I'm looking for the strongest passenger car/light truck three speed manual transmission avalible. What should I be looking for? How strong is it, what did it come in, and what does a good used one cost these days? Thanks for the info. -Jeff
My ol' Buddy, Bill is a guy I work with. He bought a brand new '63 Dodge el-cheapo with the 426, dual quad Max Wedge motor. He wanted a manual transmission in the car but the 4 speeds weren't available in a Chrysler product until 1964. His car came with a mopar 3 speed and he drag raced the car...ran the shit outa it against 409 chevys, 421 Ponchos, 406 and [in 63 and 1/2] 427 Fords. He said he never busted a tranny or fried a clutch! I'd say that's one stout 3 speed, Jeffery! Uhhhhhhhhhh, I dunno how easy it's gonna be to find a max wedge ANYTHING for sale tho...
Try a Borg-Warner T-85, stock in some Fords and 56 Mercs. It is what the Toploader 4sp is based on. Also come with overdrive!.........OLDBEET
In the fords,the big Borg-Warner is very tough. In GM there was a Muncie three speed that came in 3/4 ton trucks that is very tough,but hard to find. The old Saginaw three speed will take alot of abuse but get the '65 and newer version that besides being tougher, it has a syncro low gear. I'm currently setting up a Saginaw three speed with OD behind a nailhead for my A coupe. I don't know how tough the OD is but they are a lot of fun to drive. As far as cost goes if you hunt a little you should be able to find a good deal as not too many people want them anymore.
Armstrong is right -if you want a bulletproof BORG WARNER-Chevy 3 speed they came in late seventies and early eighties-CHEVY GMC-3/4 and one ton trucks and vans...the tip to spottin one is they have a very large diametr cover over the input shaft[need the same vehicles bellhousing too]....and they have FIVE mount ears instead of four. Large Bulging side on right side of case and have a LOW low and LOW second moreso than a pass tranny. it is VERY STRONG.and fully synchro to boot! A nice thing also is they are same length as a borg warner 4 speed and have a shorter tail housing than most ford transmissions which can be a weak link.........
Don't remember the designation but I had a full synchro 3-speed that came out of a 69 Chevelle with a 396 in it(probably the only one ever built;I never did see another one).
anyone have any pics of the B-W out of the Chevy vans and trucks, for swap meet Identification next weekend? Thanks. -Jeff
Transmission brand doesn't really matter because I'm custom making everything including adapters, but it's a blown 392 Hemi. -Jeff
Jeff...that one on ebay is a gennie Muncie chevy van/truck 3 speed alright. Look at the very front of the case in the photo. See that part on top of the case front? That's the ear where the 5th mount bolt goes on the stock application. This tranny is the only one I know of that has that 5th mount ear.
yes Bugman thats the ones I have.....they are virtually indestructible.[the smaller diam of the input shaft cover from a passenger tranny bolts right up then U can use a car scattershield] I had one in a hot smallblock powered '39 Chevy and did a sidestep of left pedal at 4500RPMS and sheared the yoke off the pinion shaft with the driveshaft attached!
Toughest 3-speed of all time is the Ford T&C (Thompson and Collins..the designers) Toploader as used in Ford products AND Buick GranSports, Old's 442's and GTO's in the sixties..yes, GM bought Ford transmissions 'cuz the Saginaw just couldn't take the torque of a big block engine. Even the 3-speeds used in F-100/150's and E-100/150's in the 70's and early 80's (direct and O/D) are just as tough.
I was supposed to get a 3 spd LaSalle trans when I bought my full house 394 Olds engined (w/B&M Hydro trans) 40 Ford, but the older rodders told me the engine would probably blow it up, so it stayed with the seller (I was getting a killer deal anyways and had little storage space at the time). I once posted that info on the HAMB and Rocketeer Guru Number ONE, Don_Wow told a story about a twin turbocharged 394 engine he built that put out MUCHO, MUCHO Horsepower (and torque) that had a LaSalle 3 speed behind it. He said he drag raced the car, abused it on the street and the trans never missed a beat.
that mopar 3speed did actually continue to early seventies as standard eq on bb cars,how common?well,most people opted for auto trans instead,so you might do som digging to find one,the mopar trans is usually nicer to shift compared to the gm style trans. while on the subject,whith a blown hemi you could use a 727 clutch-flite trans too,thats what I´m going to use behind my 331 hemi,to get the best(or worst?)of two worlds,I knoe winters is still making a kit to convert your auot trans to clutch operated,they do mopar,ford,gm. I think they´re at http://www.wintersperformance.com P/N 20520 thats the part# for the 727/392 kit
I have the original saginaw 3 speed manual in my 67 GMC. It's taken a TON of abuse from me over the past few years , but still shifts like a dream. I replaced the clutch this year while the engine and tranny were out, but that's all that has ever ben done to it. I would recommend this 3 speed to anyone
could some one tell me what i got here i know it's a ford but not sure if it's a T3 if it is how strong are these tranys ? i will be running a stroked 289 and i hope it will hold up. i picked it up at the swap meet for $100.00 it all new inside.
[ QUOTE ] Just out of curiosity, why does it have to be a 3 speed? [/ QUOTE ] A few reasons. First off and most importantly, I'm a cheap bastard, and 3 speeds are generally cheaper than strength equivilent 4 speeds. Plus, I'm only probably going to use 2nd and 3rd gear anyway and they usuallly have fewer moving parts. -Jeff
Some guys talked about a "three speed" GM trans out of 3/4 and one ton trucks. Do you mean what I would call a truck four speed with the "Granny" low gear? The long stick comes up through the floor.
[ QUOTE ] Some guys talked about a "three speed" GM trans out of 3/4 and one ton trucks. Do you mean what I would call a truck four speed with the "Granny" low gear? The long stick comes up through the floor. [/ QUOTE ] Despite it's terrible slow shifting, I always thought this trans would be a good choice for something with like a 2.56:1 rear - granny gear could be used for burning rubber and impressing your friends and the top three speeds for everything else. Too bad they're such heavy mofos. FYI, though, they did make an actual truck three-speed on the column, too. I worked with a guy this summer with a 1970 Chevrolet 4WD that had one as original equipment.
Since its a Chrysler, how about an NP435? You hardly ever use granny low anyway, (and most of the time you do use it, its only for you and your friends own amusement) so driving this is like using a 3 speed, and I don't think anyone's gonna doubt the strength of one of those tranny's. (note to self: Gotta watch those posting dates. Just noticed this is a 19 year old thread )
Well, as long as you woke it up, I'll answer Safariknut's question concerning the identity of the three speed that came in his big block Chevelle; it should have been a Borg Warner T-16.
Tough to beat a BW T85. Jay Brown ran the original T85 in his '64 Galaxie behind a potent 510 ci SOHC during Drag Week in 2009. 9.5 sec passes column shifting that big girl.
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