robertfrank

iTrader: (27)

I've done a search but haven't really been able to find what I'm looking for.
I think my 700 might be going south and instead of rebuilding it again I'm thinking of swapping.
The questions I'm having are these......


1. From swapping to a T5 what changes need to be made in the chip or can I drive without making any?

2. Are there any ways on reinforcing the T5 case to provide better strength?
i.e welding support bracing, adding girdles etc?

3. who makes a good overhaul/rebuild kit for a WCT5? How hard would it be to rebuild one?

4.What do I have to do with the neutral safety switch?

5. My car has better breathing capabilites. what rear gear would be the best, 3.73's or 4.10's? I have a good idea but I need experience to make the best guess.


I know I'll get "swap in a T56" but at this moment financially this is not an option and the car can't be down for more than a day.

robertfrank

iTrader: (27)

anybody?

robertfrank

iTrader: (27)

oh for the love of christ! it can't be that hard of a question.

Imthebriman

iTrader: (1)

also curious of this myself.... somebody has to know......

rads84n94camaro

I just converted my 84 z over to a wct5. it was a pretty big pain in the *** simply because i also converted mine to a 350 car and its out of a 75 stingray so not everything matched up as far as flex plate and i had to use a hydraulic clutch instead of the z bar because there was no room for the z bar. as far as putting it in tho it wasnt bad, but getting all the parts was a little more tough. as far as changing any chip that i am not sure of because yours is a little newer than mine. i did not put any reinforcements for my trans so far everythings bin fine. knock on wood.T5-TRANSMISSION.COM... a little expensive but there good. and as far as rear thats a good question ive bin thinking about myself.
good luck
aj






QUOTE=robertfrank;3949429]I've done a search but haven't really been able to find what I'm looking for.
I think my 700 might be going south and instead of rebuilding it again I'm thinking of swapping.
The questions I'm having are these......


1. From swapping to a T5 what changes need to be made in the chip or can I drive without making any?

2. Are there any ways on reinforcing the T5 case to provide better strength?
i.e welding support bracing, adding girdles etc?

3. who makes a good overhaul/rebuild kit for a WCT5? How hard would it be to rebuild one?

4.What do I have to do with the neutral safety switch?

5. My car has better breathing capabilites. what rear gear would be the best, 3.73's or 4.10's? I have a good idea but I need experience to make the best guess.


I know I'll get "swap in a T56" but at this moment financially this is not an option and the car can't be down for more than a day.

[/QUOTE]

z28gsxr

iTrader: (5)

I swapped my 91 TBI RS to t5 and all i did was purchase a chip off of a tbi 5spd car. I have the complete 5spd swap setup if you're interested and can meet u half way. Its currently still installed in the 89 RS. I'm in the LA area but if you're interested we can set something up and i'll meet you in Barstow somewhere

z28gsxr

iTrader: (5)

You can re-route the neutral safety switch to the clutch or just disable it.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

From what I've read here on the boards, it's not totally necessary to have to do anything with your chip. Most guys just leave the auto chip in and call it good, although a few people have said it can affect the idle speed a bit or that their car will die sometimes when you push in the clutch and come to a stop. But most say it's not really an issue. As far as doing anything to "beef up" a T5, there's no feasible way to strengthen the case up. About the only upgrade I've seen that might help is a few places sell a thick, steel rear countershaft bearing retainer. The stock retainer is a flimsy piece of stamped steel, and this supposedly causes the countershaft to be able to walk back and forth, or flex. 5speedtransmissions.com talks about this on their T5 page, and has pics of the upgraded piece versus the stock one. If you really wanted to drop some coin, you can purchase the G Force, T5 gearset, but that runs about $1k, which would negate the whole "budget" idea of running a T5 instead of a T56. For rebuild kits, you can get them from several ebay sellers such as "The Gear Box" and ZBAG (Zumbrota Bearing and Gear). I've bought Muncie 4 speed parts from ZBAG before, and the quality was quite good. As far as your neutral safety switch goes, in an automatic it's the yellow and purple wires that go to your plug on the floor shifter. Even if they're not yellow and purple, they're easy to spot because they're the thickest gauge wires (8-10 ga.) that are in the plug. You can either splice them together to bypass the function, or you can splice those wires into the safety neutral switch that's located on the clutch pedal if you want it to work. I just bypassed it on mine. Anyone stupid enough to forget to push the clutch in before starting the car shouldn't be driving a stickshift anyways! As far as your rearend gears go, you'd honestly be just fine sticking with the 3.42's The T5 has a 2.95:1 first gear, which isn't much different from the 700r4's 3:06:1 first gear. The lowest I'd consider would be 3.73's, but you'll still have plenty of takeoff ablility with 3.42's. Oh yeah, your reverse lights are also wired into the shifter plug for an automatic. If you want your reverse lights to work, you'll need to remove those two wires from the auto shifter plug and splice them into the reverse light switch that's located on the driver's side of the T5 case. Hope this helps clear up some of your questions.

Killerzracing71

Im wanting to do the same thing in My caprice

I have and EBL so I can change it from Auto to Manual.

Are the crossmember close to being the same as a 700r?

I cant afford a t56 either and my trans is gonna let go on me soon

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Hmmm, not sure if they're the same on a caprice, but the crossmembers are identical on the f-bodies for 700r4 or T5. Since both trannys are the same length though, I would imagine your existing crossmember should work.

FYRCHKN

I did this swap in less than a weekend with help from the guy who wrote this tech article. All the info you need is here:

http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=14

robertfrank

iTrader: (27)

GREAT write up. I'll definately save this to my favorites.