4 speed w/granny gear...lets talk...

[BIGBLU 72]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Wow that makes me very happy!

[1969K10]

about the only time i use 1st, is when i have a load in the bed, or pulling a trailer or a truck on the tow bar. and it's not that i need to use 1st, but i know it's easier on the clutch to use 1st.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by BAGNDRAGIT

i love my 465, course its backed by a 400hp+ 327

i havent used first gear since the day after i bought the truck.

Take it out to some open pasture, put it in granny, get out and walk beside it. It'll drive all by itself.

[bosco200]

lol I can start mine in first with the clutch out and giving it no gas....it just starts crawlin

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by bosco200

lol I can start mine in first with the clutch out and giving it no gas....it just starts crawlin

Same with mine , i also can take off in 4th at a dead stop. I was thinking about switching it out but i love that tranny and never have a problem with power or shifting. I like the granny low for pulling in my parking spot because its a steep driveway and car shows because the truck revs high so people get out of my wayscares the crap out of them when i tap the throttle. And of course showing up this old ford flat bed that was egging me on one night left a 20ft black mark from second just for him and his girlfriend that insulted my truck and the best part is he wouldnt even get within 20ft from me after that i guess he learned to respect the chevy. Seen him at car shows to but never comes up to me or even looks at me

[71gmcburb]

I grew up driving a 1969 chevy c-30 with a 235? I-6 and a granny 4spd and 4-10s couldn't go over 60 in it or the motor would heat up (my oldest sister cooked 3 motors in it) I never had a problem with the spread. I grew up on a large family farm in Iowa and I rember taking that truck out to the pasture w/60-70 hay bales loaded on the flatbed putting it in 1st letting the clutch out. it would idle so slow that I could walk faster then the truck was moving, hopping on the bed and kicking bales off as it went down the pasture. at the end of the field I would hop off turn it around and did it again. In the winter my dad would get a front end loader bucket full of salt and sand onto the bed and that truck would go anywhare we wanted to go and punch threw snowdrifts higher than the truck lol

[bosco200]

Lol I can take off in 4th at dead stop to....God I love these trucks.....and I love showing up those cute little fords.

[71gmcburb]

Originally Posted by 69GMCLonghorn

Tow it with a Prius?

roflmao

[dan42]

This is an old thread, but it's great that so many guys have the old SM 465/420. They are just classic truck trannys and really fun to drive; like it has been said, you can lug them way down, and rev them fairly high; they are noisy and a little clunky compared to modern trannys, but they are purely functional beasts that are indestructible and give your truck a lot of personality. I always wanted one as a kid, and I don't think I'll ever change mine out, regardless of everything else I do. The cool factor is pretty high, IMO.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by dan42

This is an old thread,.....

What's the statute of limitations?

I say no thread is too old for these old trucks.

[BIGBLU 72]

talk about walking beside it, put one down in Low Lock and 1st! id almost bet it would pull a house off its foundation! that low gear has gotten me outta some wild situations where there could be no roll back on a hill or stuck in the mud!

[Shyguy]

One of these old 4 speeds is lot of fun behind a 454 with 3.73 gears.

[vectorit]

I absolutely love the SM465 4 speeds with the low first gear!

Put my burb into 4 low, lock the hubs, then slip into first gear on a very steep dirt trail and it will crawl up by it's self as I walk outside next to it nudging the steering wheel through the open window! All this happens while at idle speed of about 800 RPM. (Funny, my Dad demonstrated this to me when I was kid).

The sound of the 327 and all the gears, from the 4.57 axles, SM465 1'st gear, and Rockwell T-221 Transfer case... Music to my ears and always puts a grin on my face.

Glad you got your engine tuned right, and now you can realize the full potentials of your truck in it's current configuration.

[kcsa75]

So, now I need to know how to get about 20 MPG around town with it?


Bob

When you get that figured out, let me know will ya? I think I have a sticky choke or something, but I can't hard drive past a gas station without having to fill up!

[Shaky]

Make your 4-speed into an 8-speed. I loves me some SM420!!!

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by Shaky

Make your 4-speed into an 8-speed. I loves me some SM420!!!

what the heck is on that thing lol

[LostMy65]

I saw one of those sometime back.
It's a gearbox that bumps the ratios up.
If I remember correctly, 4th is bumped up from 1:1 to 1:1.23 or something.
It puts granny at a normal first ratio, and makes 4th like an overdrive.

[LostMy65]

Found it:
http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_cata...nsmission.html

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by treveiger

what the heck is on that thing lol

SM420 with a Gear Vendors overdrive behind it.

[Cole Trickle]

I like my sm465

I can't find first 80% of the time but it will bark the tires on the 2-3 shift.

[RichardJ]

It would cost you $3k for the gear vendors unit plus a driveshaft. you could put a NV4500 5spd for a lot less and have a better and lighter setup.
I'm not going to say I'm crazy about the SM465, but it is a whole lot better that a column shift 3 spd.
My '67 had the all-syncro 3spd with 4.56 rear gears. I hated the column and hauling any real load was hard on the clutch. Getting it moving in 1st or reverse could get some clutch smell, especially a heavy load on a hill.
I replaced the 3 spd with the SM465 and it was a lot better.
I replaced the the 4.56 gears with 3.54 gears (original DANA) and it was then FANTASTIC.
With 4.56 gears, I was in the slow lane with the engine screaming. With the 3.54 gears I am in the fast lane running 70-75 with little effort. It didn't loose any pulling power, it just does it faster.
I added headers, OK.
I rebuilt the engine, OK. This was days before the gear change, but the gears woke it up.
I added P/ disc brakes, OK.
I added P/steering, OK.
I added AC, TERRIFIC. I love this old truck.

Hands down, AC and taller rear gears are the best improvements I have made to this old truck.

[j ripper]

sm 465 here, and i love it.

[Frank71]

I was thinking of swapping mine out....but hearing everyone having so much fun I think I must be missing something? Maybe I should start pulling some fords around parking lots!!!

[Kcarm]

This is random but im pretty sure my truck has the exact same setup as yours, i agree the transmission leaves much to be desired

[treveiger]

To get it in first some times ill let out the clutch a bit then push it back in and wait a sec then try to put it in, works everytime. These things are great. I love taking off in first in traffic even just to get her to bark but not fun when a cop starts eyeing you