Desperately need some good 3-speed help!!

Ok guys I think I might have really done it and done it well this time!! I have been avoiding the fact that my 50 (chevy) has been kicking out of first gear when its cold, but once warm its been fine...Well tonight I took the wifey to the downtown Plainfield cruise in and it was kicking out violently!! I couldn't even hold it in first, once the car started rolling it would pop out and now I think I might be in some trouble.

So I am looking for the old nickles worth of free advice, could it be something simple like low fluid or something could be out of adjustment??? I really fear that those old gears are just not meshing right so any power might be causing them to slip???

The car has a hopped up 235 (duals, header & really mild cam) stock 3 speed trans going into a powerglide torque tube style rear-end. More or less it has been untouched except for the motor. I do not beat on the car, I cruise around, do not power shift or anything of that sort. Any type of help would be greatly appreciated, but I have a really bad feeling that its pretty much a paper weight at this point.

Thanks!!!

 

Probably needs new gearshaft bearings. Don't throw it away it can be fixed.

 

It's rebuildable, but you might find another whole trans for s**** price, then you could swap it out and redo the old one in spare time. I know I have one in a car that if I ever get it out I'll offer for sale.

 

Could be shifter forks, selector detents, worn bearings,syncro's, or a host of other things-all relating to wear-all fixable. Damn, it's only 61 years old and giving you problems already.
That's a typical Chevy.

 

sounds like it may not be fully engaging first gear. there are bushing where the shift arms come off the column and connect to the linkage, make sure those are intact.

 

Doesn't sound like fluid or anything that can be taken care of without a teardown.

If you end up wanting a new ******, I've got one sitting here from a '48. It's not terribly hard to swap out.

 

Like has been said, the market value on '49-'54 Chevy three speeds is low enough that I'd try finding a used one before I spent much on fixing one. Pull the side cover and inspect the shift forks; they've been known to wear so much that they don't push the gear all the way in, causing it to jump back out easily. If you do go looking for another trans, the '53-'54 gearboxes had needle bearings on the countershaft as opposed to bushings on the '52 and earlier models.