cxmoney

okay so I am new at this, and have never had a V8 vehicle of my own. I know about V8s and the like, but I do not know anything about transmissions other than T56 and T-5.

so here is my question. is there different models of T56 transmissions from chevrolet? I am in the planning phase of a LSX swap, and I would want to buy a new transmission. I know Flyin Miata sells a new T56 transmission, but I was thinking maybe I could find one online elsewhere for a cheaper price than FM sells them for?

basically, which model of the T56 would work best with a LS3 for example, and what are some vendors you guys would recommend for some cheapish t56s?

thank you.

ToySnakePMC

Look for gently used or verified rebuilt on Craigslist or eBay. Anything from V8 '98 - '02 Camaro / Firebird or '04 -'06 GTO. GTO T56 just needs Camaro-style shifter adapter piece that's approx $40 to relocate shifter a few inches forward.

charchri4

IMO the best choice for transmission is the one that came from the factory with the engine you use. A full drop out with wiring and computer gives you all the pieces that you know work together. That takes a lot of guess work and cuss words out of the process.

That is unless you plan on using a new crate engine and for that I have no clue...

To answer your question yes there are several different models of T56s available from Chevy. The LT1s are different from the LS1s and the GTOs are a little different too. Pat is right gently used is a big deal because it is easy to bend the 3-4 shift fork in them and wreck a few other things in them. The F body LS1 trans hit's the Miata hole perfect but the GTOs take the adaptor Pat mentioned above.

I'm looking forward to seeing your build!

cxmoney

yeah I am on deployment right now gathering up all the funds to pay off all my debt, and once everything is paid off, its time to accumulate new debt in to form of V8 parts! haha. really wanting to get a LS3 crate engine, as well as a "crate" transmission. I can get a brand new LS3 for $5500 with military discount, so I am looking for the best place to get a brand new T56, and which model is good for the LS3. flyin Miata sells them for $3000 new if I remember correctly, but of course I am trying to look at the available options to see if I can maybe find one for cheaper like $2500-$2800.

charchri4

Cool and THANK YOU! Where are you deployed and what service are you in?

Nothing wrong with new parts at all, just keep in mind the budget for all the little stuff that usually adds up to double what guys think it will. Whoever is selling you the engine can connect you with the rest of the stuff and be sure it matches.

cxmoney

I am in the Marine Corps. been in almost 5 years. getting out in February though. right now I am in the middle east. cannot be specific on location though due to security.

I already know itll be a fortune to build the car, which is why I am trying my best to source everything first to see if I can get anything cheaper. the way I look at it is once the swap is finished, I basically have a brand new car, which is the main reason I want to get new parts. that way I know exactly how the drivetrain was treated, exact mileage, etc etc etc. everything new costs more than used parts, but the extra cash also goes to peace of mind of having a 100% reliable roadster with hundreds of thousands of miles left to go before anything major needs fixed.

some people know of my car from seeing pictures over the net and whatnot, some don't. but my car is mostly done on looks, now just needs power!

charchri4

Wow what a sweet car! Yeah a little power would make that baby really happy!

My son is in the Middle East on a Marine amphibious assault ship (USS Bataan) and I would have about fainted if you had said that is where you are too. Too bad it would be fun to have a proper motorhead for him to connect with!

cxmoney

Thank you! I am going for a retro/vintage style with a modern twist.

That would of been crazy, but fortunately for me I have never been on a ship. I'm stuck with F/A-18 Hornets in a land based squadron.

There are plenty of motor heads out here, but none of them really like miatas, mainly just new style muscle cars. Haha. Oh well.

Amellrotts

A lot of "purist" will be heart broken for molesting the LE....lol
I am getting ready to LS1 swap a 10AE miata myself. I will have a detailed build thread in the works soon. Be safe over there Marine. Come home and build that car, take lots of pictures and share with the rest of us.

cxmoney

Unfortunately is is not a real 93LE... It is a 94 "LE".

Start out as a completely stock 94 with black interior. I've changed basically everything on it to my liking.

