I'm preparing for the blasting from you guys, but damn I looked and couldn't find a whole lot of talk about these transmissions other than whether or not to sell them and put something else in... I've got 2 of them, one from a '59 bel air and another in a 1950 styline. Both of them are great in first, but roar like hell in the higher gears. rather than pull it apart and have it sit on my bench for a month waiting on parts while i forget how to put it back together, I'd like to get some advice about what I should get for them. They seem to hold in gear fine, and don't make much noise in first, but second and third they sound like a bad differential. What do you guys think I should do? The 1959 will be getting a custom job, but the '50 if I put another setup in it it will take removing what looks like the heater core, so i'd rather not hack it up and keep the wonderslug 216 and 3 on the tree.
They are called Muncies generally,the 59 box should be a Muncie 318.The later open driveshaft ones are pretty common and known good ones go for 50 bucks maybe unless they have Vette number or close ratio.So it probably cheaper just to find another one.
so it's not a saginaw? or they call the same ****** 2 names kinda like that "girl" in atlanta I may or may not have picked up ;-)
OK, now I see, I just went back out and looked at them, they don't seem to be the same units. I guess the old "***-u-me" applies here. I ***umed that they were the same transmissions. So my question is, what do I need to do to my 1950 three speed that roars in second and third? should i find all the gears, bearings, and whatnot or would that only be bearings?
You might see if anyone has a full synchro 3 speed from a later model hanging around. I've seen them really cheap and there were a lot of them in early Camaro's. Mine were the same size as the Muncie 4 speed and never had any problems. Should work with your column shift linkage too.
Well, they ARE both Muncies', just different models, and both are non-synchro first gear. The 50 should be for an enclosed driveline, the 59 an open driveline. The 59 style was actually used until 65. In 66 the SAGINAW 3 speed appeared. There was also a full synchro Muncie 3 speed used in 69-70, but they are rare. There was also a Warner full synchro 3 speed, 65-67 in some cars, also rare. And, Pontiac used a FORD Dearborn full synchro 3 speed for a few years (can you believe that, a Ford transmission in a G.M. product?, guess it must have been part of the deal for when Lincoln used the G.M. Hydramatic for a couple of years). NOTE: This is only regarding 3 speeds, and mostly Chevrolet applications; your results/opinions/facts may vary. Butch/56sedandelivery./
Just buy another. For what they cost you can't hardly replace a gasket and a bearing. I schlepped a late 70s car V8 3 speed to 2 large swapmeets this summer and couldn't sell it for $75 with an indy shifter hanging off the side. All everyone could do was talk about the one they got from their cousin for $20. In fact just buy a 4 speed saginaw. Same 2 swaps, schlepped a 4 speed saginaw with a bellhousing, starter, flywheel, new clutch disc, pressure plate, yoke, and stock shifter. Unsold at $150. Everyone wanted to pay $50. Even the friggin bolts for everything from the crankshaft thru the shift knob was there. We're talking large signs stating what they are including price, prominently displayed at the front of the booth. Not squirreled away under a table with no label. Prolly over a thousand groups of guys p***ed at that price.
I paid $100 for the 2.85 1st box, and $85 for a NOS shifter - out here, so you could find a good one over there cheap enough
Hey thanks, I was unclear about all this nomenclature (hows that for a big word). So what I've got is a muncie 3 speed then. and yes it is an enclosed driveshaft. I've been tinkering with it some, when I put it up on jackstands and run it ( I know, I know... it could turn out bad doing that) it is silent... well as silent as you could hope for. leads me to believe that the gears themselves are ok. could it be that just my differential is bad and I don't hear it until i'm going fast enough to use 2nd or 3rd? I just got the seat mounted where some dip**** had cut the brackets rather than work on the rusty bolts. was going to go for a longer drive this time so I could hit some hills and see if it was doing it in neutral or not, but alas the gremlins came and gave me a short, I'll get the wiring straightened out and take it for a ride in a day or two then go from there.
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