Did GM make a 350 with a 5 speed in a 3rd gen?

[alamantia]

Did GM ever have an option for a 350 TPI with a 5 speed in a 3rd Gen? I thought they made it available one year, was it? 1988? I may be mistaken...

[The Fixer]

Unfortunately, they did not. There were rumors, but I guess they were worried about the T5 living behind a 350 and all the warranty claims that could arise. I dunno, mine has been fine behind my ZZ4-cammed 355 so far. I don't powershift or run on slicks so it should be OK.

[alamantia]

thats cool, I ask because every now and again i see them on Ebay but im pretty sure it was just a 350 stuck in where the 305 was or the car is listed wrong. Thanks man

[trashman01]

t-5 is a weak unit, even the world class one. my 305 killed my t-5 20K after it was rebuilt(the owner has had it rebuilt 5 times at 5 different trany shops be4 i got it). if its a 350 5psd car. is either a 305 car that had a 350 put in, or a 350 auto with a 5spd swap.

edit: if ur looking for a 350 car but want a manual, get a LB9 305 tpi with the 5spd and 3.42 gears. imho that was the best set-up for the thirdgens

[alamantia]

Yeah I had a 305 TPI and a T5 3.42 in my Old Iroc, probably my favorite set up for a 3rd Gen I totaly agree.

If you are ever looking to strengthin a trans I hear people are liking this new proccedure, I asked our engine builder about this and he said he has heard about it but he just directly buys internals when building transmissions and does not know the process of manufacturing the gears but they do not look like the ones in this video in terms of finish so idunno

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/e2b71bdc-80e6-4d03-81c9-987100245b61.htm


pretty cool stuff...

[trashman01]

im trying to sell my car, found my self a clean as hell 95 t/a i wanna pick up

[Jared1970Chevelle]

supposably there were third gen canada cars with 350 5 speeds......also there were a few iroc convertibles that were done by asc that were 350 5 speed cars techniclly out of the factory..

[alamantia]

Canadian Eh? Hummmm, i do need some new hockey skates and beer, i should look into that

when I do look at the cars on Ebay i usualy check the VINs.. refresh my memory if I am wrong its been a while, if i remember correctly...

if the 8th didget is an "E" its an 305 TBI

if its an "F" its a 305 TPI

if its a "8" well thats the jammy right there thats the 350 TPI right?

[maroman88]

yup

[alamantia]

Ok thats a good starting point if I can actualy remember the motor Vin codes. As for the transmission which didget was that and what were the didgets per trans? anyone know?

[V]

trans option wasnt in vin, just rpo codes.

no 350 came manual from factory, end of story. conversions are just that...conversions and dont count.

88 305tpi w/T5 was rated at 225hp....
87 L98/auto was rated at 225hp....

[alamantia]

trans option wasnt in vin, just rpo codes.

no 350 came manual from factory, end of story. conversions are just that...conversions and dont count.

88 305tpi w/T5 was rated at 225hp....
87 L98/auto was rated at 225hp....


Yeah, i totaly understand that, what im trying to do is figure out of the very few "conversions" that I come across on-line weather it be on ebay or hemmings etc. be able to figure out which part was converted by judging by whatever info they give you in the ad


for example, lets say i come across an 1987/88 IRoc like im looking for and I see it says 350TPI 5-speed, and you do see them rarely and the ad has a VIN # and the eigth didget is an "F" (which signifies its was built origionaly from the factory with a 305 TPI) well right there I will know that the Motor has been replaced which I would preffer over a car coming with a "8" motor 350 TPI and someone cutting up the floor to put a 5-speed ya know...?

Thanks for all your guys help

Im looking into a 3rd Gen beater and my friend recently turned me onto this site and its good to know there are still guys close by with parts and insight

Anthony

[Batman]

[QUOTE=TPI Monte SS;302543]Unfortunately, they did not. [QUOTE]

I'll take that bet. I know for a fact there were some "Special order" Iroc's and T/A's with them, and they were also available in Canada. In 87 they were even available with T-tops...

[V]

ah ok, i see what you mean.

converting and auto 3rd gen to manual isnt that difficult. the pedals bolt right up and the bosses are there for the clutch master i believe. as for the floor, if working with a manual donor car to get the exact size and location of the shifter hole, it can look just like stock. so therefore most conversions arent a hack job. however recently i saw a 4th auto-stick conversion which was horendous. i could have stood in the shifter hole.

[misterjuice]

I also wouldn't say that the T5 were weak..........the car i just sold to a member here has over 152,000 miles on the original engine, and original T5.

[V]

people claim there are 350 T5 cars, but i have yet to see an rpo sheet proving it

[alamantia]

Im sure there were some made somewhere at some GM factory, i was watching a special on teh speed channel months ago and they were talking about some early 70's vettes actualy were built at the factory with heater delete, radio delete and LS7 454's. I dont have any documentation to support this, just that guy with that anoyiong handle bar mustach. Aparently, if i remember the epesode correctly, if you knew someone at GM that had pull at the time you could order just such an animal. I remember when my father was ordering his dualie he wanted a 4:10 rear to tow his enclosed trailor, they did not offer that ratio and told him it couldnt be built and he was and is still a GM employee, he pulled some strings with a friend of his who worked at Buyer Brothers and whatd do you know he got his truck with 4.10's

I saw a black 1988 Iroc for sale about 6 months ago by me and started thinking how much I miss my old Iroc, it was clean but he wanted 4k for it and it was a 305 TPI auto. Ive recently gained interest in finding one in either Black with the gold stripe or Burgundy with the gold stripe but it would have to either be a 305TPI T5 or a 350TPI Auto, im not interested in a 305 Auto

I started looking around lately and saw two 350 TPI T5's and I wonder if there was such a thing as "special order" combos like that, man that would be a rare find to come across something like that and the person not knowing what they have, sounds like a myth though

[Fast92RS]

A lot of people on ebay try to pass there 305 cars for 350 cars and try to get some sucker to buy it and believe its a 350.

