[johnnyt5646]

any help will be appriciated. i am going to do a tranny swap in my 87 mazda rx7. i currently have a sbc 406 500hp backed by a th400 with 2500-2800 stall. i want to set my ride up for road racing. i am looking to get a t5 manual trans. in know that this combo has been done before with a '92 camaro t5. my car was originally set up for manual, so i have the master cyl. and pedal. my questions are as follows:

can i use a ford t5 (wc) instead of a gm t5 (wc). Reason is that the ford trannys and parts are more accessible and cheaper.

i know that lakewood sells a bellhousing a pivot bearing kit to adapt the ford trans to the chevy block. are their a special things that might not make this work with my application.

if i go with a gm tranny i know that the newer gm trannys i think camaro are offset 14 or 17 degrees. will this pose a problem that you can foresee in my trans tunnel

the gms have a hydraulic slave as the fords have cable. i do not know which is better for my application.

as these trannys are not that strong should i go another route like a 4 speed muncie or rebuild the t5 to handle the power or should i go with a t56 if it can be done since i have no electronics. will i have issues with the gearing on the highway since i have a 4:10 rear end. is having a extra gear in the 5 speed better for track racing.

last but not least, can i get some thoughts, tips, info on this swap, what i may have over looked, the best tranny for my app, the fabrication involved, anything that i have not thought of.


thank you.