Saginaw tranny swap for my '49 GMC
 

Who has changed out there 4 speed tranny for the Saginaw swap?
With the conversion that Patrick sells.
I have my ole '49 GMC with a rebuilt 228 and I was looking to swap out that granny tranny for the Saginaw, and I was wondering for those of you who have done this... What do you think?
Or those of you who haven't, give me you thoughts...

They are a cheap tranny, I know, but work well, I was wondering if the swap is worth the bother especially since most of my truck driving will be scooting around town...
I would also keep my granny tranny for safe keeping... you know the whole originalality concept, I may want to put it back in one day...

Re: Saginaw tranny swap for my '49 GMC
 

I've not done it, but have talked with people who have. They seem to fall into three groups, those who have got the truck back on the road yet; those who love it, and those who wish they had gone the T-5 and open driveline approach.

I'd suggest thinking carefully about the overall ratios you want before making the decision. I've been driving with the the original granny gear 4-speed for several years having swapped to an open rear with 3.08 gears. I've been pretty happy with the combination. I can cruise at 70 more limited by suspension than gears and I get 17 mpg on the highway.

The Saginaw might be more pleasant to drive and you would have less RPM loss between gears so it would accelerate more smoothly.

So those are my thoughts. My next move will be to swap to an automatic because health issues are making the clutch harder for me each year.

Re: Saginaw tranny swap for my '49 GMC
 

I agree with Steve. A conversion to open drive with taller rear end gears will give you much better driveability than adapting the Saginaw to the torque tube. It will very likely cost less too.

Ray