would like to know what years the heavy duty mc1 muncie 3 speed were used ........i know they were in '69 carmaros etc...were they also used in the '70's chevy pickup trucks ?........i would like to find a wider ratio low gear unit, the '69 chevrolet car was a close ratio 2.42 ....thanks for any input......charlie.....'37 and '41 willys.....'71 nova......
This is from my 71' edition CHILTON'S: Chevrolet Camaro, Chevelle, Chevy II, and Chevrolet (I guess they mean full size cars?) 69-70; 70 Olds F-85 and 442; 70 Pont Grand Prix, 70 Tempest, GTO, and Firebird. This is not the truck manual. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I'd look for a 1970's truck unit that was behind a 6-cylinder. Other than that, I prefer truck boxes over car boxes. At the worst you may have to remove the side cover and count teeth on 1st gear or decode it from the ID numbers. Bob
I have a Muncie 3 speed and was contemplating using it in my 50 Chevy car. I'd be interested to know why it may be more desirable than a four speed.
For my every day driver, the 3-speeds worked well for me and I can get one in a truck yard cheaply when I want one. The 3-speed truck boxes always had a steeper 1st gear than the 4-speeds, great in a heavy Belair. Put a Hurst 4-speed t-handle on it and no one is the wiser, unless they get to drive it. Not that I'm out to mislead anyone, just like the t-handle over the ball. Bob
They are not necessarily more desirable just that they were cheaper sometimes cheaper is better. They got used by the roudny round guys alot because they didn't need the extra gear and they were lighter. They were or are pretty stout and for the price you normally can't find a 4 gear as stout as the Muncie 3 gear.
That's how I got hooked on them. If the track rules permitted, take out whatever gears you don't need. Chew one up on Saturday night, find another first thing on Monday morning. The truck units were incredibly strong. Bob
I've had one in my 48 for years simply because my buddy says, "here your truck needs this". Good solid box with full syncros including reverse.
Sorry, but Olds never used a Muncie 3 spd. The only three speed transmissions used by Olds were the Saginaw 3 spd in the lower HP cars and the Dearborn (don't call it a F-O-R-D!) toploader three speed in the 442s and the full size cars. I suspect that the toploader was also used in the Pontiacs in that list.
a passenger car tranny will not fit a 70 truck bellhousing. the truck bellhousing has a bigger hole. I'll send you a PM about a tranny
When I was in high school, one of the "older" guys (23) had a '69 Judge with a Muncie three speed in it (who the hell would pay for a Judge but not a Muncie four speed?). I bought it from him when he swapped to a four speed and put it in my '57 Chevy. It took a lot of abuse from me, but never failed.
I replaced the Saginaw three speed in my 1968 C-10 with a Muncie M-13 three speed. I was out of a 1974 Chevy van and I do beleive that it was a six cylinder van. Trans had a cast iron case, used regular Muncie four speed sychros and small parts (hubs sliders bearings, seals, dog rings, etc.). Service parts will not be a problem for ya. It also had the larger front bearing support to fit into the truck bellhousing. pass. car three speeds use a smaller one! Best of all first gear was a stout 3.03:1. With the 3.73:1 rear axle ratio, truck left the line quick! Yeah i drag raced it regularly too. i was still using the three on the tree shifter becuse is could not find a decent truck floor shifter conversion at the time. i tried several, but they were all made too cheaply and not very strong. I broke the Saginaw gearbox many many times, but i never broke the Muncie! Good luck!
I've swapped front bearing retainers, turned them down on a lathe, made spacer rings for them too. With a little ingenuity, any combo can be made to work. Bob
Sorry, but again, it was not a Muncie. The GTO and 442 both used the Ford Toploader three speed manual trans.
But you can buy one of these adapter rings: http://dennymac.com/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=1103&page_id=54
Those are exactly (give or take a few thousandths..) what we used to make up. We'd trepan them out of a piece of solid stock we had laying around. Bob
i have seen only the toploaded in 65 up gm products(cars) when hd was involved. owned 66 PONTIAC with a 3 speed on columb,friend had 65 2+2 with 421 and toploader,seen 65 buick skylark gs,64 lasaber,and 67 olds
Sorry back at you, but I know the difference between a Muncie three speed with a cast iron cover on the side and a Dearborn gearbox with a tin cover on the top (and, no, it wasn't a Saginaw; I know all about them, too). It came out of a '69 GTO Judge and went into my car--no, I don't have a copy of the build sheet in my pocket and no, I didn't research the car's history before I gave him $40.00 for the transmission and factory Hurst shifter.
I've head the HD Muncie 3 speed was used in other GM cars besides Chevys.If a Ford Toploader was used in GM cars,it must have used a GM type clutch spline or used a completely different clutch housing and disc being the Ford clutch shaft is a different length and spline and tranny bolt pattern than GM.And the pilot bushing and output spline too.
Im using a muncie 3 speed in my hotrod. Stood well with no complaits behind a 300 hp 350. See how it'll do behind a 450+ hp 327. I paid $25 for it 5 years ago. Never even had it open. Top gear is starting to whine a little so probably time for a rebuild.
thanks for the information guys.........i know the muncies 3 speeds weight about 20-25 lbs more than saginaw 4 speeds.....also the gears are wider than the saginaws or even muncie 4 speeds.......charlie.......
When did this become a rule on HAMB? other boards are "sensitive" on post bumping, I've never seen it be the case here. Hes asking relevant info in a thread about a topic that already exists. There are mods in place already, apply if you want to be one.
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