t56 swap progress

[Wiisass]

Aren't there holes on the bottom of the engine or trans? Why are they not being used?

And is the adapter plate going to look like that? Just a big round edge sticking out between the engine and trans?

And those bolts going through are getting nuts right? They aren't threaded into the plate are they?

 

[williamb82]

Aren't there holes on the bottom of the engine or trans? Why are they not being used?

And is the adapter plate going to look like that? Just a big round edge sticking out between the engine and trans?

And those bolts going through are getting nuts right? They aren't threaded into the plate are they?

you obviously dont read. the outer section will be trimmed to the bh of the trans. since not all gm transmissions are exactly the same in the outer circumference i left it like this so when i do a group buy it can be trimmed to match the trans exactly. and as for the t56 being strong, mine is an lt1 unit. only one stronger is the viper unit. im not worried about it.

 

[Wiisass]

you obviously dont read. the outer section will be trimmed to the bh of the trans. since not all gm transmissions are exactly the same in the outer circumference i left it like this so when i do a group buy it can be trimmed to match the trans exactly. and as for the t56 being strong, mine is an lt1 unit. only one stronger is the viper unit. im not worried about it.

So you're leaving it up to the customer to "trim" all that extra material off of a 3/8" thick piece of steel? That sucks.

And what about my other questions?

 

[williamb82]

there are only 4 bolt holes on the engine. i dont use the stiffiner plates on my car(also plates for r154 and w58 are diff on one side. i dont recall which side off the top of my head but the bolt holes are in a diff location on the bh for this). also, this plate is strong enough they arnt needed. im even thinking of going to 1/4in plate as the 3/8ths is obvious over kill. just need to reinspect the input shaft depth into the pilot bearing as the t56 inputshaft is longer.

and i plan to make the plate with the holes tapped for the trans bolts. mine im going to weld nuts on as i think that will be stronger (more then 3/8ths of thread). this plate in the pics is the one im using myself.

 

[AF1JZ]

The forum isn't gay so you know. You can reply to your old thread, you just have to read.

 

[Wiisass]

there are only 4 bolt holes on the engine. i dont use the stiffiner plates on my car(also plates for r154 and w58 are diff on one side. i dont recall which side off the top of my head but the bolt holes are in a diff location on the bh for this). also, this plate is strong enough they arnt needed. im even thinking of going to 1/4in plate as the 3/8ths is obvious over kill. just need to reinspect the input shaft depth into the pilot bearing as the t56 inputshaft is longer.

and i plan to make the plate with the holes tapped for the trans bolts. mine im going to weld nuts on as i think that will be stronger (more then 3/8ths of thread). this plate in the pics is the one im using myself.

I would just be worried about any flex between the engine and trans killing the input shaft bearing on the trans. 3/8" is thick, but there could still be some movement which would probably put some bending loads on the input shaft.

And tapping the holes, seems like a bad idea. Well maybe not a bad idea, but definintely not the best idea. And why would you make yours stronger and then sell weaker ones to other people?

 

[williamb82]

The forum isn't gay so you know. You can reply to your old thread, you just have to read.

already been addrss, but its still gay. only forum ive ever seen that requires you to check a box to reply to a thread because of its age. people bitch to use search, then when its used the forum adds extra steps just to reply to the damn thing. regardless, already been covered.

 

[williamb82]

i didnt make mine stronger. i just said 3/8ths is over kill. it holds the weight of the trans no prob and t56's arnt light at all. while the weight of the trans was supported by that plate, i put the trans in every gear, including reverse and spun it by the output shaft. it spun freely with no binding of any sort. they use 1/4in plate as engine plates to mount engine in dragsters making over 1000hp and doing wheel stands and they dont flex or break. so i doubt itll be a problem. reason i was going to go to 1/4in plate is because of weight savings. alot of people seem to be worried about weight. i think once my plate is trimmed itll be in the 12-13lb range. not bad at all imho. now if everyone wants the plate to have the outer section trimmed to match my t56 thats fine. i can have that moddifed before i do a group buy. ill have to make a poll for that and see if it is enough interest to warrant that.

 

[Wiisass]

I understand that it holds the weight of the transmission. But I don't think you realize the different loads that it will see during driving. Moving the output shaft by hand won't really tell you that. Look at where the trans and engine are supported and then what connects them. And then you'll understand what I'm saying.

And the dragsters that run 1/4" plates to mount engines, use more than one plate. They will have the front and the rear of the engine supported, which is a totally different support structure than stock style motor mounts and a plate like yours connecting the engine and tranny.

As for trimming, it's just an aesthetic thing, functionally, it shouldn't matter. I just think it would look a lot better if it was trimmed to some extent. I mean unless you're buying x" diameter blanks, there's no reason not to. The mill bit has to go around the whole thing no matter what, so whether it's a circle or a shape isn't going to make much difference in the manufacturing process.

