6 sp behind a TR motor?

[Blazer406]

I know this is crazy.... and I told him it would be slower.... but my father-in-law doesn't care.....

We have a 72 2 dr Nova from his late brother....sitting.... needs paint and bodywork....

My father-in-law has driven my GN and loves it...... except it is an auto...... he asked if we could get another turbo Buick engine.... and put one in the Nova... since the car was sentimental.....but he wanted to put a 4 sp in it.

so here I am... starting to research..... I really want to go with a 6 speed behind an intercooled TR motor. Do they make a BOP bellhousing for a T56... that would be the ticket...........

Any info would be appreciated.....

 

[Blazer406]

After reading all the posts I found while searching..... it appears to be a PITA. Since I have done nothing at this point...........nothing is lost.......

He is very determined to do this if it is possible. He has no concern if it is fast or not.... he likes the rush of the torque... and said it will feel good every shift... to feel the turbo spool up again...

Since the car the engine is going in isn't a regal.... it might provide some easier donor cars for the pedals.. and such...... I realize the flywheel/clutch/ballancing issue is still the same PITA....


Soo..... what is the best tranny.... I have a full machine shop at my disposal... with a machinist.....and I consider myself as mechanically inclined.....I have put several engine tranny's in vehicles they were never designed to go in...... LOL.......Not looking to spend 10k putting a stock TR engine/T56 into this old Nova..... but would love to turn out to be a worthwihile long-term project.

 

[A. G. Olphart]

Massive torque is a problem; most current manuals can't take it. Gas prices pretty much rule out the old school 4 speeds (some of which were pretty stout).

Try a search over here: http://forums.hybridz.org/

The HybridZ guys have chewed on this problem quite a bit.

 

[Anthony K]

use a Tremec 5 speed, can handle the torque without a problem. or the Tremec TKO. and machine an adapter plate for the bellhousing. contact Spec or Centerforce for a clutch.you should beable to source linkage and pedal issues from that year or body style Nova and adapt when necessary. and have fun! :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[bison]

use a Tremec 5 speed, can handle the torque without a problem. or the Tremec TKO. and machine an adapter plate for the bellhousing. contact Spec or Centerforce for a clutch.you should beable to source linkage and pedal issues from that year or body style Nova and adapt when necessary. and have fun! :biggrin: :biggrin:

I would only reccomend a tremec TKO as a last resort, the other tremecs are prone to breakage. I have replaced at least 3 inputs on the 3550 tremec units in the last 2 years because they were barber polled. They are expensive as hell to fix. I know this because i build a lot of manual transmissions. Recently i had one that stripped the cluster gear and it was $340 my cost just for the new gear. You would be better off with a G-force T-5 if you want an overdrive and a really strong transmission. The old four speeds are a great option also if your not worried about the OD and would be considerably cheaper than a tremec or a g-force t-5 and very durable.

 

[Blazer406]

After telling him how much a PITA it was going to be and expensive.... he said he has to have a standard....and he has to have a turbo...... (he really likes the pull of my GN on 23 lbs of boost :biggrin: )..... I am considering a LT1 6 speed combo... then a turbo kit...... I think the V8 will have considerable more torque when you shift...... what about an 8.5:1 LT1 350 with two GN turbos..... It would probably cost less in the long run than buying a GN motor... buying a T56.....then mating the two... and installing it with all the other mods......

As far as the T56 holding up...... this car probably will never see slicks....if that is any consolation.......

 

[bison]

After telling him how much a PITA it was going to be and expensive.... he said he has to have a standard....and he has to have a turbo...... (he really likes the pull of my GN on 23 lbs of boost :biggrin: )..... I am considering a LT1 6 speed combo... then a turbo kit...... I think the V8 will have considerable more torque when you shift...... what about an 8.5:1 LT1 350 with two GN turbos..... It would probably cost less in the long run than buying a GN motor... buying a T56.....then mating the two... and installing it with all the other mods......

As far as the T56 holding up...... this car probably will never see slicks....if that is any consolation.......

I dont think that building a turbocharged LT1 will be less costly than a complete 3.8 Buick. Though there would be a lot more torque without boost on a 350ci engine. The T-56 has a few shortcomings when driven aggressively. The keys in the synchronizer assemblys are prone to failure(very common) and require teardown to replace. They make billet replacements for those now which dont break. The output shaft is prone to failure also. Ive seen these twisted off before. There are stronger replacements for this also. Choose your T-56 wisely. There are several variations of the GM ones from 93 up.

 

[bbbad6]

first, no matter what you do expect to spend money
the lt1 6 speed came in two variations, the earlier being more common, but weaker and having higher 6th gear as well as a ****tier gear spread. Also keep in mind that the turbo setup will either involve many hours of fab. or $$$$!

The buick can be put in front of a standard trans. Mine should be running this spring. any BOP bellhousing will work, providing the trans is the common muncie-patern. If it helps what I did...
-Alum. flywheel from N/A buick 3.8 - kinda hard to find usually
-lakewood scattershield
-muncie m-21 <- which is getting replaced with a 6 speed later.
the hardest part was fabbing up the pedals to use a hydraulic clutch from 80s camaro, which I made harder...A nova should be easier as they came with standards and the parts are more readily available.
PS: the motor needs to be re-configured, as a BOV becomes an essential item or else it will not make boost after shifting gears. Also MAF masy be an issue, when BOV lets air out, so either relocation or elimination(my choice) are needed.

 

[FlightTest]

It is not that hard of a process. You can now buy the steel adapter plate to put an LS1 or LT1 T56 behind a Buick 4 speed bellhousing. Mcloed makes a bellhousing that goes direcly from a T56 to the bop block. Weir hotrods makes a cool adapter bellhousing too. I have done two conversions with 6 speeds to pontiacs and it is a great deal. Say what you will but the Factory 6 speeds are pretty darn tough. A Part that can get expensive if you use a Lt1 setup is the clutch, so make sure you price everything. You can also get new 6sp transmissions that will bolt straight to the production BOP 4 speed bellhousing.

http://www.weirhotrodproducts.com/id2.html

http://www.mcleodind.com/cgi-bin/fc...c1=/catalog_htm/2003cat.htm&w3hostname=MCLEOD

look at the bottom of the page of this one to see the steel adapter plate.
http://www.standardtransmission.com/

Enjoy and dare to be different!