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Just thought I'd share my "accounting"
I recently ordered from one of the "major" suppliers, a 5 speed conversion kit. I absolutely love it.
Conversion kit included tranny, clutch assy, shifter, shortened driveshaft, and some hardware. Totaled , plus or minus, $4,200. Installation bids were all over, but I found a good local shop that did it for $600. I sold my used tranny, clutch assy, and shifter separately on eBay for $800. So I end up with about four grand in the swap.
Ther you go...
Russ
I did the same. I installed it myself. The price you paid was very reasonable just for the pain in the *** factor associated with the swap. It is so nice to carry on a conversation with my passenger without screaming over the side pipes. Jerry
Do you have any more details? I'm looking at a TKO500 kit from SST for my 1980. Lowest they can do is around 4,800. Another 600 bucks in savings would be sweet if its a similar kit....
If you actually drive your C3 a lot and do a significant amount of driving at highway speeds, you MUST have an O/D transmission. It saves gas and saves a LOT of wear on the engine.
borg T5 83 to 92 camaro is best price. second best is T56 out of a 97-ish camaro or firebird. requiures speedo conversion to cable. those are the only sub-2000 conversions. buying a whole beat car with all parts is best bet with the T56 setup. the 83 to 92 have all been parted out already.
Last edited by derekderek; Dec 21, 2019 at 02:30 PM.
borg T5 83 to 92 camaro is best price. second best is T56 out of a 97-ish camaro or firebird. requiures speedo conversion to cable. those are the only sub-2000 conversions. buying a whole beat car with all parts is best bet with the T56 setup. the 83 to 92 have all been parted out already.
what is involved in using a Borg T5 out off a camaro?
what is involved in using a Borg T5 out off a camaro?
It's practically a bolt on. You'll need the stock Corvette pedal assembly, clutch assembly, z bar linkage, and bell housing. The only thing about the T5 is that when it was mounted in the Camaro, it was tilted about 20 degrees. Using the Corvette bell housing will straighten that out, but you'll need to fabricate an adapter for the rear mount and the shifter. That and to shorten the driveshaft a bit.
I used the kit from SST, and it's worth every extra dollar I spent for it,, i did the swap myself,,and a buddy helping ,,,
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. I had factory 4spd,,,, went with the TKO500, w/.64 OD, I have 3:70 rear,,,, It's a completely different driveing car,,, so much fun to drive anywhere! !! !
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. Come on,Old Man, tell us where you bought it,,
It's practically a bolt on. You'll need the stock Corvette pedal assembly, clutch assembly, z bar linkage, and bell housing. The only thing about the T5 is that when it was mounted in the Camaro, it was tilted about 20 degrees. Using the Corvette bell housing will straighten that out, but you'll need to fabricate an adapter for the rear mount and the shifter. That and to shorten the driveshaft a bit.
I never knew any of this, thanks for the information. It makes doing the conversion a reality. I could not bring myself to pay $5000 but this is great. I have a 79 L82 four speed and on the freeway the engine is doing 3500 rpm at about 65mph and at 70 plus it seems to be running way to fast compared to what we are now used to. Do you have to cut the crossmember and make it removable and how does that adapter fit in?
Do you have to cut the crossmember and make it removable and how does that adapter fit in?
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. You will find all your how-to questions answered in previously posted threads, , the guy's on here have been very generous with their information, ,,,, enjoy your conversion,
I never knew any of this, thanks for the information. It makes doing the conversion a reality. I could not bring myself to pay $5000 but this is great. I have a 79 L82 four speed and on the freeway the engine is doing 3500 rpm at about 65mph and at 70 plus it seems to be running way to fast compared to what we are now used to. Do you have to cut the crossmember and make it removable and how does that adapter fit in?
If you're gonna go with the T5, make sure you get a world class T5, the kind used in V8 Camaros and Firebirds. The 6 cylinders used a non-world class T5, which will work, but is weaker and only has a .80 overdrive 5th. The W/C T5 has a .63 overdrive 5th which will drop your 3500 rpm at 65 to about 2000. You don't have to worry about the cross member, but It will make life easier in the long run if you pull the engine. Using the adapter I made from two pieces of angle iron, I made my own rear mount which was just a thick piece of reinforced rubber with the two holes in it. And you don't even have to weld up the adapter like I did, you can just bolt the pieces of angle together. Just make sure you have a quality shop shorten and balance the driveshaft.
If you're gonna go with the T5, make sure you get a world class T5, the kind used in V8 Camaros and Firebirds. The 6 cylinders used a non-world class T5, which will work, but is weaker and only has a .80 overdrive 5th. The W/C T5 has a .63 overdrive 5th which will drop your 3500 rpm at 65 to about 2000. You don't have to worry about the cross member, but It will make life easier in the long run if you pull the engine. Using the adapter I made from two pieces of angle iron, I made my own rear mount which was just a thick piece of reinforced rubber with the two holes in it. And you don't even have to weld up the adapter like I did, you can just bolt the pieces of angle together. Just make sure you have a quality shop shorten and balance the driveshaft.
Thanks, hope all this information helps others it certainly helped me enormously. I know exactly what transmission to get now, could have easily gotten the wrong one. And I may not have to cut my cross member.
Upgrading to a 5 speed?