And trust me, I am ready to come home and build it! Haha. It may take me forever to finish, but I want to start!

ToySnakePMC

cxmoney -- I'm familiar with your retro-inspired roadster. ...probably from CR.net, I guess? It's beautiful, and like it was said before, a LSx will make it perfect! Be safe over there and please do a build thread here for us.

Johnnybegood

Gents, I'm in the middle of a built myself, Using an LS1 motor, t56 tranny and ford 8.8" rear end. Now when I bought the tranny never realised that it needed to be from a 98 Camaro and I've got one from a 96 Camaro which is a fork style not the push style. I know that it can be converted by changeing to a longer main shaft, different front plate and bellhousing. I've managed to get hold on a manual for the tranny, but I'm still not certain which front plate I need, there are 4 different types of plates. In the manual are shown as 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1A is for GM, 1B is for ford, 1C for Viper and 1D for GM. The way I see it it should be 1D but not 100% sure of it so before commit my self I would like your opinion guys. Every help is appreciated, and if someone knows if I can get a sort of kit for it would be great.

Thanks

V8droptop

To be clear, you need the LS1 style F-body front plate and LS1 bellhousing. You also have more modification to do on the tailshaft housing according to F-body guys at LS1tech, and you have the funky gearset. My recommendation would be to sell this one, as there is a significant update to the 02+ transmissions that you really want, if you see any high rpm shifting.
here is a link to the part you are looking for, for the front plate:
Tremec LS1 T56 Front Adapter Plate F Body Camaro Firebird TUEP2290 Used | eBay



On to the original question, there are a number of different T56's available. Since you are doing an LS1, focus only on GM transmissions.

Here are some differences, starting with the M6, M10, and M12 gearsets:

93' M28 93 M29 MM6 M12 M10 MZ6

1 3.36 2.97 2.66 2.97 3.01 2.97
2 2.07 2.07 1.78 2.07 2.07 2.07
3 1.35 1.43 1.30 1.43 1.43 1.43
4 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
5 0.80 0.80 0.74 0.84 0.84 0.71
6 0.62 0.62 0.50 0.57 0.57 0.57
REV 3.28 3.28 2.90 3.28 3.28 3.28

Followed by physical differences.
The LS1 F-body transmission is of the typical layout, with tail housing and shifter rail style shifter, which is internal to the trans similar to the Miata. It also has a bellhousing proper for the LSx series motors, and a unique front plate for this bellhousing, shared with the LS1/2 GTO. The front plate is the cap for the center section of the transmission which has the input shaft seal in it, for reference.

The LS1/LS2 GTO transmission is very similar to the F-body transmission from the Tailshaft housing forward. However, it has the shifter centered approximately 3.5" back compared to the F-body transmission with a unique tailshaft, which is still a rail style shifter setup.

The CTS-V transmission again, similar but with different gear ratios, a few internal changes, and mainly the external shifter with linkage, which still mounts to the transmission but isn't internal like the F-body, and also sits 5.5" further rear.

The C5-C6 Corvette and Z06 cars up til they changed to the tr6060, all have rear mounted transmissions. There is a "torque tube" which looks like a bellhousing with an internally housed driveshaft on the motor, going back to the transmission which is mounted to the differential. The internals are very desirable, but the work involved to adapt this trans is intensive. This was the route I chose due to the highly desirable internals.

Main-Shafts
There are a few different sized mainshafts (output shaft)
The OE 27-spline unit is in most units.
The Viper uses a larger 30(or 31, I forgot) spline shaft, which is in many built transmissions
The Chevy SSR uses the largest OE shaft, and is available to put into a GTO/F-body t56, but at a cost of $1000-1800 all said and done.

Counter Shafts
5-6 counter shafts are availiable in one piece (stronger)
or two piece ( less so). The C6 Z06 and chevy SSR are the only two to offer this upgrade. Can be swapped into an F-body/gto with work, and corvette donor gears.

