Saginaws were commonly used behind small blocks with upwards about 300 hp and 350 ft lbs of torque.Might have been used on some lower hp big blocks??They will tolerate more power on a car that doesn't hook up well.
Weak spot on a saginaw 4 speed was the first-reverse. they likes to split the case near the reverse idler shaft. muncie and T-10 put the reverse in the tail. Saginaw 3speed I'd say they are at least as strong as 4 speed or better. they were the choice of circle jerkers for years. Running smallblocks in cars AND trucks I never killed a 3 speed tranny not even in one of my 60-72 c-10's but cracked a few saginaw 4speeds in cars. Only problem I ever had with a 3 speed was jamming a column shifter and getting it stuck between gears.
well i got a 9" posi and somewhere around 500ftlbs. so if i dont dump the clutch ill be ok even to high revs?
well if the tires slip it wont be as much stress, so i figured if i wanted to shred my tires i wouldnt have to worry about it. im talkin more about lower rpm dumps that will lockup and launch.
could you be a little more specific? i mean if i baby it and idle through the gears ill be ok (but whats the fun in that). i dont plan on launchin it hard, just accelerate out of idle. but thats what im worried about it not being able to handle. im sure if i punch it too hard i could rip it apart, but im not sure if ill blow it or my tires first. i can always alter my driving habits till i save up some money to turbo it and replace everything, motor - back.
if you drive the car normal it will last a long time, you can bake the tires some as well, i have three of them, one was free and i have ran it for years behind a 250, in a pickup that was loaded with my iron work, maybe even over loaded, the other two i have i paid $30 for the pair, so go ahead and blow the first one up just so you know what it will take...lol
Haha dreamer. A million guys before you also tried to justify how they were somehow gonna magically exceed the transmission's ability by 200 ft-lbs. Seriously, if a sag would handle 500 ft-lbs with any abuse at all......do you think there'd be any market for a muncie? At 500, you're actually pushing a muncie or super T10 real hard, and would be wise to get it refreshed before inputting that much power. good luck
well thats why i posted this in the first place. can anybody recommend a 3sp manual, for when i do upgrade my drivetrain? it will be quite a time from now before i turbo my 496, and will never be my daily driver. everything everyones been telling me, this sagi will hold up fine to idle around car shows and for gentle traffic use(at least), but once ive saved enough money to replace drivetrain, ima dog it, so ill need something to hold 600+ftlbs and i plan to take that to the track.
I had one in my GMC powered '32 and later Vega at Bonneville and El Mirage. No burnouts there, but plenty of RPMs, for a GMC. Anyway mine went 177mph without ever breaking. I finialy went to a four speed and gave the three speed to my neighbor to replace the worn out one in his stocker station wagon
What kind of ride? will a truck 4speed fit? ...long as your not going to be speedshifting and getting on it. I'd spend the 2k for a richmond/dougnash 4+1 or maybe get a jerico 4speed. Nothing wrong with dropping in a turbo 400 or a 4l80e rpm's aren't going to change anything it's all how much power your feeding to it how much the clutch is slipping on a shift and how well the car is hooking up. wheelspin that stops suddenly from gaining traction brakes alot of stuff even in stockers
nice ride, the nice thing about the sag. 3 speed is there size, when the time comes just swap it for a sag. 4 speed, muncie, all the same size, same bolt pattern, same length driveshaft.
If you doubt the saginaws strength,find a 3 speed from a '64-'65 lemans. This was a ford toploader with GM's splines and length. It was also used in some chevy vans up till the early '80's. It was a strong piece of what. BULLETPROOF!!!!!!
I broke one when i was about 16ish in a '54 Chevy truck & a Stock '57 235 6 cylinder & '57 Chevy Rear. It will work .... For a Little while
If you plan on abusing it, get some back up saginaws to rebuild and have them ready for WHEN it grenades. I had to do that for years before I could afford a muncie. Snagged every 3 and 4 speed I could get my hands on every time I made a trip to the boneyard. Got real good at rebuilding manual trannies too.
I currently abuse a 4 speed Saginaw alot. Granted it's a four speed and not a three but it's pretty similar inside plus the gear. Case is the same. But I'm putting a high revving 327 with 2x4's on it and shift it like a muncie and so ar it's done well. I do have a Muncie on the shelf just in case. But have fun with it and remember a trans can take alot more power when you roll it on and don't shock it into duty. Preload the stress and it'll last longer and be more fun. I you have 500 HP you'll be breakin' traction easy even with those tires. Tim
No ?? Had a 7 bolt side cover & looked like a Saginaw 4spd with only 2 levers & 3 forward gears. I think i know what i had ...
Pontiac started using these transmissions in '65, mostly in GTOs. Tempests and Lemans still got the Chevy style non synchro low three speed in '65, and the new Saginaw in '66. Also, the Ford (or "Dearborn", as G.M. called them) three speeds didn't have the standard G.M. bolt pattern, so they won't bolt up to a Chevy bell housing. The B-O-P bell housings had both Chevy and Ford style bolt patterns drilled into them.
FWIW A guy over on the turboforums has/had a 3 speed lived for a while in his 65 Impala that made 600+rwhp and 700+rwtq. I'm sure this isn't the case with all 3 speeds because like Shifty said if they could hold that power reliably there wouldn't be a market for Muncies..... but I would like to see how long a 3 speed out of a 6 banger lasts lol
It wouldn't matter. A Saginaw is a Saginaw; the transmissions that came behind sixes weren't any weaker than the ones that came behind V8s.
Wow, now I know you're REALLY dreaming. Those back tires and 500 ft-lbs are a recipe for disaster. Anyone telling you otherwise drives like a sissy. I don't care how replaceable those transmissions are. Building around one is foolish and don't be suprised when failure also takes out the clutch or driveshaft and adds a couple hundy to the tab. Been there, done that. Reality is there are no strong, cheap manual car transmissions. No amount of "advice" is going to change that fact. Why in the world would you ever put that much power into a vehicle and then handicap it with a weak-suck transmission? You'd be far better off to install less power and build a reliable vehicle. Your build looks awesomely cool. Except that transmission. Good luck. Sorry if I sound dickish, but somebody's gotta be the bad guy and point out reality. There's times when the savings evaporate and you're still left with halfass components that are gonna break again. I notice this truck's got a 9" and a driveshaft loop. Are you seriously gonna drive it nicely? If you are that's a lot of wasted money and effort.
naaaaa no drivin nice! that 3 speed will hold & if it breaks there will be another to pick up real cheap.
Two questions, am I correct in thinking these are 1957/65 Chevy Saginaw 318 3 Speed and a 1957/65 Chevy Saginaw 319 3 Speed with R10 over drive will have the same HP and TQ ratings?? Second question is what is the HP and TQ rating for a Borg Warner T85s with R11?? Rich
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