I've had a Muncie close ratio and, later on, a Saginaw in another car. Maybe I'm romanticizing my memories, but the Muncie seemed like a date with the prom queen while the Saginaw was more like the boney lookin' hall monitor. They both could do the same basic things but I think you know where I'm going with this. I swear the Muncie could perform tricks with no complaints and paste a smile on my face while the Saginaw was just fine in the missionary position.
That, IMO is a hard question to answer, as there's a lot of different versions of the T5. In the distant past I had a car with Saginaw, but it didn't have enough power to endanger the transmission. At present I have a '40 Ford coupe with a mild SBF and a WC T5 from a Mustang. Never put it on the strip and don't abuse the trans, but it does get some "spirited" driving now and then, and it's doing fine. I sure like that overdrive 5th for road trips. Now my '31 "A" hiboy has a toploader behind a SBC that is built fairly radical, about all that could be done that isn't is a stroker crank. Don't think I would want a T5 or a Saginaw in it cause it does get beat on and run at the strip from time to time @ nostalgia events.
There were a lot of oddball combos out there. My last Saginaw came out of a '68 SS 396 Chevelle, was supposed to be stock for that car. I recall a lot of cars like the '68 Buick Skylark GS came with the Muncie 3-speed.
The older M20 Muncies had no rings on the input shaft until 1966. These also had a 2.56 1st gear, went to the 2.52 in 1966.
I'm beating the snot out of my '64 vintage M20. No big hole shots though. It rows through the gears nicely, shifting at 4500 or 5000 RPMs.
It depends on which T5 and Saginaw you're comparing.... There's a bunch of T5 variations out there, and even the so-called 'World Class' aren't all created equal. The first one appeared in '85 on 5.0 Mustangs and was no stronger than the non-WC it replaced (rated at 265 ft-lbs); the improvements were in operation, not strength. In '90, the Mustang got an improved version that bumped it to 300 ft-lbs. For the '93 Cobra R Mustang, Ford upgraded the T5 yet again, up to 330 ft-lbs, This is the version sold as an aftermarket part after it's limited appearance in the Cobra. For the 351W-powered '95 Cobra, Ford went to the Tremec 3550 (350 ft-lbs) as Ford deemed the T5 too light for the increased torque. GM used the first two versions of the WC in the Camaro/Firebird, but the 330 ft-lb version was only used by Ford as OEM and only in the limited-production Cobra. The term 'World Class' is thrown around a lot, but there was fewer built than thought. There are aftermarket suppliers that can upgrade the T5 further (some are claiming 400 ft-lbs), but cost will be equal to buying a new 3550. For a few bucks more, you can buy a TKO... Saginaws are roughly comparable, but it still depends on which version you have. Close-ratio gear sets will get you about the same rating as the 'best' WC T5, the wide ratio boxes will be less. General rule of thumb with any manual trans: the lower your first gear ratio, the lower the torque rating.
Never heard that one. The M20 was the 1st of the series otherwise. Prior to that the T10 was the flavor of the day... or maybe not.
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