firebirdjosh

I have a 2.8L V6 and have always wanted to swap a V8 in the car. Right now I want to put a manual transmission in it, however, I don't want to waste my money since I'm going to put a V8 in next summer possibly. So is there any way I can get a powerful manual tranny that can handle a V8, yet will bolt up for both a V8 and a 2.8L V6? This saves the trouble of buying another tranny, I don't have to do the transmission swap twice, and I don't have to rip apart my entire car at once. Am I just dreaming?

PyRo9862

I'm pretty sure there is no manual tranny that will bolt up to both motors.

firebirdjosh

I was almost positive, but are there any adapters? I know I'm REALLY pushing it, but maybe there was a one in a million chance of there being one out there.

IROC-T

May be missing something here ,but didn't the 5speed come in both sixes and eights? Just a differant bellhousing I thought.

Zepher

You can use the same T5 on either motor, just need to get the right bellhousing and clutch/pressure plate for each car.
Example: V6 T5 will work in a V8 with a V8 bellhousing, V8 Flywheel, V8 Pressure Plate, and V6 Clutch Disk.
My friend is currently running a V6 T5 in his 86 305 Trans Am with the parts I just mentioned.
It should work the other way as well, just swap the V8 for V6 in the parts selection.

PyRo9862

Is the V6 t5 weaker in any way?

firebirdjosh

Thanks. So are bellhousings readily available? I dont want to put the V6 in and find out it takes the same amount of time to disassemble the bellhousing as it is to remove a whole tranny.

Zepher

Not sure of the strength of the two T5's.

A T5 takes no time to remove, the bellhousing does take a bit more time since the space is so tight around the trans tunnel.

I haven't looked for a V8 bellhousing, so I am not sure if they are abundant or not.

IROC-T

They are one in the same. Gm would not make two differant T5's,it wouldn't be cost efective.

1984camaroz28

i have a v6 t56 and a v8 bellhousing. i was gona do the same thing but then i did a t56

IROC-T

They should not be hard to find. You could even go after market.

firebirdjosh

Ok, I'm convinced, I'm gonna do it.

I think I'm gonna get a V8 transmission and swap the bell housing for a V6's until I get the V8 engine. How long would it take your average car enthusiast to swap bell housings?

Zepher

If you have no problems, you can swap the entire tranny/bellhousing/clutch system in 4 hours.

My brother is pretty experienced now with swapping tranny's and clutch systems and he did 2 T56 clutch & flywheel swaps in our driveway at the same time in 8 hours at night. We had to go to the machine shop at 11:30pm to get one of the flywheels resurfaced, it's really good to be good friends wth the shops owner.

firebirdjosh

A buddy of mine is putting a garage in his yard strictly for cars, so I think I can use his lift. How conveinent for me. Once I find a good tranny I'll be good to go.

trackbird

They did make 2 different T5's. Actually, they didn't make them, they bought them. That did make it cost effective (and the V6 would be even more of a dog without the shorter gears). You'll have a difficult time getting that combination clutch package working. The input shaft on the v6 one is different and the gear ratios are different as well. The 6 cyl version is considerably weaker than the V8 version. It has a 4.-something to 1 first gear (the V6) and that transmission will not stand up to any real torque at all. I'd pass on that project until the engine swap. (I've done 5 and 6 speed swaps in 3rd gens).

If you use a V8 trans, you'll not find a clutch that will fit your car (I worked in autoparts and we tried this more than once). If you use a V6 trans, it will not last long behind a V8 (and the clutch won't fit properly, it is too small and will engage very little, if at all). So, you can do what you want, but I'd wait until later and do it all at once. The swap is not difficult. Also, I think there is a difference in the pilot bearing size (though I don't know that for sure without looking it up).