Trans-Mission 305, Part II

Hopefully you tuned in last month and read Part I of Trans-Mission, in which we replaced the mortally wounded slushbox in our potent Vortec-headed, 305-powered '92 Camaro with a high-zoot Tremec T56 six-speed. If not, a brief review: Our Mission 305 RS put out 257 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque at the wheels (June and Sept. '04), but wasted its factory-original 700-R4 in the process. Looking for a substantial upgrade, we decided to go the row-your-own route by installing a six-speed replacement box from Rockland Gear. This T56 is meant to replace the T5 manual trans that blemished '84-92 Third-Gens, and installing ours in a factory automatic car presented challenges. But hey, it wouldn't be worth it if it were easy, right? Our setup isn't the only way to do it, but it works. We ended Part I with our McLeod clutch in place; now we'll take you the rest of the way home.

McLeod's Red Roberts set us up with a 168-tooth steel flywheel and 12-inch Dual Performance clutch. The steel flywheel is a good match for our motor's power level, providing the needed level of momentum and stored energy once the motor is turning. Stepping up from a stock 153-tooth flywheel necessitated a starter change, but it also allowed us to use a 12-inch clutch disc. The Dual Performance unit has gotten better since we've put some miles on it, and it remains low-effort and smooth while providing outstanding clamping force. Roberts says it's meant to be the best of both worlds, and we believe him. Our McLeod scattershield is beyond stout, and with the proper adapter place, our Rockland Gear T56 bolts right up to it.

We'd be remiss not to say more about the Rockland Gear T56. Rockland sent us one of its "Race Ready" units, and we keep calling it slick shifting because, well, it is, and then some. The Race Ready option includes some upgraded internals, but more importantly, it means that the tranny is disassembled and blueprinted, every part match-fitted to its cohorts. The result makes shifting an effortless pleasure, even before we put fluid in it. This "011" box, designed to replace the onerous T5, takes a GM speedometer bullet as well, making installation that much easier.

Speaking of easy, Spohn Performance's T56 swap crossmember and torque arm made this part of the job a simple, bolt-in affair, right down to the preset pinion angle adjustment on the torque arm. With the transmission in place, all we had to do was bolt these pieces, along with the Spohn driveshaft, into place. The driveshaft even came equipped with an adapter U-joint to mate with our factory 7.5-inch 10-bolt rear, and all we'll have to do is swap this out should we decide to upgrade to a 12-bolt. Very nice.

As we said last month, though, putting a manual trans in an automatic car is a custom job. Parts of the process may sound easy, and maybe even are, but the devil is in the details. Getting the clutch disc centered and using the correct pilot bushing (see Part I) are crucial--properly setting up the throwout fork and hydraulic slave cylinder are equally critical steps, which we cover here. Go slow and get 'em right, and you'll have nothing but joy at the engine-trans junction, namely the clutch. Get 'em wrong, and you'll be tearing the thing apart again. We had some pro help, and hopefully his tips will help.

Other than that, all we've got left to do in this chapter is to wire up our new tranny. Our car's owner picked out the proper wires to tap into using a test light, but a wiring diagram would be equally helpful. Again, go slow, think twice, cut once, wire up your new six-speed properly, and it'll work just like it came from the factory. Ours does, and we have to say, it's transformed The Bitchin' Camaro's personality. More of the power we've gotten out of our breathed-on 305 is getting to the pavement, and the entire package has become much more potent, whether burning rubber at a stoplight or revving easy at high speed on the open road. And don't worry--we will be back on the mission again, finding out what kind of power our hot-to-trot 305 is really making.

(The author would again like to thank Barry White's Street Rod Repair Company, 1640 Commerce St., Dept. CHP, Corona, CA 92880; (951) 273-9284, www.barrywhitesrrc.com, for the use of the shop and for letting us burn lots of midnight oil to complete this story.)