Well, since nobody wants my 51 hardtop, and I can't buy the other ride I was watching, I'll just keep it. With that said, It has a perfect running 216 and everything else stock in it. What's the best tranny swap? I have a camaro rearend for it. And I'd like to keep it manual, so what 4spd. will work here? I know the 55-up 3spd's work, but thought a 4spd might be a better choice. I know alot of guys swap to a 235 or bigger I-6, but the damn little 216 is a runner. It's a low mileage car, so there's lots of life in that motor. Thanks
if you get a truck bellhousing, I think you can swap in the common 60s-70s era chevy car 4 speeds--muncie, saginaw, T-10, Super T-10. I don't know that you'd gain much, though....4 speeds seem to help out high revving V8s more than they do sluggish 6s.
Oh, I don't know....the Saginaw four speed I replaced the three speed in my '64 Tempest six cylinder car with years ago made the car much more versitle. Third gear in the four speed was just right for some of the steep hills around here, whereas second gear in the three speed was too steep for any speed.
Since it's a driver, stick a '51-'54 PG 3.55 rear axle under it and enjoy it like that. 2 coils and flattened springs, dual pipes, an Olds windshield ... you'll love it !
A wide ratio saginaw (from a monza or vega) would we a worthwhile swap. rearend gearing is kind of critical with a small engine, too.....something in the mid 3s would be good, lots of camaros came with gears in the 2s, which would not work out too well.
Basically, any four speed you put behind it I think will be fine with the 216.The Saginaw is a good trans. for a lower torque motor and shouldn't give you any trouble.GM used them in small block applications.The Saginaw is also much less exspensive than a muncie or BW.
Are they all bolt-up, or do I need to change bellhousings too. The car is already lower than a torq-tube set-up should be, and runs and drives great, but is screaming at 65-70. The camaro rear I have is a 3.42 I think.
As Squirrel already said, you'll need a '48-'54 truck bell housing in order to use a '55-up car transmission. You've probably got 4.11s in the rear right now, so a 3.55 rear from a Powerglide car with your stock transmission would still help highway driving.
I have a 55-up car bellhousing, with provisions for mounts on the bell. I wonder if you could adapt one of those to work? I run a t5 and a 55 rear. See Moloko's post from this mornin, he is doing it the way youre talking.
i have a 53 Chevy rear end with 3.70 gears and a 53 3 spd trans. Both are a direct bolt in to your car and both will improve your performance. You can have them. A Camaro rea will require some work, including new perches, driveshaft, transmission, bellhousing, clutch and flywheel. Basically the same gears. Just a thought.
I like your car and color scheme. Mine's got a '54 235 and '54 manual rear axle, (is that a 3.70? for some reason I'm thinking 3.83??). I'm still running the '51 216 transmission. Having run both sets of rear gears, the taller rear makes a big difference out on the road; cruising at 70 is now the norm. If you can find one that's by far the easiest way to go. The taller yet PG rear might be a bit tall for a 216 though. -Jeff
53-54 manual is either 3.70 or 3.73 and the 53-54 Powerglide rear is 3.55, stock 49-52 manual is 4.11
i have an automatic 52 rear end i'll give you............FREEEEEEE!!!!!!! YOU CAN HAVE THE AUTOMATIC IF YOU WANT IT. PM ME.
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