Absolute Pace

Go Back   Club Cobra > Club Forums > Australian Cobra Club

Welcome to Club Cobra!  The World's largest non biased Shelby Cobra related site!

  •  » Representation from nearly all Cobra/Daytona/GT40 manufacturers
  •  » Help from all over the world for your questions
  •  » Build logs for you and all members
  •  » Blogs
  •  » Image Gallery
  •  » Many thousands of members and nearly 1 million posts! 

YES! I want to register an account for free right now!  p.s.: For registered members this ad will NOT show

Keith Craft Racing
Nevada Classics
Main Menu
Nevada Classics
Nevada Classics
MMG Superformance
Keith Craft Racing
Advertise at CC
Banner Ad Rates
MMG Superformance
MMG Superformance
MMG Superformance
March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 06:25 PM
sambo's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Melbourne, VIC
Cobra Make, Engine: Harrison, 6.0L Chev
Posts: 2,513
Not Ranked     
Default Used T56 - what to look for?

I'm weighing up whether to go new or used for the 6spd in my Cobra. New will set me back about $4500 with clutch, pressure plate, shifter, bellhousing. Going second hand I have a quote for $2750 for all that out of a VT (gen 3), having reportedly done 87,000 km.

I plan to put the T56 behind a 6.0L L76 with moderate upgrades but nothing wild.

Are there any weak spots with these gearboxes? Anything that was fixed in later versions? Signs of abuse or heavy wear and tear? Any other considerations, particular versions to avoid or look out for?

Thanks
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 07:29 PM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Darwin, NT
Cobra Make, Engine: Classic Revival Kobra,LS7 427
Posts: 380
Not Ranked     
Default

I prefer new as I dont want to have to pull the trans out in 6 months time. Cant tell anything with it on the floor, If you can drive it make sure the shifts are good. The syncros are the weak point of the T56. Get on to Mal wood auto web site he is the Tremec dealer, he has all the ratios that you can get for the T56 on there.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 07:49 PM
Aussie Mike's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Sunbury, VIC
Cobra Make, Engine: Rat Rod Racer, LS1 & T56
Posts: 5,391
Not Ranked     
Default

They didn't change much from when they were made by Borg Warner to brand new ones. I've stripped and built early ones (the one in my car was a prototype built for Holden) and brand new boxes still in the crate.

It's going to be hard to tell what sort of condition it's in unless you can drive it or strip it to see what it's like inside. even pulling the sump plug and looking for filings isn't going to tell you much because there are 2 big magnets in the bottom of the box that catch everything.

1st and 2nd synchros are triple cone design with carbon blocker rings so they work pretty well. The gears are all about an inch wide and very beefy. I've not seen any real dammage to them but the teeth on the synchro hubs get rounded and they can be hard to shift.

The weak link is the 3rd-4th synchros ans they are only single cone design. Corvette transaxle varieties got triple cone 3rd-4th but there's no easy way to swap them into the Holden boxes. The keys on the synhcro hubs shear off when shifting hard with big HP as they are only pressed steel. This causes the box to lock in gear. I replace them with billet steel keys I bring in from the US. I also ususally replace the aluminium 3-4 shift fork with the steel unit designed for the viper T-56 as it's a much stronger piece and wont flex under hard shifts.

Here's the keys out of Garretts box after I broke it at Shelbyfest last year



Cheers
__________________
Mike Murphy
Melbourne Australia

Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 08:00 PM
sambo's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Melbourne, VIC
Cobra Make, Engine: Harrison, 6.0L Chev
Posts: 2,513
Not Ranked     
Default

Mike, thanks for the info once again. Garrett has that turbo LS1 monster, right? I reckon a mildly worked L76 will be fine with the stock box, given that I treat it right. How do you think the Holden clutch/flywheel will hold up with some track work and say 300kw?

What are the stronger keys worth and how many hours to replace?

Alffie, yes I have spoken to Mal Wood and got a quote as follows: "a very low k T56 and rebuilding it to the Cobra specifications with the close ratio 5th and 6th gears and the centre shift. The price is $4585 inc GST and it is supplied with a bellhousing and a CSC". Not bad in my opinion.
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 08:02 PM
Tenrocca's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Sydney, NSW
Cobra Make, Engine: Classic Revival #3199. 366ci L76, T56 6 speed, Blue circle custom paint, Australias most original cobra 2009-2010
Posts: 2,396
Not Ranked     
Default

Sambo - Call Mark at BBW spares (Barry Burke spares) at Waragul - $2500 brand new (no clutch). He has one left (after mine). (03) 5622 0000.
__________________
Proudly registered since 2013.
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 08:05 PM
sambo's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Melbourne, VIC
Cobra Make, Engine: Harrison, 6.0L Chev
Posts: 2,513
Not Ranked     
Default

Tenrocca - thanks mate. Is that the one on eBay? I was just looking at it!
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 08:21 PM
Tenrocca's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Sydney, NSW
Cobra Make, Engine: Classic Revival #3199. 366ci L76, T56 6 speed, Blue circle custom paint, Australias most original cobra 2009-2010
Posts: 2,396
Not Ranked     
Default

Yup - I got that one but suspected you might be interested in one as well, so checked if he had another for ya. At that price even without clutch I dont think Id muck around with an unknown 2nd hander.
__________________
Proudly registered since 2013.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 10-04-2007, 08:55 PM
sambo's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Melbourne, VIC
Cobra Make, Engine: Harrison, 6.0L Chev
Posts: 2,513
Not Ranked     
Default

That's right - and much appreciated, thanks. I spoke to Mark and they're advertising it tonight if they don't hear back from me. I rang the guys who quoted me the whole engine/gearbox shooting match and he said at $2500 there's only about $90 profit - not much for a big ticket item. So you've done very well.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:03 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
The representations expressed are the representations and opinions of the clubcobra.com forum members and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the site owners, moderators, Shelby American, any other replica manufacturer, Ford Motor Company. This website has been planned and developed by clubcobra.com and its forum members and should not be construed as being endorsed by Ford Motor Company, or Shelby American or any other manufacturer unless expressly noted by that entity. "Cobra" and the Cobra logo are registered trademarks for Ford Motor Co., Inc. clubcobra.com forum members agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyrighted material is owned by you. Although we do not and cannot review the messages posted and are not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we reserve the right to delete any message for any reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). Thank you for visiting clubcobra.com. For full policy documentation refer to the following link: CC Policy