Does anyone know of a 6 speed tranny that will bolt up to an L-series engine?

I think a japanese variant of the 240sx has a 6 speed that will work but some mods are required.... machining Z bell housing and drive shaft shortening and cross member adjustment. Most just use a 240sx transmission for better shifting but the same mods are required to make it work.

I've already got the later 5-speed in my '76, which does help greatly on the highway. I'm just looking for options that will cause me the least amount of headaches should I decide to move up to a 6-speed. Sounds like there's no real easy way to do it. What about a 6-speed from a late model Z?

There are no bolt-in 6 speeds that I know of. Have you considered changing the differential to move you into either into quick launch or low cruise rpm?

Hadn't considered that as of yet. Maybe down the road. Went looking online last night to see if I could find anyone producing a new, conventional 6 spd manual with a separate bellhousing, but was mostly unsuccessful. Tremec and Richmond both make 6 speeds, but they're designed, and sized, for American V8 cars and trucks. Might have to do a lot of sheetmetal work to make one of them work in a Z car, and with the original L-series engine's limited power, they'd be overkill. What was the brand of the 4 and 5 speeds in the original Z cars? Did Nissan make their own, or were they outsourced?

There is at least one person who put a T56 behind an L6 in a turbo 510 no less. It's a lot of work and the T56 gets you a .5 overdrive 6th gear, so basically 6th is worthless unless you plan on driving 250 mph. I would suggest you stick with a 5 speed. The L motor doesn't usually have such a narrow power band that you need a 6, and it's not sufficiently torquey that you can idle up a steep grade like you can with a big V8.

I read somewhere that some later Z cars brought into the U.S. came with Borg-Warner T-5 trannys. I had one of those in a Mustang I used to have. Not a great transmission, at least not the earlier ones.

I'll probably stick with the 5 speed I already have. It's gotten me up to 140 MPH. That's fast enough. However, I'm already thinking of looking for another Z to stuff a V8 into and that one I won't really care about changing the sheetmetal on so if I have to make a new tranny tunnel, so be it.

Still, if I never asked, I might still be wondering if I could have had another gear...

I read somewhere that some later Z cars brought into the U.S. came with Borg-Warner T-5 trannys....

The 280ZX Turbos had that trans.

Yep, 280ZXT. The later 280ZX NA 5 speed (80-83) has much better gear ratios for a NA car though. The earlier Z 5 speeds and the T5 have very wide ratios, not so good IMO.

Taylor Race Engineers can easily build a Quaife Sequential 6 speed that will bolt up to your L6. They built me a 5 speed sequential a few years ago.

I took a quick look at their website, which took me to the Quaife site. How much did you pay for your 5 speed? I saw £6595.00 for the 6 speed. I might be able to absorb $3000 or so for a tranny, but not $15,000. Cool idea, though. A sequential would be great for when I build my spare L28 into a turbo stroker.

I think £6595.00 would actually be more in the range of somewhere between $10,000-$10,500 but it's still more than I'd want to ante up for a tranny. I could buy 3, maybe 4 Borg Warner T-56 6 speeds for that amount.

Edited October 13, 201113 yr by sblake01