Syncro Differences

You have two different options:
1-2 gears Triple-cone syncros, 3-4 and 5-6 double-cone syncros
Corvette c5-c6, 2004+ Cadillac CTS-V, 2004+ GTO
OR
1-2 gear double cone sycros, 3-4 and 5-6 single cone syncros
F-body T-56s

Supposedly, high rpm shifting is improved with the first option, the triple/double setup. As well, Pre-2002 transmissions came with PAPER blocker rings. In 2002, carbon blocking rings were standard across the GM lineup.

Lastly, if you buy a brand new transmission, there are some upgrades to consider if not already done. These would be:
Billet Syncro Keys:
They replace OE stamped steel keys, which are prone to failure in 3-4. You can upgrade them in sets, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and even reverse.
Bronze shift fork pads
The OE shift fork pads are nylon. They can last, but if shifting is forced they wear in a bad way, making for even more missed shifts/poor feeling. Worth looking into.
Steel 3-4 Fork
As mentioned, hard shifts in this range can bend the aluminum fork in earlier transmissions. Steel forks are more robust.
Output shaft
As mentioned, Viper upgrade or SSR upgrade are optional
Gear lube sprayers
For lack of a better term. They are tubes added to the case which spray fluid onto critical parts of the gearset, where heavy track use can kill components due to under-oiling.


A lot of this info is borrowed from an amazing writeup from LS1tech, where I got the info to build a C5/SSR/F-body hybrid. Using these pieces, I get the largest output shaft (SSR), 1-piece counter shaft, MM6 gearset w/ triple-double syncros, and the ideal F-body external dimensions. For about 1/4 what it would cost to buy a trans spec'd like this. Here's the link:
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28..._Fbody_T56.pdf

Lastly, if you are buying one yourself instead, I recommend talking to these guys. Remember, you get what you pay for, and these guys know their buisness very, very well. Please note, Core exchange is required. You can source a core easily on ebay/ls1tech/corvetteforums etc.

Six Speed Rebuilds - 1993-2002 Camaro & Trans Am - T56 Rebuild Packages - Tick Performance

Best of luck, Stay safe! I myself am in Iraq, I know how it goes out here!

Johnnybegood

V8droptop Thanks for the info that was very helpful, unfortunately is not feseable for me to buy a new trans, cause I live in Europe and this one had already costed me an eye of the head, so I'll go for upgrading the one I have and if it blows, I'll take it from there.

For you guys out in Iraq I wish you a safe deployment, see you soon I'll try to keep you updated with the build

V8droptop

Good luck with the work. There are details on LS1tech and likely Third gen.org on the conversion, it can and has been done. If possible, I'd sneak in the double/triple syncro setup. You'd be using the LT1 trans as a case donor, and sell the parts you don't need. Roughly half of them. If not, the minimum you should do is get carbon blocker rings, those are just replaceable wear items, and I would def open it up and check the shifter pads, 3-4 fork, etc for the reasons mentioned above. An old T56 like that will surely show wear, as most F-bodies didn't live gentle lives.

Johnnybegood

Wow, it's sounds like the tranny i've got is trash!!! if I have to do all that kind of work, and buying all those parts most probably I would be better sourcing the 98-02 tranny and try to sell the one I've got!!! Just for buying the longer main shaft, front plate and bell housing it costs $650 + shipping and customs!!! If I have to throw in the parts you mentioned above it will cost me more than to get a used one. I've found trannies for less than $1500.

Thanks alot again for the info you saved me alot of trouble and money

V8droptop

I'm glad I could help. I too, have noticed the parts are very costly. Even used, the front plate, bellhousing and tail shafts are costly because everyone wants them. If you need help sourcing parts, you're free to ask. I will have 1/2 a transmission leftover after I finish my SSR hybrid project. I also know of an LS1 trans with 109k miles on LS1tech for 1500. Just lmk

Johnnybegood

Thanks for your offer, but I need to sell the one I've got first to buy another one. Been spending alot of money on this built since I have to inport everything from the states, I'll have a look in Europe too for a tranny.

I'll keep you guys updated