Project SicMonte

[SicMonte]

[SicMonte]

[Norm Peterson]

Looks like that flywheel is externally balanced. I don't know offhand whether your engine is balanced internally or not, but that flywheel may need to be rebalanced to suit.


Norm

[nyciti]

Pedal you can use bernie's , john b, or GSI's pedal. Hydraulics fbody works just fine no need to get anything else. Shifter pro-5.0 hands down. Used them in 3 of my swaps. Careful with the g-force sometimes they don't work to well with the tranny mount, take some grinding. Other than that you got it covered

[SSLance]

Doug, what cross member do you use with your 200R4? We modified my G-Force 200R4 cross member and made it work for the T56.

Here's what we did to modify my existing G-Force to work with the T56. I was the designer while John (Jynxd1) was the lead engineer and machinist. Thanks John...

The T56 transmission mount needed to be about 1 1/4" lower and and inch or so towards the front than the 200R4 mount was, so we cut a C-notch out of the front of the g-Force cross member.



Then tack welded plates to box the C-notch in and tacked a new mounting plate at the right height inside the notched part.





Then took it to the car and test fit to make sure everything was correct before final welding.







We got the height perfect. I removed the rubber bumper on the top of the T56 and the tail shaft height is now in just about the exact same height as the 200R4 was and I can fit a straight blade screw driver between the rear two cover bolt heads and the floor pan.

200R4



T56 on new mount





John finished welding it up and I painted it up and it'll be ready to go back in tonight.

[woody80z28]

I know!!!! I'm going to try my best to get it all done in time.

Do you have your T56 behind a SBC?

SBC/T56 crowd here! To this date I think the T56 was the best thing I ever did to my car from a fun-factor stand point.

Looks like that flywheel is externally balanced. I don't know offhand whether your engine is balanced internally or not, but that flywheel may need to be rebalanced to suit.

Norm

I would guess that is a stock 1-pc rear main flywheel. As long as the block is a 1-pc it should be ok. My block is a 2-pc and I had to get a conversion flywheel for the LT1-style clutch.

[SicMonte]

Doug, what cross member do you use with your 200R4? We modified my G-Force 200R4 cross member and made it work for the T56.

Here's what we did to modify my existing G-Force to work with the T56. I was the designer while John (Jynxd1) was the lead engineer and machinist. Thanks John...

The T56 transmission mount needed to be about 1 1/4" lower and and inch or so towards the front than the 200R4 mount was, so we cut a C-notch out of the front of the g-Force cross member.



Then tack welded plates to box the C-notch in and tacked a new mounting plate at the right height inside the notched part.





Then took it to the car and test fit to make sure everything was correct before final welding.







We got the height perfect. I removed the rubber bumper on the top of the T56 and the tail shaft height is now in just about the exact same height as the 200R4 was and I can fit a straight blade screw driver between the rear two cover bolt heads and the floor pan.

200R4



T56 on new mount







John finished welding it up and I painted it up and it'll be ready to go back in tonight.

Looks really good! Im probab;y going to just buy a new GForce T56 crossmemeber bc I want to sell my 200r4 set up as a complete kit.

Do you have any pics of your tunnel mods to make it fit? And shifter?

[SicMonte]

BTW....tonight is the moment of truth. We are taking the T56 apart to see if the internals are any good..........wish me luck!!

[SSLance]

Looks really good! Im probab;y going to just buy a new GForce T56 crossmemeber bc I want to sell my 200r4 set up as a complete kit.

Do you have any pics of your tunnel mods to make it fit? And shifter?

I've heard the G-Force cross member doesn't get the tail shaft nearly as high as we did with the mods to mine, be prepared for that. I didn't take any pics of the tunnel that I recall.

I just lifted the trans up into place minus the shifter, marked the four corners of the shifter housing on the bottom of the tunnel, lowered the trans out of the way and cut out between the holes. I had to walk around the car a few times first before firing off the cut off saw..."should I do it..should I do it..." then I went after it, no looking back now. ;)

Once you get the shifter housing going up into the floor, you'll see where the tunnel needs massaged on the driver's side...where the lock out solenoid hits the floor. An area maybe 3" long by 1.5" wide needs moved out about a half inch or so. Five minutes with a hammer and a 2x4 and call it good. Couple shots of Chassis black makes it all looks good again.

Good Luck tonight.

[nyciti]

Some tunnels need a big hammer others don't I've had to deals with both. Make sure you check the sticky on the Monte ss board we have covered it many times over.

[SicMonte]

Well got the trans looked at tonight......good thing I told the seller that I wanted to have it looked at before I committed to buying it....


Trans up on the jig.




Tail Shaft Housing has been removed exposing the 5th and 6th gear sets.





5-6 Synchro is worn...needs replacement.

[SicMonte]

[SicMonte]

Time to start on the front...

[SicMonte]

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear sets...







Counter shaft has 3 out of the 6 teeth broken off....very random.

[SicMonte]

All these gears and synchros....it would take me a year to get it all back together!!

[SicMonte]

This is the "weak" version of 2nd gear. See how the middle set of teeth are not full length down to the main gears? This is a major cause of failure in these types of transmissions. The upgraded version of 2nd gear have these teeth/gears full length onto the main gear.

[SicMonte]

So this is what the trans needs to be able to hold the power of the motor and to be reliable and functional in an autox or a road course.

Basic Upgrade Package: Includes billet keys, bronze pads and steel shifter gear forks.

Needs a new 2nd and reverse gear.

Needs a 1-2 and 5-6 Synchro.

Needs a new counter shaft.


For the price of these upgrades, the trans and every part I need for this swap to work....for about another $1000 I can get a T56 Magnum kit from American Powertrain which is pretty much a bolt in swap kit.


What do you all think??

[carguykeith]

If it were me I would go T56 Magnum, you WILL add more power in the future. After looking at all of my options when I considered going 6-speed the Magnum was a pretty easy decision once everything was added up.

[Number1]

T56 Magnum all the way. Strong and precise. Plus it will be there when you get ready to do your ls swap. I plan on getting one from American Powertrain also.

[Norm Peterson]

Seems like a relatively small step to go new.

Plus you'd have the choice of close or wide ratio gearing. Take a little time with this to determine which will best fit your use. Keep in mind that you'll want to have at least 65 mph available in 2nd gear for autocross (having to shift back and forth between 2nd and 3rd kind of sucks when you're that busy). You'll also have to consider axle gearing here, but if that isn't quite right pick the transmission first and choose axle gears to dial it in to your driving needs. If you do the speeds in gears math with the online calculators, either reduce those speeds at rpm by 3% or increase the revs at those speeds by 3%. It might be enough to make a difference in your choice. Let me know if I can help here.


Norm