A friend of mine has a transmission from a 1996 Firebird. It has been built with all the goodies and I need it for my engine change. Will the 96 Firebird tranny fit my 1995 Vette? If not, will it work if I just change some external parts around? Thanks.

 

search Pete K's posts. He posted all differences between the 4L60 used on Vettes, F-Bodies and other GM cars.

 

You are going to Smoke- Explode apart that 1996 4L60E Firebird Trans.

LOL

I received your PM.
Have not had time to write back in length to you.
Just got home about 1/2 hour ago.
Busy day working.
Picked up a new daily driver from a buddy of mine.
1997 Blazer for $400.
Runs good & very good condition.

You are going to be making 550+ horsepower.
And somewhere around 450 - 550 ft/lbs of torque.
7,500 RPM's is alot for a stock 4L60E or 700R4.

I over built my 700R4 for my 87 Vert on purpose.
So that when I was ready to install that 410ci stroker ,
it would take the abuse for a long time.

In theory.
You know yourself when you are drag racing & push the engine & drivetrain to the limits,
Anything can happen at the worst times.
You & I are both GAMBLERS because we love the RPM's & HP above 7,000.

Give me a while & I will answer in more detail for you.

I recommend that you build up a trans for Your Vette.
Do it yourself.
Hire a local professional.
Or you could have me do it.
Just I am in Illinois & You are in Kentucky.

Shipping is just a killer on the pocket book anymore for Items large & heavy like a C4 trans.

Brian

 

Thanks Brian, the transmission i want to get has hardened input and output shafts, Beast sunshell, Z-pack clutches with some kind of coated steels and all the other hot rod band stuff it's supposed to need. The guy's a friend of mine and we're doing some swapping.

I've tried searching and find all kinds of conflicting information. Something about 1996 vs 1995 plugs, VSS on wrong side, tailshaft hassles, etc. I'm just trying to find out if I can just swap some external parts around if need be and run this on the 7000 (not 7500....darn) RPM engine. He says it will hold the power just fine and has run his Firebird to the high 10's with it.

He did say that I don't want it to lock-up in 4th at WOT though. Something about the TC clutch will not take that abuse. Oh, he's got a 9 1/2 converter but he doesn't have 3 clutches or some such B.S. I don't know tranny's very well and leave that expertise to those that do.

 

You have a good start on parts to use in your 4l60E trans for your C4 Corvette.

There are at least 100 different ways to build a 4l60E or 700R4 trans.
Every trans builder or home mechanic has there own combination to success.

Pete K's way & mine are very different.
But Pete has very good advice to offer also.
He did give me pointers & some help on my 700R4 rebuild.

To start,
You need to better educate yourself 1st on what parts are available to build up these C4 Auto transmissions.

Check out PATC's website.
Spend at least 1 hour for 3 days familiarizing yourself with all 4l60E & 700 R4 parts they offer.
A GM FSM will help educate you also in the 4l60E trans section.

The archives here on C4 can be of great help or confuse yet likewise.

I chose to use the best available minus a Titanium input drum.
I could not find one at the time.
The guys in the past that made them wanted close to $2k for a Ti input drum.

Quoting Pete K's advice in the past to me,
The best thing you can do if you are racing with a 4L60e or 700R4 is to run a 10" inch or 9.5" inch torque converter.
Not because of the higher stall potential,
But because you are taking flywheel effect rotation torque force off the input shaft to prevent it from snapping in 2.

In your application I would recommend a full set of NEW GM 4L65E front & rear reaction planetary gearsets.
Pete K. does not feel its necessary & a waste of $$.
I am 100% happy with my GM 4l65e gearsets.
I do recommend them to all if they can afford.

Transgo & Sonnex makes all the Blueprint parts necessary to build up these 4L60e & 700R4 transmission to take 500 to 650+ HP.
Some guys claim using the same parts they can build a C4 or C5 trans to take 900+ HP.
I am standing by the lower numbers I gave.