[alamantia]

Poor dyslecic bastards....

[WildBillyT]

people claim there are 350 T5 cars, but i have yet to see an rpo sheet proving it

RPO? No. But there is an engine suffix code in the Camaro doc for a 350 5 speed in 1989- ZRA. Could be a misprint, could be BS... but it's there. Might have been used for special orders.

[NJSPEEDER]

GM never sold any 350 + manual trans cars to the public. there is however some documentation of 350 + 4spd test mules and GMPP used to have the parts to put muncie manual transmissions into thirdgens when they were the subject of an SCCA "spec" class briefly in the late 80's.
there have always been rumors of the phantom 350 + 5spd cars, but none have evr been documented or even mentioned by collectors or in any of the information GM has ever released.

[curt86iroc]

trans option wasnt in vin, just rpo codes.

no 350 came manual from factory, end of story. conversions are just that...conversions and dont count.

88 305tpi w/T5 was rated at 225hp....
87 L98/auto was rated at 225hp....

ahem. 88 305 TPI T5 WITH G92 package was rated at 225 hp. the reg. LB9 equipped cars had between 190 and 205 hp stock depending on the year.

though the engines had close to similar hp numbers, the L98 was pumping out around 50 more ft*lbs...

the later L98 G92 equipped cars were putting out 245 hp and around 340 ft*lbs.

people still argue over the later model 3rd gen cars with the LB9 305 engine VS the L98 350 engine. you could get an iroc/gta with an LB9 305, G92 package WC T5 trans and 3.45 gears or an L98 350, G92 package Th700R4 and 3.27 gears. the cars would both run in the 14s stock, but the L98 was usually faster by a few tenths.

(for those not framiliar with the G92 performance package, it added dual catalytic converters on both the LB9 T5 cars and L98 auto cars. it triggered the borg warner 9 bolt/GM 10 bolt rear with 3.27/3.23 gears (L98 ) or 3.45/3.42 gears (LB9). It also triggered a larger camshaft in the LB9 cars.)

that being said, there are no documented L98 cars with T5s. the only very rare documented 3rd gens are the B4C (police interceptor) cars, the famed 1LE cars, and the DOCUMENTED 50 1986 IROCs with the L98 350 engine.

[V]

lol, ok well i just knew from the 88 i had, it was g92 and all the goodies...

[alamantia]

ahem. 88 305 TPI T5 WITH G92 package was rated at 225 hp. the reg. LB9 equipped cars had between 190 and 205 hp stock depending on the year.

though the engines had close to similar hp numbers, the L98 was pumping out around 50 more ft*lbs...

the later L98 G92 equipped cars were putting out 245 hp and around 340 ft*lbs.

people still argue over the later model 3rd gen cars with the LB9 305 engine VS the L98 350 engine. you could get an iroc/gta with an LB9 305, G92 package WC T5 trans and 3.45 gears or an L98 350, G92 package Th700R4 and 3.27 gears. the cars would both run in the 14s stock, but the L98 was usually faster by a few tenths.

(for those not framiliar with the G92 performance package, it added dual catalytic converters on both the LB9 T5 cars and L98 auto cars. it triggered the borg warner 9 bolt/GM 10 bolt rear with 3.27/3.23 gears (L98 ) or 3.45/3.42 gears (LB9). It also triggered a larger camshaft in the LB9 cars.)

that being said, there are no documented L98 cars with T5s. the only very rare documented 3rd gens are the B4C (police interceptor) cars, the famed 1LE cars, and the DOCUMENTED 50 1986 IROCs with the L98 350 engine.


"I'll take 3rd Gen power-train options for $500 please"

[curt86iroc]

"I'll take 3rd Gen power-train options for $500 please"

its more of a side project really :)

[Frosty]

For the people that claim there was a factory L98/T5 car I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell at a great price :)

Everyone and their grandmom claims to have a cousin's uncle's roommate who played golf with guy whose dentist had one yet no one could over provide proof.

Until I see an RPO code sheet with the proper codes it's all complete BS.

[WildBillyT]

For the people that claim there was a factory L98/T5 car I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell at a great price :)

Everyone and their grandmom claims to have a cousin's uncle's roommate who played golf with guy whose dentist had one yet no one could over provide proof.

Until I see an RPO code sheet with the proper codes it's all complete BS.

Nobody ever said it HAD to be an RPO...:twisted:

[Frosty]

Nobody ever said it HAD to be an RPO...:twisted:

Very true however I still haven't seen any proof. I haven't even seen one that was supposedly done at the dealership either. Like I said I've heard tons of people on various boards and in chat rooms claiming to have an original, factory L98/T5 yet when asked for proof they can't produce any.