The surgery has been completed... *pics*
 

... the T56 is in! I got to take it for a test drive last night and... wow... too much fun!! i couldnt resist hitting 6th gear... lol, yea, you need to be going faster than 65mph to make that gear not bog the motor down, hehehe.

parts:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45...e/DSC01604.jpg

i shot the car and pulled out its stomach
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45...e/DSC01606.jpg


after struggling and cursing, it is in!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45...e/DSC01616.jpg

me very happy. i was actually quite dilerious from being so tired, haha.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45...e/DSC01614.jpg

That's great, Eric. :thumbsup: Did you hit any snags? How did the exhaust fit with the new style crossmember?

Thanks Scott. Exhaust fit very well with the new crossmember. the ATS kit works very well and Tyler was helpful and very curteous to all my stupid questions.


Yea, i hit a couple snags that slowed me down a bit.

#1. I had the wrong starter, mine was too big and needed to get a new one.

#2. The crossmember from ATS is a great piece, its machined very well, too well... it too some wrestling to get it in.

#3. I made the mistake of grouding my (auto meter) tachometer when i started it up, i believe i blew it up... not sure until i can take it apart. :(

#4. It is very hard to lift a transmission on your back. heheh.

#5. The company i had shorten the driveshaft apparently didnt realize that i had wanted some suspension play in the driveshaft and had to redo it.... twice.

A few hiccups are to be expected. It's all part of the fun. lol

So how does it drive? What gears do you have in the rear and that's an LT1 style T56, right?

Did you have any problems removing the old tranny with the car on ramps in the front and jackstands in the rear (clearance wise)? I am going to do this swap after the PT.

Anyone who installs a T56 with the car on jack stands about 8" off the ground has my undying respect. Those suckers are heavy.

It drives well, still trying to get used to the manual vs automatic, the steering wheel gets in my way, i'm 6'1", so that doesnt help.

i have 3.73's in the back... in retrospect something higher would be better... but still, too much fun! Yes, it is the LT1 version.


No, not really, i had to angle it a bit on the way out, but it was fine. Just keep lots of oil dry next to you when you do it ;)

haha, yea it was heavy, i cursed a lot and got really really tired doing it. Of course comes the obligatory "i'm never doing this again"... then i realise, that i'm sure if i get psych'd enough, i'd do it again. HAHA!!

Nice car man, I bet it runs really good with that t56. I have a few questions for you. I have an lt1 t56 sittin in my garage waitin to go in my 69. After you buy the ats kit, besides a shifter, a clutch and flywheel, and pedals what else do you need to buy? Did you have to buy a master cylinder for it? Thanks
Ryan

Nice job, you will definately enjoy the T56. I just installed that new ATS cross-member and it has much better ground/header clearance.

BTW: Nice shirt :lol:

Eric, was it white when you started? Lets see... red from the tranny fluid, blue from the paint... but not sure where the yellow came from. :lol:

Way to go Eric, I can't wait to change mine over and start shifting gears. Anyway, ENJOY!!!!

I did buy the clutch master cylinder from ATS, if you are using the original bellhousing/clutch setup, i think you can just use your original setup. I'm not sure how you would get the clutch to work without the master cylinder.

HAHA!! yea, it was a gift from my ex-gf's parents, he was a higher up at HORMEL and gave me the "SPAM" tye-dye as a xmas present one year. Its a good shop shirt now, my wife (who is not the one who gave it to me) absolutely hates that shirt, she has no idea where it came from. She just hates tye-dye.. HAH!!

Oh and Scott... Yellow was the tinkle i took trying to bench press that tranny into place :_paranoid

you need to use the complete hydraulic set up for a lt-1 t-56 inorder to make it work, you cannot use mechanical linkage.
complete set up meaning, clutch master cylinder,line,ext slave cylinder.
on a stock clutch set up, gm sells the set up pre bled as cheap as other parts stores but you will need to make where it attaches to the clutch pedal adjustable so as to not blow out the master cylinder, i believe the lt-1s need about 1 inch of throw.? so your best bet is to buy the complete deal from ats, with there instructions

yep, what he said :)

I know you need a master cylinder, my question was if the master came with the ATS kit or not. I was probably being a little confusing, I have a Mcleod adjustable master laying around for my 01 SS and it's the same part number as the lt1 master so I am going to run that. I just didn't know if that kit came with a master or not and it didn't say you needed to buy a master on their FAQ section.
Thanks Ryan