I'm trying to use my ****** out of a 1937 chevy pickup truck. Does anybody know or have any information on a way to hook up a normal style drive shaft to the 3 speed ******? I have an s-10 rearend that I want to put in it but use the ****** if at all possible. Thanks for any information on this.
It can be done IF you have a lathe and mill . No off the shelf parts I've ever seen to do it. Also that is a very light duty box.
I believe,but not 100 percent sure,that the gears , shafts and tailhousing from a 55-64 Chevy 3 speed will fit inside your ****** case with slight modifications.I'm thinking you want to retain the original floor shift? I remember reading some articles how to do this,maybe in an old "Hot Rod" magazine
Ya i'd like to retain the original floor shift if at all possible. Thanks for the input i'll try to do some reasearch.
I don't know if the adaptor fits a '37, but the '48-'54 3/4 ton and up trucks had an open driveline. There was an adaptor between the transmission output where the closed drivetrain U-joint bell was and the actual output yoke. It was about 10". If you could find a 3 speed from a 3/4 ton truck you could probably make it fit.
GM changed the transmissions used in trucks in '48 and the new series is quite a bit different than the older ones. The 3/4-ton trucks had an odd partial open setup. If you look at a transmission from a larger truck of the era they were completely open. How about this approach? Cut the shift lever off the '37 transmission and use it on a later transmission? Converting to open drive becomes easy and you enjoy some synchronizers too!
change to an s-10 t5 transmission. not much more work and the location is just slightly farther back then stock.
I'm going back 50 years here, but if that is the original truck transmission I think it has a wide bolt pattern. The "commercial" transmission casting number is 590874. The car transmission with the narrow bolt pattern is 590822. These numbers are for '37, '38 and '39 only. Designs changed in '40. However, if I remember correctly, the later open drive truck 4 speeds had that same bolt pattern. You might use the bigger transmission, the later ones were synchro, and have your floor shift and open drive with a minimum of work.
Bellhousing patterns are the same from 37-62. The easiest thing to do is just use a 55-62 trans. If you compare the size of the two, it becomes obvious why. If you are converting to open drive, there really is no reason to keep the torque tube style ******. My 2 cents as a fellow Stovebolter. JK
That's not my experience. Cars and trucks are different and trucks changed on the transmission side in '48.
That's correct,in 48 the trucks got the same ****** bolt pattern as the 55 and up cars which is the pattern common to Saginaw,Muncie and T-5 GM.
Don't bother trying to adapt the original thee speed to an open driveline. I finally ditched mine a few months ago for a T5 and it was the best thing that I could have done. Look at my Webshots album in my sig for pics of the conversion. Rob
Any bell housing 37-62 will bolt to 216, 235, 261 and the GMC engines. There were different transmission bolt patterns. Just find one that does what you want.
Yes,but 47 and earlier have the clutch and brake pedals attched to the belhousing.So you have to fab up something to support the pedals unless changing to swing pedals.Not all that difficult to make a pedal bracket,but it's one more thing to deal with,as usual.
thanks i'll take a look at your pics, i just really like the old 3 speed instead of having a t5 but also want it to be functional and reliable to. using as much old stuff as possible would be what I'm looking for and the cheapest route to obviously. thanks.
Cut the shifter off of the '37. Cherry the end and hammer it down flat. Drill 2 holes, and put it on a T5. You'll like being able to go on the freeway.
That trans was made up untill 46? and the 3/4 tons (37 to 42 had 6 lugs too) used a short enclosed driveshaft and then the rest was open so those parts could be used to make it work but you wont like those trans as they are not that strong,the 235 was kind of rough on the one in my 37 so I went to a T-5 too and much happier.
I think the T-5 is the way to go. I don't want us to be stranded on the way to or from the pile up next year.
My 37 p/u damaged two original trans with a stock 57 235 and its a totally different truck with the T-5,I can go down the highway now without the motor screaming. I now have to do something about the mufflers now (short gl***packs) as there is a very noticable drone now that the motor is spinning slower.
So I in order to run an open drive line and newer trans, i would need the Bell housing from a 216 newer than a 37, and a trans from at least the same vehicle if not from a much newer vehicle. If the T5 was used, which bell housing should i search for? Which T5, from a camaro, S10 or Mustang?
'37 had 2 transmission bolt patterns. You may be able to use that housing. In a previous post I gave you two transmission casting numbers. If you have the commercial number it probably has the wide bolt pattern. That pattern is more than likely the one that will fit an early S-10 transmission. If you have the pedals mounted on the housing, according to Truckedup you can use up thru '47 housings.
You can use the 37 bellhousing but you will have to modify the 37 fork to work with the newer throw out bearing,you have to weld fingers on the fork to fit the throw out bearing and I done that on my 37 untill I got a 38 to 46 bellhousing and linkage when I still was using the original trans. It will be easiest to get a 38 to 46 bellhousing and if you do get the clutch pedal and fork along with the linkage (adjustable J hook) and you will be set plus you will need a adapter which is available from Buffalo enterpises,they also have a modified bellhousing which is a 47 to 53 with the bung for the pedals welded on which I got when I put a T-5 in my 37. If you get the modified bellhousing you will still need a 38 to 46 fork,pedal and linkage which will go on you existing pedal mount.
not to hijack this thread but your saying i can use any 37-62 gm ******(auto or stick)behind my original 41 chevy 216?what about swapping over to a more modern starter?thanks charlie
6 volt staters with pre-1955 flywheels, and 12 volt starters with '55-'62 flywheels. A '54 p***enger car flywheel uses a 10 inch clutch, as opposed to the 9 1/8 inch clutch that the '38-'53 car flywheels use. All '55-'62 car flywheels use a 10 inch clutch, whereas trucks could have a 10 or 11 inch setup (larger in medium duty, not applicable to hot rods).
I once put a STOCK 261 into a 39 or 40 Chevy truck using the stock ****** from the truck, I will admit I drove the living hell out of that old truck and grenaded and I mean really grenaded 4 or 5 ******s and clutches. I finally exhausted the local supply of those ******s and put in a later car ****** (54) with a stick conversion and never had any more grief.
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