doing veyr much on the strip. A manual transmission will obviously be more fun, and quicker than Automatics that aren't stalled, saying you can shift anyway. Good luck, and keep your eyes peeled if your trying to do this on a budget.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the boards .

 

thanks for the feedback. I think im gonna take my chances and buy the car, its to good to pass up. I just hope i can find i manual trans kit so i dont get stuck with the a auto for a daily driver.