T56 behind an L-series

[TimZ]

Okay - sorry it's taken me a while to get back around to this - life has a way of getting in the way!

 

So Quicktime did get me the bellhousing - and accidentally forgot to drill the engine side flange for the L-series and not the RB.  As I mentioned before I didn't even get a chance to look at it for about a month, but they took care of it no questions asked.  It did cause some extra delays, though.  The fixed bellhousing came out really nice and fits perfectly.

I ended up going with a close ratio T56 Magnum from Liberty's gears, modified with an F-body tailhousing - here's a pic of it, next to my old GForce T5:

 

And one with the bellhousing attached:

 

I don't know how much you guys are paying for tailshaft mods, but Sikky Manufacturing makes a T-56 shifter extension that is really high quality (see attached or their website). I think it comes in 3 different lengths, 4", 7" and 9".

 

Mike Mileski

Tucson, AZ

I ended up going with the F-body tailhousing due to fears that a shifter like the one mentioned above would limit how high the trans could sit in the tunnel.  As it turns out it _probably_ would have been okay.

 

I ended up using an MGW F-body shifter - with its adapter block rotated 90 degrees it actually locates the center of the shifter about an inch forward which put it pretty much right where the T5 shifter used to be, at least longitudinally.  One thing I didn't count on was that the shifter housing on the F-body tail is offset a bit left from center:

 

This ended up working out okay, but it was really close to interfering with the center console hole location that I had been using with the T5.

 

I used a McLeod slip on hydraulic TOB:

 

 

As you can see, the T56 is quite a bit larger than the T5 and I had to make some accommodations - the old mounting ears had to be cut out, as the T56 would not fit between them, and I had to do a bit of hammering to make sure that everything would clear:

 

This of course left me needing a new rear crossmember - Ausin Hoke was gracious enough to rush me one of his first 280Z T56 crossmembers.  Here's a few more pics with everything installed:

 

And the final product (all new interior too!)

 

Had it out today for it's fist long drive and I'm really happy with this trans so far.  The MGW shifter along with the mods that Liberty's did resulted in the shifts being really precise and quick.  Also the 0.62 6th gear is pulling just fine above ~45mph with my supposedly "undriveable" low compression 3 liter.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by TimZ

[RebekahsZ]

What is your 5th gear ratio?

 

Did you index the bellhousing to your crank with a dial indicator? My LS bellhousing from QT was off by a lot and I had to use indexing dowls to get it straight.

[TimZ]

What is your 5th gear ratio?

 

Did you index the bellhousing to your crank with a dial indicator? My LS bellhousing from QT was off by a lot and I had to use indexing dowls to get it straight.

 

It's the close ratio trans, so 5th gear is 0.8

 

Actually I did not index the bell - probably should have in retrospect, but they had spent a lot of time CMM-ing my T5 bell, so I think it probably received more scrutiny than usual.  Time will tell, but it went together with no issues and it's dead quiet in every gear so far...

Edited July 4, 2017 by TimZ

[Geno750]

Very nice. I've been going at about the same pace (probably slower). I still need to sort the TOB situation. Your pictures will save me some time though. I went with a TR6060 from a Ford XR6 falcon. They seemed to come with the most ideal gear ratios for my engine (1JZ). 3.36, 2.07, 1.35, 1.00, 0.71, 0.57.

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by Geno750

[RB26powered74zcar]

How'd everything end up for you with the wicked trans upgrade Tim?  Last post you seemed happy with the turnout. I'd luv to hear a spirited run through the gears. I bet it sounds and feels superb ...