I think its important to educate yourself more reading & checking out PATC.
Otherwise it is mostly GREEK talk to You.

I will keep answering your questions & from other people.

As far as finding a Dana 44 for low cost?
have to do some searching on your own.
C4 members that have them may let them go at a fair price.

Somewhere around $500 to $900 used would be a very good deal.
That leaves you $$ left over to rebuild it & purchase a New ring & pinion gearset in the gear ratio you want.

I forsee the economy getting worse worldwide in next few months.
If you have & save your $$,
You should land yourself some very good deals on that C4 Dana 44 with factory installed batwing with no accident damage & very clean used condition.

I would avoid ebay right now for a used Dana 44.
Most of the sellers are unrealistic in prices on them with a "Buy it Now".
I watch there daily too.
If the auction starts at .99 cents with no reserve,
its worthwhile saving that item & watching close day & night till the end of the auction.
Never know then,
You may win that Dana 44 with Batwing for $700 or less.

Brian

 

Sigh......I feel like the warden in Cool Hand Luke. "What we have hear is a failure to communicate". OK, lets assume that the builder of this transmission has done it all correctly and the tranny is fine. I'm getting this already assembled from a buddy. It's done. It's already finished. It was built by Art Carr and is probably OK. He built the one for my Impala and it has never failed (15,000 miles)even while launching a 4300# pig on numerous occasions with and without slicks. I don't need to build it or have it built. I'm swapping for it so it will be free. (Hard to beat).

but..........It is built for a F-body car and specifically is out of a 1996 Firebird. There's a whole lotta BS on the Google search and I haven't found a clear answer. Will this Firebird transmission housing bolt up to my 1995 Corvette or will I need to swap some parts from mine to this one. Is the tailshaft housing the same, Do Firebird trannys and Corvette trannys look exactly the same. (except for the Corvette servo) Is the output shaft the same length, is the electrical plug the same and is there a problem with the VSS from a 1995 Corvette to a 1996 Firebird.

I've read all the transmission sites for years and know most of the parts but I don't want to learn how to build the damnable devices. That's best left to people that do that. You, Pete, and others that have done for me in the past. Art Carr at CPT, Dana ar Pro built etc. Whew.

Just got up in the middle of the night to rid myself of alcohol induced toxins and here I am on this computer again. Thanks for your help. ---Gunny---

 

I am not Pete K's favorite person here on C4 in case no one ever told you so.

I could tell you what to use part by part.

But Pete would then call me on it and call it all BS.
Again.

You have been around a long time.
You know your way around all areas of a car or truck & a Corvette.

You could use that 96 Firebird Trans,
Cut the rear mainshaft off by around 3/4" then use your C4 aluminum tailshaft housing.

 

Dana at Pro- Built Transmissions in California is the likely the best Auto transmission builder in the world.

That is my opinion.

Much I learned from Dana.
Still can't thank that man enough.

Just to let you know tonight.

Sleep well.

I will too.

Brian R.

 

..... Don't worry ... he will answer in detail later ................ ....

 

I think I finally got my answer. Original question was:

Enquiring minds want to know.

The answer I think was from Brian:

So the tailshaft will be too long. Any problems with the solenoid plug or the VSS from a 1995 to a 1996?

 

It would not matter. After the output shaft is trimmed down, and the reluctor ring is confirmed to be in the same position as the vette trans, you would use your existing speedo sensor.
You need to confirm that the pump on the firebird trans has the letters PWM, and that the wiring harness and solenoid arrangment is identical to you vette trans (and it should be).

 

Thanks Pete and Brian. How would I go about cutting the output shaft. Just put a Metabo disc on my grinder and lop it off then bevel the edges like stock? Would that do it?

 

That would work OK.

Or use a friend's machine shop bandsaw.

From what I can tell,
GM took a standard 2wd 700R4/ 4L60E mainshaft- output shaft & cut it down to C4 length specs.

You can see the witness saw marks from the cut being made on your stock C4 trans.