LS3 swapping - does the t56 line up with shifter hole?
 

hey guy im looking to do an Ls3 swap. was planning on going tr6060 but saw the savage trimming you need to do and don't really want to do that.
Ive heard the t56 lines up pretty perfectly to stock shifter hole? anyone know?

The t56 magnum xl does with the vorshlag kit. Check in with sikky to see what transmission fits best with their kit both shops have videos on the swap build.

from what i gathered the T56 Magnum F lines up perfectly with sikky kit.

With the Sikky kit, the shifter does fit in the factory location, but it is an inch or two forward of where I would like.

No matter what mount kit you choose, T56 Magnum F is the best option to go. A Factory T56 F-Body is the second best due to less torque and rpm capability. Why: With the XL version you have to place the engine kind of "too far forward", meaning it will work as proofen by several kits, but placement is much more forward than necessary. Also you loose any freedom to decide over the position with the XL, since you have to go maximum forward and there is no margin forth or back.

Of course, if your kit is made for that it will work, but with the Magnum F you can use for example a stock GTO shifter or any aftermarket GTO shifter, which are available also in different length to achieve exactly the position you like.
This beeing said, the T56 F with GTO shifter has the perfect shifter distance to place the LS with minimal issues. You have enough room to the firewall to install also heater lines, you have enough room to the radiator and it is not needed to cut the ledge support as long as you use a Corvette spacing for the belt drive. Negative side is, that those shifters are hard to source for a reasonable price or in reasonable condition. Further they are sloppy also in brand new condition. So I strongly recommend a aftermarket GTO style shifter in the F. Also try to get a version without aditional spring support for neutral as found in in the OEM version and also many aftermarket units, since were mostly developed for the factory F body T56. The Magnum F has more then enough spring load from the internal shifter linkage to center the stick correctly.

Since those aftermarket shifters are not realy cheap and pretty much always made in USA, what means additional transportation and custom efforts for me (located in Germany), I decided to make my own short shifter which I finished a few days ago. The ratio I choose is very aggresiv, meaning its kind of an Ultra-Short-Shifter. But I designed it with the option to make it with different length and also different ratios.

Here is a pic of my "prototype". The dust cap is still missing, but besides that its finished and working. Shifter distance is 6mm shorter than GTO OEM shifter. Both work, 6mm shorter means exactly middel Position of the 86 leather boot.

https://abload.de/img/dsc_3431xljxq.jpg

Here is a pic where you can get a good impression how the T56 F receptacle lines up.

https://abload.de/img/dsc_3427xvjf6.jpg

My engine positioning is 88mm distance between driver side head and firewall, what is pretty much what can be done with CX mounts. I use a complete own mount design. Sikky should be arround 20mm more backwards, Vorschlag way more forward than shown here. But as I said, with the F you can use pretty much any mount kit. Just depend on the length of the custom shifter, which you should use anyway.

Also a good thing over some other transmission options is, that using the Magnum F you habe separate adapter bellhousing. This means you can separate the tranny from the bellhousing inside tunnel. Without that its impossible to service the clutch without pulling the whole engine.

Only downside of the F is, that driveshaft needs to be something arround 100mm longer what means it needs to be possibly a larger diameter to be strong enough at very high speeds/rpm.

I felt like updated this now that I have actually made more progress on the car. T56 Magnum F with an MGW offset shifter set at 6 o'clock lines up very well.

Well, that's actually good news. I'm excited to see how it goes from here.