Projects Cutting my Hotrod Teeth (57 Chevy Budget build/revival)

Well, I’ve got a welder but don’t think I have the skills yet to weld it up…

We definitely have some fab shops nearby

 

GM put those trans in lots of vehicles, I deliberately looked for the smaller cars as a 4 cylinder in not going to harm one at all, no idea how well represented those small cars are in the junkyards these days, but something to be aware of

 

For a side cover fine. Avoid those to get a whole trans. The 3:50 first and V8 power make for torque multiplication factors made for disaster.

It’s those units that give’s Saginaw’s a bad reputation.

 

Alright, sounds like there’s a local fab shop willing to take a look at it but they want to see it before knowing if it’s weldable. Something about the color of the metal to tell if it’ll take a weld. I’ll bring it there next week and see what they can do.

 

It’s a pain that now the new trans needs repairs too but it’s not like I have my linkage and shifter yet so I guess it’s no big deal really…

 

Any way to repair the cover? What material is it made of, aluminum, cast pot metal, whatever? Could attempt Tig if aluminum or Muggy Weld if cast pot metal. If totally unsure of what it is JB Weld it.

 

I cleaned up the side cover and especially the cracked area and thoroughly degreased. It looks like someone probably used an impact to tighten the hex plug. Here’s a lesson learnt: don’t buy a transmission painted black! Hard to see cracks in it unless you really get intimate with it!

 

I did get an estimate from another shop just now, they said about $100…

Well, in that case I think I’ll JB weld it and hope for the best. Since I’m not using backup lights on this car, I think I’ll fill the rest of that port with JB weld too, on the back side of the plug. Meanwhile I’ll see if I can scrounge up a known “good” replacement on ebay for less than $100…

 

That's not a bad idea, and keep looking for a deal on parts. They do come up, if you're not rushed.

 

worked alright for me, I street raced it a good bit behind a 305 in my Malibu, and as I mentioned earlier in the thread, its still on the road. Personally I think it’s not so much hp as its shock load that kills em, after blowing up the first one I replaced all the suspension bushings with neoprene and made sure to never dump the clutch or get in a wheel hop situation.
I’ve never been particularly lucky in life so that’s my theory and I’ll stick with it

 

Speaking of parts, I have a line on a complete ‘57 muncie 3 speed and am going to look at it after work. It’s cheap enough that I don’t have a problem chucking it in just to keep the car on the road (while driving like the little old lady who originally owned it). And if it turns out to have a good main shaft and otherwise be junk, I will put the good main shaft in my broken ******.

It’s just killing me, the thought of not being able to cruise this summer!

 

Your theory sounds correct to me. I mean, it’s not often a ****** blows up while I car is going 70 down the highway unless there was some underlying problem. They blow up while shifting, usually pretty aggressively. In my case I think that Muncie 3 speed was just about to break already, and it was bound to eventually give-way no matter how I drove it. Well, lesson learnt. absolutely NO burnouts or launches AT ALL unless it’s a trans known for being able to take it.

 

I do need to go find a slip yoke for the Sag anyway, and was planning to hit the junk yards. so I guess I will take a look at any RWD 70s-80s GM car I come across to see if it has a Sag as well. I doubt ANY chevy bolt pattern manual ****** is left in any junkyard cars around here, but doesn’t hurt to look.

 

Uh oh, several of the bolt holes on the side cover also have small cracks in them that I can see now that the black paint is stripped off. Guess it might be the best idea to just spend the $100 and get a known good one off ebay.

 

Well, I’m eventually going to gather all the parts to put the Sag in the car, but I was just talking to my local trifive parts guy and he told me I’m welcome to come get as many Muncie 3 speeds for $40 each as I want, so for the time being, if the 3 speed I look at here in town doesn’t pan out, I’ll go get a couple from him and hopefully keep a spare. They might not be the strongest, but man those 3 speed Muncies are cheap! And from what I can tell, very easy to swap parts and rebuild…

 

Next best thing; direct replacement, and inexpensive.

 

Just keep a spare in the trunk for roadside repairs

 

If you hold out long enough, one of those side covers will come along for less than $100. Do an eBay search that emails you whenever a new listing pops up, using the casting number on the plate and nothing else. Sometimes people post stuff they don't even know what it is, or with very odd search terms, but using that number. Also works if you need some oddball bearing or ignition part and you know the part number, lots of stuff gets listed that way and is often cheaper than the people who know how to write a listing with proper search terms.

 

That’s exactly what I’ve done. Those saved searches are a lifesaver when you are a younger person looking for vintage stuff that I never had the chance to get back when they were plentiful. I’ve purchased several hundred vinyl LPs using the same method. Sometimes it’ll sell in a matter of minutes so notifications come in handy!

 

Managed to find a nice original horn ring from a junkyard online. I wasn’t sure if it was a scam or not based on the price, and the fact that I got a shipping notice immediately after ordering at 11:30 PM, but it turned up today. The finest steering wheel any US auto maker ever made in my opinion. Just looks “right” with the full horn ring and 6 holes in the center boomerang

 

I thought 59-60 with the half-ring just had triangular ****ons in place of the smallest holes?

 

I still need to get my hands on a 58 wheel myself lol

 

Actually a plan since before I even found my 53. Figure a specific "set" based on mood. 58 Impala wheels, steel wheels and dog dish, caddy breather for late 50s. Moon wheel, chrome reverse, and louvered breather for early 60s. Black rim superior 500 wheel, American racing wheels, and a 10" open chrome breather for late 60s. Simple quick things to change to change era vibe on whim. Course I still have almost all of that to get lol

 

Managed to find a Sag side cover for $60. Not the best price but it looks like it’s crack-free, and it’s also one of the earlier castings without the reverse light switch, which is preferable since it should be stronger.

Since I’m going to have to gather the shifter and linkage for it, I think I’m going to to a partial rebuild on the Sag before I put it in the car. It seems to be pretty mechanically sound, however I drained the oil out of it to check the bottom for chips, and I found a random thrust washer in the bottom of the case just hanging out… looks pretty chewed up too. Makes me not trust whoever was in there before me and since the gears look to pristine, I think it’s worth an afternoon and a rebuild kit to just go through it.

I’m meeting my tri five parts guy tomorrow morning to dig through the trunkfull of Muncie 3 speeds he has. With any luck, tomorrow night I should have the car back on the road!

 

Well I was just going to buy 2 and be on my way, but then he said if I bought all 4 of the Muncies he’d throw in the torn apart half of a Saginaw 3 speed. I grabbed the extra main shaft thinking it was part of the Sag but it’s actually a Muncie so now I have an extra for my blown up one! Since the Sag 3 speeds are very similar and even share some parts with the 4 speed I just bought, I went for it! Now to decide which Muncies will be rebuilt/put in the car, and which will be parts!