Saginaw 4-speed Ques???

[tkeduk8r]

Is a early 70's saginaw car four speed worth much??? I was thinkin about puttin this in one of my two wheel drive trucks... it was brought in by a student of a farm, thought i might shoot him a couple bucks for it if it is worth it... There is no shifter, but the shifting linkage moves reasonably freely... I tried decoding it, but the stamping has been stamped over at least twice and it is very difficult, i am assuming it has been rebuilt then... so what dya think its worth??? I would prolly rebulid it by myself to prove to myself i could do it, and then take pics to use for my auto students... but whats it worth, and is it as durable as a muncie or bw???? thanks fellas...
--Mike

[tkeduk8r]

man i was repetative on that question...

[jhwkns]

Are they as strong as a Muncie?... No, but they hold up fine. I've had one in my pickup for years. I rebuilt mine last year after who knows how many miles. I put 60k miles on it after bolting it in straight from the JY. The rebuild parts were cheap, and the overhaul was not difficult. It's a simple swap. It'll bolt directly to your bellhousing, and requires no driveline modifications. I'm using Hurst linkage on mine. (they have a kit for our trucks). The shifter placement is perfect, and there is no problem fitting it under a low hump. I use Redline synthetic gear oil. My tranny is quiet, and it shifts great.

What's it worth?... I paid $100 for mine.

Check the input shaft for end-play, and wobble, remove the side cover for a visual inspection. If everything looks good BUY IT!

[jmanz69]

I have one to go in mine. I got it off ebay for $100. It does need a rebuild though. I have the kit, just haven't had time to do it. IF it ever warms up here a little, I want to do it. It was -8 without the windchill this morning. It's been years since it's been this cold for this long here. Anyway, it should hold up fine if you aren't running a lot of HP. I could replace mine a lot for the price of a Muncie rebuilder!! I can't see spending that kind of cash on a core.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

I ran one in my 72 when I was in H.S. and as a dumb kid I put it threw it's pace's only took it out when I got a bigblock for the truck .....

[Benrs86]

dang i feel dumb now...i paid 180 for mine and i need to rebuild it now. i just got the 75 dollar rebuild kit. i had it apart last fall because it wasnt going into reverse so i just took the big grinder and angled the teeth, put it together with paper bag gaskets and it was great. now its leaking like mad. so im gonna rebuild it, but other than all that its nice. i used the camaro shifter that it came out of, which puts the shifter up under the seat. i sort of like that. at the last car show i was at like 5 people asked if it was an automatic or manual because they couldnt find the shifter.

[jimfulco]

ID info & parts at www.dandltransmission.com/saginaw.html

Parts at www.kajunjon.com

[Grim Reaper]

Excuse my ignorance and change of direction here but how is the shifter mounted on those? I have a Sag 3 speed in my Pontiac and I hate the upside down shift pattern. Looking to get a normal 1 up pattern and a little better gear split. Problem is factory console so I have to stice with a side shifter. M21's and M22 are though the roof when you can find them.

[Olden Days]

Grim Reaper "I hate the upside down shift pattern."

What do mean upside down shift pattern? Is it posible you have the shifting levers upside down on the tranny? That would cause the pattern to be upside down when you shift. Dont ask me how I know

[67chevemall]

Give em $20 for the Sag. Find a Muncie to buy and sell the Sag to Ebay for $125

[John Fabris]

I went to the Turlock swapmeet in California, and my buddie brought two of the sag 4-speeds for $120. The 3-speeds were going for about $50 each... Only saw one muncie 4-speed was selling for $500.

[rodnok1]

They are no where near as strong as muncie or bw. I used to get them for 75 bucks and tear them up in 3-4 months in a Trans Am with no where near the weight or engine I have now. Bought a BW about 10 years ago and only rebuilt it once when I broke a tooth off first gear when dropping clutch at 6 grand, still made it home just used second.

[Beefcake]

only thing nice about the saginaw, is it fits right in place with a 3-speed.

[tkeduk8r]

well i got the trans, but i still hafta open it up to see what kinda carnage is inside... now im tryin to figure out what the ratios are... I ve been reading about some marks on the input shaft and I dont know what im looking for.. anybody have experiences with this??? thanks for all the help, and ill keep you all updated...
--Mike

[jmanz69]

The marks are grooves ground right into the shaft. You can't miss them. They go all the way around it. It will have 0,1,2, or 3 rings. That's how you tell the different ratios.

[tkeduk8r]

well im assuming then that I dont have any rings... which would mean a 2.58 first gear...hmmmmm thats bout the closest gear ratio me thinks... hopefully the inside looks as good... any pics of this????...
_mike

[botboy]

If you don't decide to keep that tranny lmk, I'm in Delano MN and would definitely like to drop that auto for a 4-speed (at least that will hold me off till I can afford a T56....) botboy60@hotmail.com

[tkeduk8r]

Hello to Delano...well im gonna keep er round for a while till i rebuild it... thanks though... but is there any pics of the marks on the input shaft??? I just wanna double check... thanks
--Mike

[Grim Reaper]

Originally posted by Olden Days
Grim Reaper "I hate the upside down shift pattern."

What do mean upside down shift pattern? Is it posible you have the shifting levers upside down on the tranny? That would cause the pattern to be upside down when you shift. Dont ask me how I know

No this is factory and the shift knob even shows it. 1'st is down where second would be in a 4 speed. Makes for a ***** to speed shift it. LOL

Car has been wrecked 3 times because reverse is up where 1st is on a 4 speed. People hope in and back into things thinking they were in 1st.

I just hate the 3 speed but everything is numbers matching.

I found an Add for a 454 FI Goodwrench motor with 10k on it and all the FI stuff but the fuel pump. Thinking about buying it and putting up the numbers matching stuff and getting it back out on the street. Motor needs a rebuild in it right now. I could use the tranny and swp off the BOP but I would rather have a 4 speed. After rereading this I'm not so sure A saginaw 4 would stand up to a hard driven 454.

[tkeduk8r]

so what exactly is the shift pattern on a car (not truck) saginaw four speed???? is reverse to the rigth and down with a regular H pattern to the right????
--Mike

[tkeduk8r]

Oops.. to the drivers left and down.....the the H pattern to the right....

[Benrs86]

yep, upside down shift pattern. did it too mine when i put it back together. dang, thats another reason i want to rebuild it

[Earl Junior]

I had one fo these four speeds in my truck. Well, that isn't quite honest, I had four of these in my truck.

With a mildly stout 350 (~300 bhp, 4.11 gears) I was going through them at one a year in high school.

But I was brutal too. Power shifting everything, long burnouts, infrequent maintenance and cheap gear oil. I was getting them at the junk yard for $75, opening them up, cleaning any junk out, filling them back up with 80/90 and running them.

They definitely don't like to roast the tires in reverse. I managed to split a case, snap a shaft and shove a gear through the side of one. That was an interesting experience.

[jimfulco]

That shift pattern is not upside-down. All 3-speeds are like that.

[tkeduk8r]

so is this the pattern......
1 2
R 3 4

???????
--Mike