37-38 Buick trans with early olds gears etc

I have both ends of the spectrum covered. The 32 three window with a 322, Buick trans, 36 Ford rear (reinforced but unsplit), bias plys. I'll put a disclaimer on the dash of some sort........"Engine horsepower and torque greatly exceeds drivetrain components capabilities creating a mechanical fuse failure mode that can be catastrophic".

I also have a 34 five window, 392Hemi, Borg Warner Cast Iron Power Brute Super T-10 4speed, Scattershield, Frankland Quick-Change 31 spline axles, radials. I'll put a disclaimer on the dash of some sort........"Engine hosepower and torque is paired with drivetrain components capable of handling substantial and repeated abuse without failure..Stand on it!"

 

Just found this thread. I did several 37/38 Buick transmissions back in the late 1950s behind a sbc both with Ford torque tube rears and with open drive. The torque tube application was real easy. Sounds like everybody's questions have been answered so I'll lurk a while to see what else comes up.

 

to be fair, I have not run my Buick/Olds conversion yet
I do know though from putting this one together that the internals are stouter than any late model transmission I've had apart.
yes, no syncro first and only three speeds forward but hell for stout
and should be a good match for the low rpm high torque of the engine I am putting in front of it.

 

Very informative thread!

 

Here are some updates on several differences on the Olds donor transmission, that are worth posting IMO.

Several hambers have recently figured out some important things:

- The issue of the cracked tail housing at the bearing support; the mystery was solved today by one member; The weaker tailhousings that are "sometimes" cracked, were appartently only used on 1951-1953 Olds which were the "303 cu. in." years. One casting number that I have handy, for those housings is: 1343940-3 as well as -4 suffix. There maybe be other numbers, IDK.

- Another totally different tail casting number, on a housing that is really beefed up at the rear bearing, was just ID'ed by that hamber as "1954 to 1956 Olds", which are the "324" years. That casting number is: 1165430-1. Apparently Olds beefed it for the increasing HP and torque. Bear in mind that these Oldsmobile full sized cars are twice the weight of our typical builds, so I don't think I'd be concerned about using a early (303) tailhousing behind any early Olds engine unless you are racing and have slicks...as long as it is not cracked already. JMO

-Another important discovery on the 57-up Olds that went to a bolt-on rear yoke: Another hamber discovered that you can't use the older slip yoke on a 57-up trans. The other very important discovery is that in 1957, the diameter of the mainshaft tail end is significantly larger, probably due to the huge increase in HP/Torque of the new 371 and tri-power J2. The tailhousing is also very beefed up at the bearing support. Note that the 57-housing will bolt up Ok, but because the shaft is bigger O.D., that means the internal support bushing bore in the tailhousing is larger. So you can't use the 57-up tail housing with 51-56 shaft.

-More importantly on the 1957-up transmissions, is that one member has done the Buick swap with that bigger mainshaft, and there are no additional mods to be made with these stronger donor parts. I think that's good info.

-a random note is that the Olds model 98 starting in 1952, and ending in 1955, had a rear housing and mainshaft (output shaft) that was about 3" longer than 88 or Super 88. We don't have a casting number for that tail housing yet. According to parts book searching, the 1955 Olds was the last year for a 98 with a standard transmission. If your donor Olds trans came from a 1951 98, your tailhousing and shaft will be the same "short one" as used on 51-53 Olds 88 and Super 88.

.

 

a good investment for any project is a shop manual including the parts you are working on,

but in a pinch here is a shortcut of sorts pertaining to this thread

the 1958 Oldsmobile Selector Transmission

 

I have no idea why they are not all right side up... I will try to fix that...

edit..

aw fuckit,
the photo interface is a severe pain in the ass here

if you can't read it all caddy wompus buy the book

 

Interesting... I have the 56 manual. At first glance 58 seems to be more in depth.

 

hmm, didn't notice that, there are three more pages in the '58 book than the '56
and pages that are in the '56 that are not in the '58
and vice verse

 

all I have is: 55,57,58 parts books with very little for pic detail. This is great, I do see a reference to the thin wire ring, and I'll copy it all so I can read up on all of it.

a guy in Ca really wanted a pic of the 57 column linkage, and I can now send him one tonight; Thanks

 

I actually need to get a new manual but I'm waiting to see what shakes out with my trans/motor situation as to which one I buy. The copy of the 56 manual I have is riddled with what looks to be official revisions that were inserted into the manual and glued in. I can see where lots of them have fallen out over the years. It's kinda bizarre. I've never seen this in another manual before. It's the kind of thing you'd usually see addressed in a service bulletin. I would guess, however, that there were enough changes between the 56 and 57 trans that they would be somewhat different regardless.

