T-56 Magnum Install

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I thought I would post a few pics of my T-56 Magnum install in a 71 Nova. It is going pretty smooth so far. It is a plated LS1 transmission going behind an SBC with mechanical clutch linkage.

Recorded my drive line angles before getting started.





Measured the bell housing run out. It is less than .002. Not bad for a 40 year old bell housing and a nine year old engine.





Mated the plate to the bell housing. I think I need different hardware. It looks rusty in the pic, but it is shiny aluminum



Cut a hole in the bell housing to clear the transmission shift rail. There is a small support rib in the inside of the bell housing and I tried to leave as much of it as I could.





Put the transmission in the car. It fits pretty good. I will have to cut the top of the tunnel where the adapter plat is. and I may have to cut the floor brace. I'm going to try and bend the floor up 1/2 inch to get the clearance at the brace that I need. It needs to go up about 2 degrees more to be back where I started.




The shifter will be about 1/2 inch forward of the 4 speed location. Notice the beefy gear.



I'll call Keisler tomorrow and order the drive shaft. It is 8 inches shorter than the Muncie drive shaft.

[andrewb70]

Nice write up.

Andrew

[67 ls1 vert]

Just wondering... do you have worn out body mount bushings? If so, maybe changing them out to new tall one's would clear the tunnel problems? Just a thought so you wouldn't have to go through the trouble of cutting your tunnel.

Good luck.

I cant wait to get mine I ordered last week.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Just wondering... do you have worn out body mount bushings? If so, maybe changing them out to new tall one's would clear the tunnel problems? Just a thought so you wouldn't have to go through the trouble of cutting your tunnel.

Good luck.

I cant wait to get mine I ordered last week.

I have full height Global West solid body bushings and I measured for floor sag, but it is pretty level. I wish it was a simple fix. So, a cut'n I will go.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I've got the floor cut. It wasn't too bad, but I did have to cut half way through the floor. I have to reinforce it with 14 gauge. I had to clean up the old shifter hole so the hole is a bigger than it needs to be.









I've got the cross member in but I'm going to have to redrill the mounting holes as no of them line up with the frame holes.

[67 ls1 vert]

well you're committed now, get-r-done!!

[67 ls1 vert]

TnBlkC230WZ, are you done? Any new pictures?

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I'll post some this weekend. I'll have it in except for the driveshaft. I should have that next week. I'll have to take it to a shop to have the floor welded.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I got the transmission in today. I still have to patch the hole and install the driveshaft, but it is in.

I could not have done this without this $79 transmission jack. It made removing the old transmission and installing the new one a one man job. The only help I needed was turning over the engine while I was checking the bellhousing run out and my daughter pushed the clutch in while I pushed the transmission in.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39178

You will need to change the tie down straps to something with smaller buckles.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47727

The Keisler kit is very complete. Once I get the driveshaft this week, I will have everything. The only additional parts to buy were

1. 8 10mm*1.5*40 mm bolts. The 30mm long bolts holding the transmission to the adapter plate were a little short, so I got longer ones. 35mm long would have been perfect, but I couldn't find any.

2. 1 piece of 12"*12"14 guage sheet metal to reinforce the floor support.

3. 1 Piece of 24"*24 inch 20 gauge sheet metal to patch the floor. I could have cut smaller holes and got by with half that much.

4. 4 quarts of transmission fluid

The only part of the Kit I needed to modify was the cross member. The bolt holes didn't match up to my frame holes. Drill new holes in the frame and crossmember and it is good as new.

I got the plate, bellhousing and clutch installed. You can also hook up the clutch linkage before puting the transmission in.



I did have to cut the floor support



I covered up the parts of the floor I didn't need to cut. Part of the hole is left from the 4 speed shifter. Keisler has low profile bolts for the mid-shift cover plate that will give you more room to avoid cutting as much.





More pics to follow when I get the drive shaft in.

[KEISLER]

Dave,

Great job on this write-up on the Keisler kit in your Nova. We are doing the bell mod to our 621 Keisler made in USA bells. I passed on the comment about the frame rail to engineering.

