Hiya boys and girls! My old bucket Belair, still with 235-6 and three onna tree, can I swap in a 4spd T-10 without much fuss? Splines? shaft length? case length? I know someone out there has done this. Thanx!
If it's an older T10 it's pretty straight forward. If it's a newer Super T10, then you'll need a different clutch disc, and driveshaft yoke, at least. Plus a shifter, cutting a hole in the floor, etc. And high gear is 1:1 in all of these transmissions, so you won't get overdrive out of it, if that's what you might have been thinking.
Hurst made a shifter for the 55-57 bench seat if you can find one. The stock shifter for a 59-up needs to be bent right as it comes out of the floor so you can use 2 and 4. I used a Saginaw 4 speed from a Vega once and was able to use the column to shift the 4 gears and put a PTO cable for the reverse. Nothing stuck out of the floor.
You could actually use the factory column linkage to operate the 4 forward speeds, & use an overdrive cable for reverse ... it's been done more than once.
Don’t get it you already have a 1to 1 final gear in the 3 speed one more gear and still 1to 1 final drive if you were swapping in a 5 speed out of an s 10 with a warmed up motor I could see the point. But that’s what makes the world go around
DD and squirrel I couldn’t agree with you LESS. Jimotorhead wants a 4 speed in his 55 why shouldn’t he have it no matter what the engine, especially if he has the transmission. Would you tell him it’s a waste with the stock 265-2 barrel? I doubt it. From 59 up 4-speeds were offered with every V8 from the lowest hp to the highest. Was every Corvair 4-speed was waste because the 3and 4 speeds had the same 1 to 1 high gear. He is new to the HAMB and asked a question probably not knowing the only thing needed was the trans, a shifter to miss the seat, a hole in the floor, and a boot. There isn’t even a rear mount to get in the way. Put it in and have fun with it…
I was referring to the column shift idea for the 4 speed, actually. 4 on the floor with a good shifter is fun no matter what engine you have. sorry for the confusion
Similar but not the exact car... Hello, My friend’s 55 Chevy 2 door post sedan was very nice looking. It was not a race car, but a cool looking mild custom car for daily use to and from high school, plus his great paying afterschool job. The similarities in outward appearance is/was like the above 2 door sedan. He took a licking about having a hot rod CHP sedan many times over. Since he was part of the Auto Shop/Metal Shop crew, he was in on the automatic transmission project for our friend’s 51 Pontiac. It was, at the end of the project, the only 1951 Pontiac sedan with a floor shift for his Pontiac. That was really something with his hand high on the ball and tall curved finished lever. But, my friend with the 55 Chevy wanted one for his stick shift 55 Chevy. The 59 Chevy 4 speed units were available in the scrapyards, but they were too expensive for our teenage tastes. They already had the cool curved shift lever and the installation should not take that long. Our friend just could not be without his car for any amount of time it would have taken us to take it apart and install a new transmission. So, we started with the drawings and pieces of metal to form a rough bolt on unit for his 3 speed. But, for the time it was taking, he could not be without his car for the long time it would take us to make it in the Auto Shop/Metal Shop. He needed his car daily, for his job. It did not matter to any of us to have a cool 55 Chevy Sedan that was not a high performance race/street car. It was reliable and never faltered on our trips to the mountains. So, his dad went to Pep Boys or the Speed Shop in North Bixby Knolls to get an "over the counter" 3 speed stick shift unit that would bolt right on to the transmission. We just had to make the adjustments for the lever to clear the bench seats, when moved far forward. Then it cleared when he moved it back. Jnaki For your application, if you can find any of the reproduction 3 speed shift units posted here on the HAMB topics, they will fit. It is simple and easy. But to go to all of the trouble of using a 4 speed for your stock 6 cylinder motor might be a situation that would best be left alone until you get a performance SBC motor. Then drop the whole thing as a package deal. For now, it would not be worth the effort to install just the 4 speed . IOHO. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-55-chevy-210-two-door-sedan.1218091/page-3#post-13958827
I'm almost in agreement with you on the knob. Love those old style 4 speed ivory types on a flat Hurst shifter. I did a 5 speed in my 55, welded the flat shifter handle to the original stick (cut very short) and then used one of the ivory 4 speed knobs. It looks straight out of the 50's-60's and most think its a 4 speed. With that said though, certain installs are better with a later knob in my opinion. If i see one at a swap meet i'll snatch it up every time.
It definitely ain’t just about the knob! Whether it’s a POS Saginaw, a Muncie or a T10 ; nuthin shifts like a genuine Hurst!
I don't know the exact ratios of the two transmissions, but I think the 4 speed will ease the spots where you are either turning it a little too tight in 1rst and 2nd or lugging it in 2nd and 3rd. Plus he will be gaining a synchronized 1rst. All in all a more enjoyable car to drive.
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