Silver Sport T56 Magnum in 67-69 Camaro

[Sleeper68]

Anyone running a Silver Sport Trans (SST) T56 magnum kit in a 1967-1969 Camaro? Interested to see what you think of the fitment, STX shifter, and driveline angles.

I have heard they have the best driveline angles and fitment for the magnum in first gen f bodies. Also have heard the shifter is great.

Pictures, especially of the fitment of the shifter in the stock shifter hole in the tunnel would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[anguilla1980]

I have the SST kit in my 69 Firebird I did last year. The shifter location is spot on but the driveline angle is total crap. I was later told on cars that are lowered this would be the case. As a stop-gap, I re-welded the perches for my Ford 9" to at least get the angles matching but my Magnum points down and my pinion up. I bought a Bowler tunnel to correct the problem shortly. Full disclosure, in addition to my current Hotchkis suspension drop, I have the solid GW 0.5" body drop bushings. Honestly tho, I have troubling believing on even a stock height car that it would be a good angle. Although I couldn't say with a GM 10 or 12 bolt.

The shifter does feel great but also has a slight rattle at certain times. When I do my tunnel, I'll be swapping to the Bowler NightStick which it's polymer ball. I'm also going to build an access panel large enough to remove the shifter and also far enough back to make taking the trans in/out with the engine in easier.

Another issue is the QuickTime bell housing since it's not flat on the bottom, it's by far the lowest point on my car now. I plan on grinding it as flat as I can up to the bolt holes, it's been self clearancing over a couple of local train track crossings lol.

I am impressed with the dual-disc RAM clutch setup, the Mantec slave, the bleeder, the Wilwood master, etc. I did replace the master reservoir with something else and mounted it to my Wilwood brake master instead of my firewall. The RAM clutch is a hybrid clutch (has springs in the 1 disc) so no rattles, and they promised it's good to 700ft/lbs+ no problem which the 535ci replacing my 461ci will be. I also might try an aluminum flywheel next time too.

I'd post a pic of the shifter in my Firebird but I'm sure someone with a Camaro center console can post a pics of theirs.

Oh, and don't let them ship you the fixed crossmember, have them send the adjustable by default. They did that with me and I had to deal with waiting on the adjustable in the middle of my swap. Their fixed crossmember was way off.

[Sleeper68]

I have the SST kit in my 69 Firebird I did last year. The shifter location is spot on but the driveline angle is total crap. I was later told on cars that are lowered this would be the case. As a stop-gap, I re-welded the perches for my Ford 9" to at least get the angles matching but my Magnum points down and my pinion up. I bought a Bowler tunnel to correct the problem shortly. Full disclosure, in addition to my current Hotchkis suspension drop, I have the solid GW 0.5" body drop bushings. Honestly tho, I have troubling believing on even a stock height car that it would be a good angle. Although I couldn't say with a GM 10 or 12 bolt.

The shifter does feel great but also has a slight rattle at certain times. When I do my tunnel, I'll be swapping to the Bowler NightStick which it's polymer ball. I'm also going to build an access panel large enough to remove the shifter and also far enough back to make taking the trans in/out with the engine in easier.

Another issue is the QuickTime bell housing since it's not flat on the bottom, it's by far the lowest point on my car now. I plan on grinding it as flat as I can up to the bolt holes, it's been self clearancing over a couple of local train track crossings lol.

I am impressed with the dual-disc RAM clutch setup, the Mantec slave, the bleeder, the Wilwood master, etc. I did replace the master reservoir with something else and mounted it to my Wilwood brake master instead of my firewall. The RAM clutch is a hybrid clutch (has springs in the 1 disc) so no rattles, and they promised it's good to 700ft/lbs+ no problem which the 535ci replacing my 461ci will be. I also might try an aluminum flywheel next time too.

I'd post a pic of the shifter in my Firebird but I'm sure someone with a Camaro center console can post a pics of theirs.

Oh, and don't let them ship you the fixed crossmember, have them send the adjustable by default. They did that with me and I had to deal with waiting on the adjustable in the middle of my swap. Their fixed crossmember was way off.

Awesome. Thank you for the feedback. The driveline angle issue is somewhat concerning. I am on leaf springs (DSE 2" drop, although the car isn't really 2" lower in the rear compared to a true factory car) so pinion angle changes are a little more tricky. Sounds like you may be on leafs as well. I use lowering blocks so I may have to machine them on an angle to get it right. Did you experience driveline vibration?

You say the trans points down and pinion up. Do you mean the front of the pinion shaft centerline is lower than the rear? If so that is very bad. If you mean the rear is lower than the front then your angles may be very close. The trans is definitely going to be higher up front and lower in rear, so the pinion should also be higher up front and lower in rear, to the same degree. Not sure how much the body drop would affect the driveline angles. I would think not a ton since the crossmember and engine mounts define the trans angle. Only thing the drop bushing could change is the rear pinion angle in relation to the trans. Who did the perches on your 9"? Is is possible they were originally welded at a different angle than the OEM 12bolt or 10bolt?

Why are you thinking about changing the shifter specifically? The rattle?

I hope the new tunnel works well for you. I'd love to hear the outcome. The access panel is a good idea. That extra 4" of shifter height makes it way harder to install a trans.

Interesting note on the quick time bell. I was planning on going with one.

If you have pictures of how the shifter comes through the tunnel hole, even if you don't have a console, I'd love to see them.

Thanks again.

[Typhoon1015]

I have a friend that did the SST kit on his 68 camaro with the shifter. I hear the shifter is awesome and well worth it. He did not have to do any tunnel mods to fit the trans on his setup.

https://shiftsst.com/blog/post/ryan-buck-stepchild.html

[Sleeper68]

Thanks Justin. I read through that link, nice car. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the shifter coming through the tunnel hole. (I mean specifically without the shifter boot in place.

Anguilla, could you be so kind as to take a picture of your setup? The lack of console is actually what I'm looking for.

Thank you.

[Closf71]

Great information. I'm looking to swap my TH400 for a 5 or 6-spd into my 71 firebird. Does anyone have any recommendations on a reputable shop in SoCal. Thank you.