LS swap transmission options.

[kfrey_e30]

So for the '04 GTO transmission I've read a couple places that the ball housing won't work for e30's is this true? And will the shifter be able to fit into the tunnel hole or will I have to find some sort of linkage to move it forward the 3.5"?


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[jalopi]

probably off of a corvette & probably too much hassle to work with your setup. better/easier to just find something off of a standard-setup car

[kfrey_e30]

So I have a chance to buy a t56 mn12 transmission but have a couple questions. The guy is saying that the transmission is "meant to mount in the back and doesn't mount to the motor" is this true? And also does anyone know if it will work with the sikky swap kit?


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[garretvs]

The T56 from an LS-powered Camaro or Firebird is perfect for the E30; the shifter comes right in the center of the tunnel hole. No need for any kind of shifter linkage.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Well I stand corrected then, just get a t56 and do no modifications since it will line up properly with the swap kit, and was still made for that motor.

Here's a photo of my 2010 Camaro transmission (next to a C5 Corvette rear housing...)



It takes a basically "BMW Style" shift linkage. I *thought* there was a T56 application that used this style of shifter also... 1st gen CTS-V maybe?

[jalopi]

oh yeah, forgot they have the internal slave option for the GM setups. i had a ford swap, unfortunately the ford version isn't really meant to use an internal slave, though i guess you can make anything work with enough time/skill/money

[iflytii]

ghat damn that's expensive.

and yep, you could go with a TKO style trans, but you have to deal with mounting an external clutch slave, which is convenient for replacement but not-so-much for fitment/tunnel clearance

besides, iron, do you guys actually have used TKOs floating around your way? listings for em are pretty uncommon on the east coast and everyone wants near new prices for em (at least from what i've seen anyway). the ones that are reasonably priced are usually gone before i can even go take a look at em :(

There are internal slave hydraulic options for TKO transmissions. I'm running a RAM HD hydraulic slave with my TKO, so no tunnel issues.

Used TKOs are indeed difficult to find! I ended up just buying a new one. When I originally purchased mine, it was specifically for dropping weight and getting into better gear ratios for my racecar over the f-body t56. It was also marginally cheaper all said and done (after bell housing purchase) than the magnum.

If I were buying new for my street car instead of stealing from my racecar, I'd likely go with the magnum.

[Ryan1212]

With my LS1 my car does around 200km/h at 3100rpm with the 0.5:1 6th with a 4.10 diff. Depends on what you want to do with the car. If you run mainly 400 series (I would avoid this with the suspension you will have to run to be able to support that power), go with the .50, since you will also have the power to pull 6th. I doubt I would even swap mine and I'm only running a LM7 next year.

[jalopi]

i'd go for the mega-overdrive trans. nothing quite like turning sub 1500RPMs doing 70 down the highway

[ultimateracing335i]

Im buying a new magnum but have a choice of gear ratios. Assuming
I can use any rear end out there, would you guys go for a close ratio set up or long?

GM TUET11009 2.66 1.78 1.30 1.00 .80 .63
GM TUET11012 2.97 2.10 1.46 1.00 .74 .50
I have a 4.10 diff now.

[jalopi]

lol, i was gonna say, what magic land do you live in? hook a brother up :D

really i'd take either or, though a t56 would be cool since the geforce gearsets are cheaper than the TKO versions (as of now, though i suspect it's since the TKO gearsets are newish)

[IronFreak]

I picked one up when I was planning this swap used for 1400 I think. But I never see them either. I literally bought mine site unseen because I knew it wouldn't last long.

[Jack89i]

just do a TR6070. 7 gears ftw 8)

[jalopi]

it seems you have to change the tail housing to swap the shifter to directly on top of the transmission (kit I saw was like $2k)

ghat damn that's expensive.

and yep, you could go with a TKO style trans, but you have to deal with mounting an external clutch slave, which is convenient for replacement but not-so-much for fitment/tunnel clearance

besides, iron, do you guys actually have used TKOs floating around your way? listings for em are pretty uncommon on the east coast and everyone wants near new prices for em (at least from what i've seen anyway). the ones that are reasonably priced are usually gone before i can even go take a look at em :(

[Ryan1212]

if i'm not mistaken, the tr6060 is what OEMs call the t56 magnum. difference is that for some applications they can use a kinda-sorta shift linkage, but i've seen people use standard shifters on em

i think they're slightly longer than a regular t56, but other than that & the shifter differenceare pretty much the same tranny

IMO for the money you're gonna spend on a new magnum i'd get a used t56 and a gearset from someone like liberty or geforce. not only will it have a significantly better power capacity (roughly double. people break stock t56s fairly frequently on ls1tech) but it will also shift like a dream at high RPMs, which can't be said about a standard t56 or mangum/tr6060. should spend roughly the same amount if you install the gears yourself

I was looking this up and it seems you have to change the tail housing to swap the shifter to directly on top of the transmission (kit I saw was like $2k). And yes, the tr6060 is just a newer t56. Also, since you are doing a LS7 swap, I wouldn't start to cheap out now on the tranny. Get something good, along with a good clutch so you don't have to pull the motor in a few months to replace everything.