Hey guys. I'm new to 4 speeds and I wanted to know if this is a T10 or a Muncie. Sorry for the crappy pic but its the best I can do. The guy selling it is cleaning out his grandpas garage and didn't offer any more info than he thinks its out of a first gen camaro.
Is this model robust enough to handle a hot SBC in a 3200 lb car? Would it have been available prior to 1964?
I believe squirrel is right. Depending on what the hot SBC really is and how you plan on driving, it will handle it's fair share. I've run saginaws in stock cars with 500+ hp as well a several off topic drag cars running high 11's low 12's and did not have many problems at all. Yes, I've broke some, but I've also broke muncies and borg-warners too. The only stock gm 4 speed I've not broken yet was the super t-10's, they are quite durable!!!
Seriously now, that all depends on what you plan on doing with the car and how you drive it. I think the Saginaw 4 speed came out in the mid 60's Google is your friend, my friend
327, 10:1, solid roller can, 510 lift. I think I have an intake picked, low rise dual quad. I think 380hp is conservative. I would like to be able to drive it fairly hard. I guess I will know if/when I blow it up...
It's probably going to last at least as long as the "correct" BW T-10, and will probably cost a bunch less. Don't tell anyone it's a Saginaw...odds are, like you, they won't know just by looking at it. as far as durability..if you lift your foot off the gas for the 1-2 shift, it will last a long time, if it's in good condition to start with.
I ran a Saginaw for a couple of years behind a warmed over 283 in a '66 C10. On narrow street tires, it did fine. I sold it to a guy who put a set of sticky tires on it and blew the trans on the first burnout. Your mileage may vary.
As Squirrel suggested, speed shifting will contribute to a quick end. Saginaw were used behind mild small blocks, so it has some strength capacity. The exact internal trans gear ratio is the indicator of the torque capacity, generally higher number first gear ratio is weaker. Look for the number of grooves on input shaft and then compare that to search for the values.
That's what many came in, I'll add looking that it's a close ratio because of the lines on the imput shaft
There's a good reason why they put them in Vegas! Transmissions (and rear ends) don't necessarily break in the middle of a gear sequence, but almost always on a power shift or starting line launch. There's a lot that you can get away as far as light duty stuff, if drive the car prudently.
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