i need 4sp info please

[Benrs86]

hey i want to switch from my 3 on the tree. i want a 4 speed. the local junkyard has a 4 speed saginaw for 125 bucks but i know i could get it for under 100 from them. would it be worth it. id need a floor shifter but other than that will it work? is the saginaw an ok tranny? so far all i have is a pretty much stock 350. freshly rebuilt with edelbrock intake and carb so no big horsepower. i really dont want a granny 1st. do these have real fast reverse gears like the 3 speeds? any info? i want to know everyhting before i buy one becasue im in highschool now and my pickup has completely drained my bank account and i dont work in the winter, just the summer. thanks for any tips or advice, Ben

[crazy longhorn]

its pretty much a bolt in, just cut the hole & mount the shifter. Take a look at the hole size in the bell tho.....the car bells had a smaller hole to center the trans. if you have the saginaw 3 spd , you should be able to swap the front bearing retainer to get the proper pilot. Good luck....crazyL

[Benrs86]

is it a good trannsmission? where would i find a cheap shifter? thanks, Ben

[jeffbo]

Hi Ben. It's nice to finally see another SD member here. I was just wondering what your local junkyard is, and if they have many '67-72 parts. By the way, nice looking truck. You definitely made more progress on yours during high school than I did (graduated in '01).

[Benrs86]

hey jeff, there are 3 decent junkyards by sioux falls.

Ardnt's WrecKing is the one i mentioned, and is the best/cheapest. they dont have very many 67-72s, but they let you walk into the yard if you are nice. maybe 6 or 7 67-72s.

Barney's is in sioux falls on Cliff and they dont let you go back in the yard, but i have seen one 69 there that had pwer steering and brakes, but they are terribly expensive.

Nordstroms is northeast of sioux falls a few miles and is huge. just in the back row i counted 14 67-72s. but you have to talk to the right people to get to walk back there. pretty cheap also. i bought my 97 dodge seat and a grill for 200.

[jeffbo]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check them out next time I fo to SF. There's really not to many junkyards around the Huron area with old cars/trucks. There is a guy that lives a few miles east that has a ton of old cars. It is pretty much a junkyard, but it's not really a business. Just a guy with a lot of old cars. Most of them are pretty shelled out and beyond restoration, but there is a lot of parts out there. There's also a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of town that is full of old cars and trucks but it's hard to get people to sell the stuff.

[crazy longhorn]

the saginaws are a medium duty trans, definatly not as stout as an M 20 or21 muncie, or a borg warner T 10.......but will handle a little abuse. hurst shifters arent cheap, but are good units. you might try summit racing on that.......crazyL

[CoryM]

Uh, you do not want a car saginaw in a truck. They are too weak for a camaro never mind a truck that weighs 1000lbs more empty.
You will want a Super T10 for a truck IMO , the M22 dont really have a great gear ratio and are far too expensive.
CoryM

[crazy longhorn]

if you are racing the truck, NO you dont want a saginaw. For street, & alittle fun they are fine. i ran a saginaw 4 spd 25,000 miles behind a pretty warm 327 in a 72 c10.......a 6500 rpm shift to 3rd gear finally did it in.......but it saw a lot of abuse in that 25,000 mi! the ratios will definatly be better than the 3 spd thats in the truck..... crazyL