Keep up the great work!

Shafi Keisler

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Dave,

Great job on this write-up on the Keisler kit in your Nova. We are doing the bell mod to our 621 Keisler made in USA bells. I passed on the comment about the frame rail to engineering.

Keep up the great work!

Shafi Keisler

Thanks Shafi, It positioned the transmission within 1/2 degree of the Muncie, but it is about 2 or 3 inches further back of the frame holes. I'll get some pics on Friday. One other area that needs a little attention is the speedo cable. I think it reached, but it is stretched really tight. An extra 3 to 6 inches would be awesome.

I'll get the exhaust and distributor back in on Friday and start the break in process.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I got it running tonight. The transmission is simply amazing. Short, smooth shifts. It is a little notchy, but that should go away as it breaks in. The clutch disk I got from Keisler is very smooth too. It's a welcome change from the dual friction disk I had. I did reuse my pressure plate and throw out bearing. I'll get more pics tomorrow. I'll start patching the floor and I'll try to get it on a lift.

[Taylor1969]

What setup are you using? Is that a T56 with an adaptor plate using a stock bellhousing?

I am trying to avoid cutting the floor if possible.

THanks,
Chris

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Yes, I'm using the SBC bellhousing and adapter plate. I don't think you can put it in a Nova without cutting the floor by the shifter. Even moving it forward with an LS bellhousing. you would have to move it forward at least 3 inches to not cut the floor support.

If you can get it forward and inch, you will not have to cut the forward part of the tunnel and you would only have to cut around the shifter.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Pics of the cross member location

[Taylor1969]

Didn't realize that u were putting this into a nova until i rereAd... I am puttng mine into a 69 Camaro which will be different

[TnBlkC230WZ]

The Camaro's tunnel is larger so your probably will not have to cut the tunnel except for the shifter opening. I don't know where your braces are or how big they are so I can't say for sure.

I'm only raising the tunnel 1/4 - 1/2 inch to fit. It was very close. The rest of the install should be identical. If you have a console, you will want an offset shifter.

The keisler kit is very complete and works great. Their sales staff is also their support and build staff. They know their transmissions. I only purchased a few small parts, mostly because I'm pretty anal about how I want things to work.

[PhillipM]

Where is the adapter plate from??

Also it looks like your drive line angle at the trans was zero... am I reading that correctly?

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Where is the adapter plate from??

Also it looks like your drive line angle at the trans was zero... am I reading that correctly?

Keisler makes the adpater plate. As far as I know, it is the only place to get it. The trans was actually -1 degree and the rear was +3 degrees.

[Mkelcy]

It's interesting. On the front of the T56 Magnum the shift rail and what I assume are internal lublication channels both project out in front of the bellhousing mounting surface. It also appears that the front intermediate plate in all the pictures I've seen of the T56 Magnum is set up for a hydraulic clutch linkage, i.e., there's no place to mount a clutch fork pivot. I asked in the T56 Magnum "corrected information thread" if Tremec was making a Magnum with a place to mount a clutch fork pivot, but they've probably not had a chance to respond.

The plate in this case looks like it was machined to allow for the shift rail and other items projecting in front of the bellhousing mounting surface. I'd assume any competent machine shop could do the same thing, using the Magnum itself for a pattern. It's also possible that other manufacturers of adapter plates will follow Keisler's lead and offer the plates pre-machined.

The one thing that concerned me in this setup is that you may not be able to use, for example, a McLeod or Lakewood SFI SBC/BBC bellhousing in an application that required an SFI bellhousing because of the possible need to relieve the bellhousing for shift rail clearance. if that's an issue, drag racers and others may be restricted to something like the Mcleod modular bellhousing and, if Tremec's not making a Magnum with a place to mount a clutch fork pivot, a hydraulic clutch linkage.

Maybe Keisler can throw some light on all this, because I'm just throwing out ideas based on looking at pictures.