With the front of the engine bolted in, now comes the transmission mount.
As for the transmission, I was originally planning on using an S-10 T5 from a '93-'96. These are the ones with the Ford bolt pattern but the GM bearing retainer. These are easy to find, usually very inexpensive and are World Class. I also happen to have 6 of them on the shelf. So, when I happen to hurt one, I will have a replacement.
What's nice about the LS platform is that they accept a standard GM aluminum bellhousing. I just so happened to have several aluminum truck bellhousings that would clear the LS flywheel. Being truck bellhousings, they have a 5-1/8" diameter register. Using a T5-9495-518 adapter plate, everything bolted up as it was suppose to. Not only does this adapter have the Ford bolt pattern with the 4-11/16" bore for the GM bearing retainer, it has a 5-1/8" diameter male register for the bellhousing.
Once I set set the engine in with the transmission bolted on, The S-10 shifter was too far forward. after some quick measuring, the Camaro tail shaft place the shifter exactly in the center of the stock cutout.
The problem with the Camaro T5's is that they are rotated at 15 degrees for clearance issues. This means that the rear mount is rotated as well. So, to over come this, I designed an offset mounting bracket to obtain the correct orientation. To check the fit, I 3D printed it first before I will eventually machine it from solid.
The original cross member lent itself to a simple modification for the new mount. I will eventually add several gussets to strengthen the tab.
Next comes the wiring...
