Hello all, I was at a small swap meet yesterday and came home with a (I think) 1937-39 Buick 3 speed that’s been converted to Ford closed driveline at the rear. Trans looks nice inside. anyone know anything about these? Are they decent transmissions? I know LaSalle and Packard were often used in hot rods, Oldsmobile as well. Bolt pattern looks like Chevy? Just a neat piece I’d love to learn more about thank you!
I think it is more like 36-38, as I believe Buick went to column shift in 39. Non- synchronized first gear. Not a particularly strong unit, but will handle 100 HP. Looks like the upper mounting holes have been elongated some. A good find for a FH project.
Those Buicks originally had a torque tube. Are you sure it's converted to Ford TT? Also, that appears to be the smaller of the two versions of the Buick transmission available in that timeframe. They came behind the 233/248 ci engines. The trans behind the 320 ci was a much stouter version.
In the later Buick, three speeds, the 5-bolt top covers are the "weak" ones, the 6-bolt top covers are the "strong"ones. Are the earlier transmissions different?
What is interesting about this trans is the front bearing retainer/T.O. Bearing tube. Buicks of that era didn’t have that part bolted onto the trans case. The front bearing was ‘exposed’. The stock Buick bell housing mating face served as the bearing retainer when the trans was bolted to it. It required a gasket between the trans/bell housing as the front bearing was lubed by the trans gear oil. The bell housing had a ‘channel’ below the bearing leading to a hole in the front of the case below the bearing that was the return path of the gear oil. If that wasn’t weird enough, the throw out bearing carrier consisted of a flanged tube that inserted into an opening in the bell housing. The front bearing retainer in the photo is adapted from something else. Perfectly reasonable thing to do, just not what the trans came with (assuming it IS the trans we all think it is) It was popular at one time to swap Oldsmobile upper line series transmission gears into the Buick case. I don’t recall exactly why that was popular but Frank (not his HAMB name, but recall is failing me here, but he was a prolific poster on the HAMB and an authority on this subject. Lived in the wilds of the Northeast…Connecticut I think). There will be lot of posts in the old threads that can shed a bit of light on this topic. More to it than meets the eye. Ray
Ray, I think it was "Fab32". I always wondered about the Olds gears myself; probably because they both fit and you'd use whatever you could find. They're not the most common parts out there.
Ray, the person that you are referring to is Frank Cebula, who goes by F & J, here on the HAMB. He lives on route 32 in Willimantic, Connecticut.
Frank and I both use these behind our Olds engines. Both have been modified with newer Olds gear guts circa '51-64. Paul has used them as well. Pretty straight forward mod with one tail stock retainer bolt having to be moved. Frank did a build segment on his a while back.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/37-38-buick-trans-with-early-olds-gears-etc.580980/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...sion-1956-pontiac-gears-tail-housing.1095970/
Hi Walt! I just KNEW there was another familiar HAMB guy who was/is knowledgeable about this subject, but dangled if I could come up with the name! And after all we have shared! I guess a part time memory is better than no memory…. I am still enjoying the wonderful Maple Syrup you sent me from your brother’s ‘still’ I ration it carefully but I’ll eventually run out Hope things are well with you. Regards, Ray
I did the Olds gears and tail swap in one, it's a '37-'38 only Roadmaster transmission. I used a '58 Olds for a donor, all '51-'64 Olds syncromesh "selector shift" transmissions should work as donors. I have been running it behind a '58 Olds 371 for a few thousand miles without any issues at all. no syncro into first and it sounds a bit like an old truck, especially in second but I like it, even more than the LaSalle, and I've had several of those.
Been wanting find one of these! Need something for my 322 nailhead, wish I could’ve made it out to that swap meet!
Well done , it would have to be better than the Ford trans ,they are terrible dam things I have 3 cars I drive weekly with ford trans non of them stay in 2nd gear
Done! Easy peazy, haha. Or maybe I should paint it. Then done. Or maybe also put it behind a running engine in a hot rod and try it out. Then done…
Just a question, I had heard the selector shift trans were weak and the obvious no (or very rare?) good shifters for them. Might be stronger than the Ford trans, but do they hold up behind a decent V8? Such as a 371 or 394 Olds with a little extra power over stock .
Hello The throw out bearing tube was bolted to my Buick case. See picture. I’m pretty sure my transmission is from 1938. ID number on the case: 1298438-1 The T.O. tube on my Olds selector was held in place by the bellhousing though. Don’t know what year model. Number on case: 1312582-2 (I just used the Olds T.O. bearing tube and bellhousing together with the Buick case).
The version with the six bolt top is pretty rugged, and has ratios close to the Cad/LaSalle transmission. As for floor shift conversions, good luck finding one. There's another thread on here showing pictures of them, as well as a few that some of the guys made to order.
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