im in the process of looking for a 250 straight six right now, and im not sure if the trans bolt patterns are the same for the sixes as the V8s. i have a great deal on a 3 speed with everything ( w bell housing) and its all in really good shape. will this bolt up to a 250 or do i need to look for a bell housing too?
thats awesome. im looking to put it in my new 54 chevy bel air. did they change the location of the sump on the oil pans or should i be ok with the stock front steering/ suspension. like i said i dont have the original or old engine here so im trying to not buy things twice.
All of the 'modern' Chevy sixes ('62 and later 194, 230, 250 & 292) share the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the 1955 and later Chevy small-block and big-block V8s. You're in luck. There are a variety of oil pans that are rear-sump for the Chevy six. The deep rear sump 292 truck pan may be what you need but the current 250 pan, if it's a rear sump, may work.
The 230,250,292 family that started in 1963 share the same rear block/crank layout as the '55 & later V-8 Chevy motors. The 235, 261 6 cyl. motors that were used before the 230 family came out have a different pattern & require their own bellhousing.
Great motor trans combo. Yes they bolt up. keep the rear gear at 3.05 - 3.50 range to get the most out of it. Had a friend with this combo and he would go up some heavy grades while towing a trailer at 60 with no problems.
im just looking for something that will get me around with good gas mileage. the 3 speed is out of a 57 chevy car so im super stoked its not a truck trans. anything i need to watch out for when looking for an inline? are there any parts on these that are interchangeable with the V8s?
Go to www.inliners.org and all your questions will be answered, including several you haven't thought of yet but are going to be asking soon. That's where I went, and have learned tons.
if the trans is free it is ok for a while.you have to come to a dead stop to put it in 1st. gear every time. if your linkage is not adjusted just right you will wearout the 2-3 shift fork. then it will stick in second and that is a long drive home.
If I were going to the bother of a driveline swap, I'd at least find a '66 or newer Saginaw 3 speed. Much tougher, syncro low gear, and dirt cheap.
Good info given in the posts above. You can tell the '66 & later type by their 7 bolt sidecover vs. the older, 4 bolt ones.
------------------------------- I'd avoid using the '57 three-speed ******. Besides having no synchro on 1st gear , they're pretty weak too. I remember 'back in the day', circa early-70's a buddy and myself, blowing one up about once every other week in his 283-powered '61 Chevy. Back then it was no big deal - just go back to the boneyard and pick up another one for 25 bucks and slap it in! We got to be pretty quick at changing ******s - once, even doing one right on the side of the road! Any of the later - and much stronger - GM 'full-synchro' style 3 speeds, or a Saginaw, Muncie or GM-pattern T-10 4-speed will also bolt right up and would be a nice combo with the 250 6-banger. If you want to go newer still and get 5 gears - with O/D on 5th as well - a T5 five speed from an 80's or '90's vintage S10 or Camaro will work too. That'd be my choice. If you go with a T5, just avoid the weaker and 'lower 1st geared and shorter O/D' ratio '4-banger-style' T5 and instead, get one that originally came with a V6 or V8. Mart3406 =================================================
haha. i like this thread now. a lot of information. im not trying to build anything that im going to be racing anyone in. i just want to cruise with me son and get to work. and i used to have a T5 ( could probably get it back) but i would much rather go with a side loader 3 speed. you can fit more people in it with out the awkward "shifts". thanks everyone for input. lets keep this going for others. also, if i got a 3 sped out of a truck, what rearend gears would i need to make the ratio decent for a cruiser?
A truck trans has a 1 two 1 gear ratio in third just the same as a car. Not a nickles difference between a car and truck three speed. OldWolf
Install a hei dist, as it will give you tons of cruising power, worth every penny, if you want to ever want to install A/C, I have all the stuff you need.