 

and there are 16 pages in the '59 manual

 

Thanks for the information. Confirms that my tail housing 1165430-1 is 56.

 

housing numbers

 

my two Olds tail housings on Buick cases,
red tail: 1951-1954 88 & S88
grey tail: 1957-1960 (I pulled this one out of a '58)

Buick cases are identical

 

Anyone ever done this conversion with 1956-1957 Pontiac tail housing and gears?

I am working on this conversion on a 38 case right now. Case modifications are already done. I haven't seen anyone else do it with Pontiac parts, so I may make a separate thread with my photos, if there is any interest.

 

I would do a separate thread on it. I would be most interested in seeing this with a Pontiac bell housing. I have done several of these lately using the Olds bell and a Olds selector gear gut. The Olds and Pontiac share the same gears I am told.

 

Gears may be the same. Pontiac used this transmission only two years -- '55 V8 used the light-duty 3spd and '58 used a Borg Warner T85. But even within those two years, Pontiac had a 56 gearset and a 57 gearset. I don't know the difference because I've dealt only with 56 gears. I will put a thread together for those who are curious. I've already test-fit the case to the bellhousing, and modified the case & tail housing to mate up.

 

Curious how long your input shaft is on the Pontiac in comparison to the Olds 51-63 selector. I have been told that the 56-57 Pont is the same as the Olds???? Be nice to confirm that . Here is a pic and layout of the Pontiac tht you most likely have seen and it certainly is laid out like the Olds.



I have a beefy 57 Olds in one of my Buick cases and it supports a huge tail shaft, something like 1 1/2 in diameter. I wonder if the Pontiac is the same size?

 

The red (spare) '37 Roadmaster top shift posted above has what looks like an Olds tail shaft but the input shaft is definitely shorter than the Olds.

 

The Buick input shaft is around 8 7/8 inches long overall. Just went thru this with another member in matching parts for his 36 Buick tranny which turned out to be a one year only unit FWIW. The Olds is longer, I wonder about the Pontiac. Maybe Skankin can measure his. that would be good to know.

 

I will get some measurements. I think the Pontiac input shaft is different. In the meantime, here are some photos of my 56 transmission with the tail housing removed.

 

I've started a thread documenting my Buick top-shift conversion with Pontiac parts. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...sion-1956-pontiac-gears-tail-housing.1095970/

 

I measured the 51 Olds selector input shaft this morning. It is 8 inches long measured from the face of the tranny to the end of the pilot nose. The pilot is 1 1/8 long. Curious to see how it measures up against your Pontiac.

 

1956 Pontiac input shaft is 6-3/4" overall, from the face of the case. The pilot is 1-1/6" long.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

1956 Pontiac main shaft is 1-3/16" diameter where the speedometer drive gear sits.

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I have two compete Pontiac gear sets now, and I believe one set to be 1956 and the other 1957.

In my selector transmission, reported by French Lake Auto Parts to be pulled from a 56, I have 18 teeth on the input shaft, 20 teeth at the front of the cluster.

The gear set I bought to go into my Buick conversion has 17 teeth on the input shaft, 21 on the cluster.

Both have 31-tooth sliders driven by 16 teeth on the cluster. So my new gear set will have an 11.1% lower first gear.

I thought the latter were probably 57 gears --- I would think the effort of engineering a whole new gear set would be directed toward a lower first gear, better takeoff, less clutch wear --- and not the opposite. But a source of mine says it's the 57 first gear is indeed higher. Weird! My original transmission must have originally come from a 57.

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Input shaft is short like the Buick. Guess Olds is the only one then with the 8 inch shaft. Good to know for sure. Where is French Lake Auto? Have never heard of them before.

 

Annandale, MN. They gave me a fair price on this selector trans when I was first assembling the parts to convert from Hydramatic.

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interesting,
it looks like my spare '37 Buick case may have a '56 Pontiac input (clutch) shaft by dimension

1-1/8" x 10 spline sound right for clutch?

and a '52 Olds tail housing by the cast number
I have not taken it apart to see what's inside yet.. curious though.