hey all, just curious. i have a complete drivetrain from a 71 chevy i had picked up - 250 six banger and 4 speed trans w/ granny gear. i did some research and learned that the 4 speed is a pretty heavy beast and not an ideal option for a car. my question is what do you all think of using this in a very basic chevy 41 coupe? i would love to swap to a t5 but i may need to sell the t5 i have. i could go automatic but id prefer to keep the standard trans on the floor. i dont plan on going crazy with the car and the hole for the trans is already cut out. i may just keep searching for another t5 as it will be a while till i get to it anyway. just thought id ask opinions on using the stock c10 drivetrain just because i have it and its ready to drop in (i think lol). thanks all - jason
I'm not sure that trans will fit under your ****** hump, but if it will you can rest ***ured that it will last and last. You will never use first gear, as it's a granny, but you can use the other three and drive like it's an all-synchro 3-speed, although an annoyingly slow shifting 3-speed. A regular 3-speed from '68 up would be much more desirable, lighter, more compact, and with less rotating m*** would probably return fuel savings.
The shift tower obviously won't fit under the trans hump but as the hump comes out with a few screws it isn't that hard to modify. Other than that you will most likely have to heat an bend the shifter to clear the dash. d My uncle had an early 50's Mopar two door wagon with a Chrysler flathead six and Dodge truck four speed in it for his daily driver and "huntin rig" for years and that thing worked great with the granny four speed and long shift handle sticking up. You won't use the granny gear unless you want to hole shot someone at the stop light or do the low speed cruise though the fairgrounds. Hell you can even get a shift knob up where everyone can see it
Bad Idea, in a 1/2 ton pickup, most folks start out in second gear because first is soooooo low. You have to shift after going about 15 feet. The trans weights more than a ton and it is really tall. Leave it for the truck guys....but even the truck guys dont want it, they want the NV4500 now.
You probably have a SM465 there. Motherin' heavy and heavy duty. You have to use the truck bellhousing that has the ears for ch***is mounts, which may take some adapting to the '41 Chevy frame. It has a steep 1st gear, 6.55:1. I've used 1st gear in trucks, you may never use it at all. An interesting and unique swap if you have some fab skills. Bob
if you plan on driving it as a daily or taking it on the highway dont plan on doing more than 50 or 60 mph. it is a truck ****** based on the idea of pulling lots of weight not economy or comfort. i drove a bunch of these in my younger days and for their purpose they are great . fun too as once your going you no longer need the clutch. fuel economy will **** ,performance won't be great and motor will vibrate like crazy at high speeds
"if you plan on driving it as a daily or taking it on the highway dont plan on doing more than 50 or 60 mph." False..His cruise speed wont be any different than any other non OD Trans....That will be determined by rear axle gear. "fun too as once your going you no longer need the clutch." False.. 2nd thru fourth are syncronised....Thats like saying any other trans that is syncronised you no longer need the clutch...Yea you can shift them with no clutch, but at the expense of the syncros. They are not like the crash box in the older trucks that don't have syncros. "fuel economy will **** ,performance won't be great and motor will vibrate like crazy at high speeds" False.. The truck trans has nothing to do with the motor vibrating at high speed.
hey guys sorry to drag this up but i may actually have a different trans than i thought. i pulled the trans off the engine yetsterday expecting it to be a heavy beast - its not. my guess is maybe 75 pounds. looks like a saginaw 3 or 4 speed. no idea if its original to truck or not. is there any reason that if it is a saginaw 3 or 4 speed that it would be a poor choice for a 41 chevy coupe with the 250? im picking up the 41 tomorrow hopefully! thing is have no idea the condition of either this trans or the t5 i have but obv to save money if i can use what i have as is that is great. just curious. ill get the casting numbers off the trans to ID it.
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