I have a 1950 Chevy styleline, all original. I really want to keep it as original as possible. The trans is popping out of gear at cruising speed and it’s $900 for used parts. Anyone know a place I can get new parts for less? Or should I just swap out the trans, torque tube and rear end for something a little newer and more reliable? It’s 3 on the tree and I definitely want that to stay the same. thanks
With the Hamb being a Hot Rod & Custom site the idea of leaving everything original sounds out of place, you could spend the money on improving the cars engine,transmission and rear axle and have something a lot more fun to drive. HRP
I agree. ^^^^^ If you want to stay with the 6 anything that will bolt to a 235 will bolt right up so if you start looking from your year up to about '62. The later stuff will be more desirable. You will have to replace the rear with an open unit. A 283 is a good motor for motoring around in one of those by the way.
By original, I just meant no LS or 350. I guess I could just keep the 6 and upgrade the trans and rear end, which would be fine to me. any suggestions of what would fit? Especially axle wise
It might take a lot of time searching to find one, but I bet a good used trans for that car would be pretty cheap. A lot of people would discard it when modifying a car.
I would take the opportunity it slap a 283 or 327 in that puppy and you may as well put a 4spd in because with a sweet SBC you'll rip the shifter off in your hand with the 3 on the tree. Floor shift baby.
My son owns a 46 Chev fleetline, 3 speed column, (same type of gearbox I would say) it was popping out of gear as well.. I took the side-plate off and found the inner selector arm (has a flat to locate on the shaft, and peened over). The shaft /arm slot had worn causing a lack of full travel for gear engagement.. To fix the problem, I moved the arm thru it's worn arc, and bought it back halfway, and welded it, still in the side-plate.. Problem solved for our Chevy.. Forgot to mention, we had it repaired in about 3/4 hour.. It may not be the cause of your problem, but may be worth removing you're side-cover and checking for wear on both selector arm/ shafts before spending $$$..
61SuperMonza.. True, I can spend other enthusiast's money as well.. But being ''down under'' in New Zealand, we, unlike the lucky guys in the USA, don't have the supply of parts, either new or 2nd hand at our fingertips, and if they are available, the cost is usually exorbitant.. My suggestion of welding is hot rodding in the raw, how we did it back in the day..
Hey, no offense to sticking with original drivetrains. The OP I believe was from the East Coast and my comment was tailored with that in mind. Look at my avatar, do you think I fall into the "no substitute for cubes" logic. You can make any setup cool with some thought and execution.
HOT RODDING in the RAW ! Doable except with black vinyl seats ! Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Full sync saganaw, tri 5 Chevy rear with better gears. That’s the traditional fix Maybe swap in a full pressure 235 or 261.