------------------------- All of the p***enger car and light truck' 3-speeds - and 4 speeds too for that matter - are '1 to 1' - ie - 'direct' - in high gear, so the ****** you use won't have an effect on what rear gear you want for "cruising". The only difference between the various 3 and 4-speed transmissions other than ultimate torque capacity is the ratios in 1st and 2nd gear (and 3rd gear in 4-speeds) and the spread between them> Additionally, most all of the car and "light truck" trannies are pretty similar in having 1st gear ratios in the 2.40 to 2.80 to 1 reduction range, Note - since you asked specifically about 'truck transmissions ; when I use the term "light truck' I'm referring to the 3-speeds used in 1/2 ton trucks. I'm not referring to the 'granny-gear low' top shifted 4-speeds used in some 3/4 and most 1-ton and up trucks! About the rear gears - considering the size weight and "just cruising" use for your car - and the power output and torque curve of a stock or near stock 250 inch Chevy 6-banger, - you'd do good to look for rear gears in 3.50 to 1 range. I wouldn't stray too far from this in either direction - maybe something around 3.70's at the lowest and 3.36s at the high end. - and 3.70's to 4.11 in the unlikely event you come across a '3 speed with overdrive' ******. The good news is that these rrear gear ratios were the ones that GM most commonly used in 6-cylinder powered cars in the the '50's and 60's, so finding a gear set or a complete rearend shouldn't be too hard. By the way, a '55 to ''57 Chevy p***enger car rearend is a near bolt-in for your '50 Chev and was a common swap into these care 'back in day' when converting to more modern open drive-lines. Back to transmissions. If you'e really hung up on using the circa '55 to '62 "no-synchro on 1st' 3-speed, go ahead but you've been forewarned - they're weak and don't really have anything particularly good going for them. Post '62 though, your choices for trannies are much better. By then.the available GM 3 speeds were all full-synchro, much stronger and much smoother shifting. 1st gear ratios for the 6 and V8 p***enger car and 1/2 ton truck applications were all similar and mostly in the 2.50 to 2.80 range, so not much difference there.The common '63 and up GM choices are the light-duty Saginaw 3-speed in either s normal 3-speed or '3 speed with O/D' form. Not the best in my opinion, but acceptable with a 2.50-six that's not going to get beat on a whole lot - and if you can find one, the 3-speed with overdrive' version would be pretty cool and make for a good all-round cruiser. The other and probably better two choices would be the Munciei 3-speed used in some 6 and most V8 cars and light tricks from the mid-60's into the early '70's.and the heavy-duty Ford - yes Ford(!) - 3 speed top loader ****** that GM used for awhile in the late 60's with big-block/3-speed ****** equipped cars. Not too common even 'back in day' and even less so now, but they're out there if you look hard enough. All of these trannies- the Saginaw, the Muncie and GM -pattern' Ford 3-speeds are all side shift designs, had synchros on all three gears and are stronger,smoother shifting and easier to get parts for than the previous '55 to style '62 Chevy3-speeds Hope some of this helps. Mart3406 =========================================
I have installed a 700r4 behind my 230 so I'm not much help with this topic...but... I did pick up a new GM HEI from Langdon's Stovebolt for under $100 (not sure of total with shipping). He has a wealth of knowledge on this stuff. Good guy to talk to. Good Luck.
I've got one of those later three speeds behind the 250 in my 48 and I'll tell you that the full syncro low gear sure makes it a lot more pleasant to drive. The early trans will work fine but the later one with the syncro low gear will make it a lot simpler to drive in traffic on a daily basis. NO grinding going into low when the car is rolling up to a stop and no making a full stop to get it into low. It sounds like a fun car that is going to scoot around town good and be able to make some serious road trips. The best thing about putting the 250 in is that you won't think twice about jumping in the car for road trip as they are dead nuts reliable plus pull decent mileage.
funny that you mention an overdrive for the 3 speed, i have a buddy that has a few of these. tole me i can have the whole set up for $300 but i need to find an engine and trans first.
----------------------- If you want a '3-speed with O.D' I'd probably grab what your buddy's got now, while they're still available and wait and get your engine later. 250 Chevy six's are common and easy enough to find-- but not so the Chevy 3 speed with OD trannies- at least not when you actually want or need one. Mart3406 =================================================
these overdrives arent going anywhere. this guy holds on to them and im a friend that can actually get a part out of his hands
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