Lasalle,, Packard ,,what else ??

my final thought on this!!! we have so many modern trans availabe these days I wont have a problem using one.

 

I bought a totally stock 57 Pontiac in '68 with a 347/3 speed. It had the 6 bolt cover selector shift trans and I blew through 4 of 'em before I switched the car to a Muncie 4 speed...no more problems!
BTW, I also ruined 4 clutches with those high geared 3 speeds....they were geared to use a 4.30 rear gear and you'd have to slip the clutch to get going with a 3600 lb car with 3.63 rear gear....I grew to hate those slow shifting, clutch eating pieces of***** trans. Great for a 30s era car they were designed for but not suitable for anything newer IMHO.

 

ahhhh...Come drive my early Olds Rocket powered 32 with the 37 Buick topshift case with Olds gears, and 3.23 Olds rear w/7.60x15 rear tires.. I am loving it because it shifts and feels so nice, and the big torque at idle lets me take off on level ground without touching the gas. The trans will never break because the car is so light in the rear.

the biggest problem with any 3 speed, is trying to get the car geared so it is nice on back roads, but still can go on the expressway where you need to drive at least 70mph to stay out of peoples way. But, if you have long grinding hills on the highway, and run a lower torque flathead, you start to lose speed and are forced to run in the breakdown lane with the 3 speed with a lower number rear gear highway ratio.

If the flathead powered car is only used on secondary roads, then a 3 speed is fine for that, and feels old timey. But it won't be nice on both secondary AND highways.

Rocky, the mid 50's Olds heavy barges ran mostly a 3.42 rear ratio on standard shifts. But yes, there were other optional gears to order

 

Slightly OT, anybody hear from LittleWing lately?

 

I spotted her on the classifieds recently.


back on topic.. this whole debate on 3 speed versus 4, 5 or 6 speeds...
We build our cars to suit ourselves. My son and I have a 69 Dart conv with a factory 4 speed, and that trans feels "right" in that car. I would not want a 3 speed or a 5 speed in that car because it would not feel right to me.

on my 50s style 32, I would never want a 4, 5 or 6 speed, because it just won't feel right to me.
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