I finally got my Hornet back up to the shop and pulled the hood then motor out. And much to my surprise, it already had a Ford conversion to it at some point.
There was an 'upgrade' that you could do toget away from the weak Saginaw 4spd. You just had to over-bore the input shaft bearing hole larger to accept the Ford unit.
Can you tell me which one this is? I believe its' just a 4spd though.
If this one is a particularly strong one, I might get bills adapter..
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my understanding is the saginaw was the more rugged trans (muncie was the weaker unit?). i have a 3 on the tree shifted unit in my 72 chevy suburban c20 and i just picked up a 66-69 era unit with the borg warner r10 overdrive on the back in place of the tail housing so i can do a factory style bolt in o/d conversion on my truck. the saginaw 4 speed was a floor shift only model but used the same case and center shaft (thats why you can put the o/d on the 4 speed model by swapping the gears onto the overdrive spec center shaft and drilling 2 holes. the only thing i don't like is ford used the heavier rated r11 borg warner overdrive which is i don't believe is compatible with the chevy trans without serious mods. but i shouldn't have any problems provided i use royal purple fluid and don't abuse it. i have heavy trailer towing plans in the future. i like the column shifter but wanted to keep the clutch pedal and have an overdrive. didn't want to cut a hole in the floor on my valuable classic truck and use a modern 5 or 6 speed like everyone else.
there are plenty of arguments as to the pros and cons of each. the general consensus is that the saginaw is plenty stout for most uses. my 3/4 ton truck came with one from the factory so it can't be that bad. according to my research, the saginaw was the HD trans for chevy trucks back then.
i can't imagine a chevy v8 trans is gonna have trouble with a little 4 banger hooked to it, unless you have 1,000 hp, shifting at insane rpms and enough torque to move a small mountain. beat on it and ANY trans is gonna have a shorter lifespan!
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