 

[williamb82]

actually they are laser cut. and having the outer portion trimmed is fine by me. just my th400 and t56 outlines are slightly diff even though the bolt holes are exactly identical. anyway, if someone wants to bolt their stiffiner brackets to the plate, its a matter of drilling 4 holes. then they can use nuts and bolts to secure it. i also see what your saying, but even wit hthe stock transon the 7m in my mk2 i dont have any issues. ive run the setup for over 6 years no issues. people already have used similar for auto swaps. so i dont see what the problem will be.

do you honestly think that 3/8ths plate steel is going to flex when bolted to the engine with 4 bolts and lined up on the dowels and bolted to the trans with 6 bolts and 2 dowels? i dont. id take a hell of a lot for that plate to flex.

 

[drjonez]

interesting stuff.

the T56 may be a better option due to the retardedness of clutch prices for the R154....

 

[williamb82]

well, im going to be using the 7.25in tilton tripple plate i got. except ill go with organic discs as ill be driving it on the street. i emailed quartermaster for a quote on making a button flywheel for the 7m. ill let everyone know the price once i have it.

 

[williamb82]

pretty damn good news. got the 2nd test piece today. it appears to be perfect. bolted right to the block, started bolted up. i hooked jumper cables to the starter and made sure it turned the engine over. jumped the damn thing all over the place from the tq but the gear in the starter is lined up perfect so thats a relief. then put the bh on, dowel holes seem right. though what im going to do, and i recomend everyone else that buys one do, is dont try to press dowels into the plate. im instead going t put them in and weld from the front side to hold them firmly in place once the bh is on so i know it will always line up correctly. then i put the transmission on. heres the thing i cant check yet as i was by myself. this test piece is 16 gauge, which is thin. so it was flexing under the weight of the trans. i had a jack under the back to level it out. some spots it was perfect and spun great, a lil either way it was hard to spin. so heres the deal, im going to have to wait till my brother comes by. gonna stand the engine on its nose so itll put the trans up in the air veritcal so i can line it up and be 100% sure the snout is lined up dead perfect into the pilot bearing and it spins free, im also wondering if maybe its just going to deep int othe pilot bearing so will space the plate back with 1 washer at all 4 holes to the block, just to be sure. then i will have the outer section trimmed to match the bh and mail it back. they said tey can modify the file to cut it out to match the outer diameter perfect. so im going to have them do that. my solidworks skills arnt good enough to do that myself yet.

anyway, its progress and almost ready to start the group buy. if its lined up perfect ill go ahead and get permision and start the group buy for them.

new pics are here.

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/williamb82/t56/

 

[drjonez]

VERY good stuff....

 

[wiseco7mgt]

The ones fitted to the ls1 Monaro's here are dropping like flies.

What other cars run them here in ozz Ian?i know holden uses them but dont the fords also run a similar box?if so i know boxes and parts will be very easy to source and i m sure the parts will be cheaper as well..may be a good option if they have a rebuild kit for them that gives them more strength.

 

[williamb82]

get it from a viper or a chevy lt1 if you can. those are the 2 strongest t56's in production cars. the mustang and ls1 t56's are rated to less power.

 

[suprarcr89]

nice stuff youve got going here cant wait to see it in the car and driving...

I know it would be more expensive(alot).. but I would like to see a bellhousing designed to bolt the T56 up to the 7m... Like they have for the mustang 5.0 cars.... I know the cost of design and getting produced probably would not be justified because of the number of people that would use this but would be very nice... no adapter plate would be needed and it would look like it belonged on the car from the start...

 

[williamb82]

i agree, it would be nicer, but way more exspensive. the main reason i went this way instead of cuting and welding a stock bh on is that alot of people want an adaptor to use a 700r4 transmission, well, this adaptor will allow them to do that. and use any other gm trans as well pretty much, powerglide, 200r4, muncie, th350, th400 etc.. and its alot cheaper then the one ati sells.

once i sell my rps 3200lb max pp ill be able to order the custom button flywheel for my tripple tilton and then i can meaure for the space i have for an internal slave/throwout bearing setup. once thats all figured out then even though the rebuild isnt done on my new 7m, i may go ahead and work on getting this fitted now so i wont have as much work to do when the new engine is ready to go in. lol.

 

[supraguy@aol]

I'm impressed with your effort!
PS- The tranny support that's different between the
W58 and R154 setups is the driver's side.

 

[williamb82]

thnx. i may go ahead and try to add those holes in then. its only 4 more. lol. thatd be 6 nuts needing welded on the inside though instead of 2.