T56, TKO500, or TKO600 mated with a Reman or Crate SBC

[EastTnZ]

Hi, I've been reading the forums and searching for a few months and have developed a major list of most all necessary parts and pieces to build my Hybrid Z on a spreadsheet... After the minor stroke lol (just kidding) the total was $11k which is fine not including the car, cosmetics (interior and exterior etc...), and nickel and dime pieces that eat us alive. The 11k includes a 5k crate motor.

 

First of all yes I've purchased the "bible" (JTR V8 Z Swap) and the counter part TPI/TBI Swap Book for more info on the T56 (Which is a very small portion...) and have come to the conclusion that I'm not going to find an answer out there digging thats clear.

 

My question is which setup is preferred if you had to do the swap all over again... As most others I'd like to skip as many hassles as possible and am going to start buying and building in December so I'm planning ahead.

 

Engine

-Remanufactured Turnkey SBC thats been completely reworked with 1 year warranty and ready to go $3k

or

-Brand New Crate Turnkey 330hp GM SBC with serpentine setup from JEG's or even the 385hp ZZ4(different heads) $5k-6k

Is the crate that much better or for half the price should I just put in the reman? rebuild is fresh (magnafluxed, etc...)

This car will hopefully never be sold so longevity is key and price really doesn't matter I just want a reliable fast Z.

 

Trans (I'm only pushing a max of 385hp and roughly 450ft/lb or less)

-TKO500 (not enough play room for an occassional stomp of the lead foot with 450ft/lb??)

-TKO600 (you can never have too much but is it really worth it?)

-T56 LT1 94-97 (I'm going with a GPS Speedo for $260 so that part is negligible, is this the fail safe choice for reliability?)

With that out there is the TKO600 needed? 5 or 6 speed doesn't matter, OD is negligible for me (no rally racing but cruising would be nice)

Whats the easier and should I dare say cheaper swap? Whichever will fit the shifter hole better would be preferred (do the adapter plates push the shifter out of range of the stock hole for some trans/engine combos?)

 

And lastly which combo (rear seals from the sbc's) work with which transmissions? I've heard that some pre 86 engines have to have the adapter while others say that lt1 t56's will bolt up with no problems and even more enthusiasts say that centerforce makes a rather heavy flywheel to bolt right up (153 tooth i believe).

 

Let me know what all types of combos you have in your own Z's and what you would do different, if anything at all and which is ideal.

 

I don't post much and yes it's a lot to take in and to type this post (book lol) up but maybe it could be a reference for other enthusiasts in the future and cut down on some threads.

 

The Engine and Trans Package will be going in a 77 or 78 280Z with frame braces, roll cage, strut braces, etc... with R200 (lsd down the road once the car is drivable but not necessary).

 

Thanks in advance,

 

EastTnZ

[redneck1545]

Save yourself some time and money and buy a ls(x) setup with a t56 and call it a day.

 

With a crate motor your buying "brand new" 60's-70's technology. They are not doing much more research on those motors as the focus has shifted to the all aluminium motors such as the ls engines.

 

I personally have a pre 86' SBC with about 400hp that I built for around 2k including all the machine shop work. I mated my pre 86' SBC to a t-56 and yes you need the adapter flywheel. These transmission are hard to find below 900bucks at best. Add in the $400 flywheel and you've got about 1300 bucks invested in a transmission. I've been piecing my car together now for about 6 years and I'm just getting to the point where I'm almost done with the metal fabrication side of things. I scoured craigslist and the classifieds religiously to find steals and deals to invest minimal amounts of money. I found my t-56 for $350 and a fidanza flywheel (the nicest one you can buy at half the weight of a centerforce) with a brand new clutch for $125. Now not saying those are once in a lifetime deals but keep in mind i searched multiple times a week on multiple websites to find these deals and then pounced on them like a dog in heat. haha

 

All that power has got to go somewhere like a rear end right? Most go with a typical r-200 with cv's. I chose to go with an infinity Q-45 rear end and the techno toy tuning swap which is about $1300 bucks. Dont pay top dollar for not top performance, in my opinion buying a crate motor is like buying a brand new car; as soon as you sign the paper its worth half as much.

 

Point being is everyone here has "number built" a car on paper and the reality usually is nothing further from the projected cost of the build. There is a thread dedicated just to that subject actually. Only reason I went with a SBC is because I already had built a motor. The 1-piece rear main seal engine (newer than '1986) do not need the special adapter flywheel and you can find parts from jukyards for relatively cheap. But if your going to be pricing a setup from the start and not have anything on hand my personal suggestion is to find a complete LS/T-56 setup and you will have one of the most enjoyable and reliable setups on the face of the planet.

 

You usually can find compelte setups with ECU's and harnesses for less than 3k depending on mileage. Much better option in my mind considering your getting a complete motor and tranny that will take the abuse for about half the price of your crate motor.

[EastTnZ]

Very true and thanks for the input. I've mainly been worried I guess like everyone else about the wiring and not wanting to fool with it so I haven't wanted to dig around in fuel injection. I've swapped older SBC's into vehicles before (factory sbc vehicles) so I know the ins and outs pretty well and it would be built quicker.

 

But, after researching most of today on LS1 swaps and the painless wiring harness setups I think that for the money and reliability for the long run I'm goin LS1. Thanks lol, I guess all I needed was a little common sense and persuasion. And I already found a complete setup for it, LS1 with T56 and Harness, Computer, etc... for $3800 locally so yeah it's on! I'll try to post a build for it once I'm completely done for all the people like me that wanted to go LSX but haven't yet. And yes A/C is a must lol, I was debating on buying a C6 Vette or building a HybridZ...I have no current projects going on so the Z is a definite GO.

 

Anybody can buy a C6 Vette but you don't see an LS1 powered hugger orange 280Z everyday...

 

Thanks for this forum and for all the input over the years it's been around, it's a gold mine. You just have to dig the info out.

[redneck1545]

this is true...I've been combing this site for about 8 years now and im just getting into the metal fabricating side of things haha