Need advice

[Adi0o0o]

Im trying to figure out what engines trannies your guys are using?

im trying to go with a 350, but i cant seem to find a manuel tranny for a decent price.

 

anyone recommend a certain v8 setup or anything?

 

thanks alot guys

[280zwitha383]

You will probably get flamed for not searching (even though you may have) but it seems like a good question that may or may not have been answered in a simple, concise manner.

I would say a good general answer is as follows: a T5 will hold up to a moderate build but will break under hard launches and shifts (who knows how much you could find one of these for), a T56 will hold up to a good amount of punishment, give you excellent gas mileage but cost a lot (say around $2k?) initially. There are older Muncie "rock crusher" transmissions that might be an option and have a reputation for being very strong. I don't know if they made some with overdrives but if you don't really care about gas mileage or high cruising rpms Muncie might be the way to go. You might find some people who still want a good amount of money for them seeing them as older and superior for whatever reason. Good luck and if you don't see this in this board anymore look under "The Tool Shed" .

[piston]

i personally would say ls1 with t56 if i had to redo mine. lt1 and t56 for now. if you dont have any experience and are not familiar with wiring and computers, dont do the fuel injection. itll take a whole lot of asking and learning and you wont be driving anytime soon unless its a long term project, go with fi any day. depends on your budget, for the price i spend finishing up my lt1, i could of had a stock ls1 t56 or a carb sbc single turbo...but the lt1 just looks so cool...i wanted gas mileage and reliability, thats why i went with the fuel injection.

 

now at days if your lucky, depending on your location, you can get a t56 for 1000-1200.

 

and please search, because this is a V8 forum..all we do here is talk about gm v8 swaps and plenty of info. what we use in our vehicles if your asking, everyone uses different gm v8 setups, ther is no specific swaps.

[dsommer]

What is a "decent" price?

 

One thing you'll find is the word "budget". A v-8 swap WILL nickel and dime you, not to death, but it will creep into your back pocket and puck a 10 here a 20 there add that to several Benjamins that you'll be dropping for JTR conversion kit, engine+tranny.

 

I would recomend picking up an abandoned project, you'll be miles ahead (90% of the time) avoid rusty cars (I assume you're in CA) and keep emissions in mind.

 

As far as a decent tranny for a decent price. I just picked up another T-5 with a fresh rebuild (no bellhousing etc) for a song <$300. Just keep your ears and eyes open and follow up on old posts if somebody is selling, that's how I found this tranny. The tranny in my car I found used in the classified ads in my local paper.

 

Good luck!!!

[Dan Juday]

IMHO, a complete f-body LT1/T56 is the best bang for the buck S30 swap. But you must get the whole package. Some yards call it the swapper's special: motor, tranny, driveshaft, ECU & wiring harness, and anything else you need off the donor car. This is the only way to control the nickle($50) and dime($100) syndrome. Buy it while it's still in the Z28 or TA and hear it run, or if you're as lucky as myself even drive it. $2700 three years ago.

 

The LT1 is a powerful and reliable mill with the potenial to build in more power with only bolt-ons. It installs with the cheap and easy JTR kit.