Convert 3 on tree or truck 4 spd? Need help

[Bigwolfe87]

I have a 68 chevy c10 with a 327 and 3OTT, can you convert these to floor shifts? if so how? and I have a 4 speed out of a truck i picked up for $50 should I use this instead?

[oldblue1968chevy]

leave it three speed for the cool factor!

[hugger6933]

I bought a 70 last week with the 3ott. Ihad a lot of trouble getting her home because of the 2-3 hangup. The shifter is really sloppy and hard to manage. I have another column[or 2] I could put in for now but my plan is a T-5 overdrive install. I allready have the s-10 trans and the v-8 camaro trans just have to go collect these up. I also have a van tilt that I shaved the shifter bowl and gear pointer on to make it smooth so I can hve a tilt in there when I changr to the floor. To answer your questions yes, you can put a shifter in the floor , they are readily available and not that difficult to install

[oldblue1968chevy]

I believe you can adjust it and you can get new bushings. If your interested i'll find you the links

[CG]

You just need to find an aftermarket floor shifter for that application and install it. It "should" come with everything you need. When you are done, you just toss all the three on the tree stuff.

I wouldnt bother with the truck four speed, but that is a personal preference.

[oldblue1968chevy]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=215307

[CG]

Thats a nice link ... good read, thanks

[mr.chevy]

Yeah, You could convert or put a truck 4-speed in it..........Or you could go and get a New Process 833 4 speed with an overdrive out of 80-85 Chevy C10. That is what i am doing on mine. just need to buy auto cross member and shorten your shaft. Be sure to get the bell housing with it.

Here's a link about them:

http://www.classicjunkyard.com/new_process_a833.htm

[68LambrechtC10]

Been thinking about the 4 on the tree....and found this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-40Opubirw

reverse 'knob' would have to go somewhere nifty tho

[zicc1835]

hey Jim,
shaving the bowl ....interesting can you give me more info i have 2 original auto truck tilts or should i look to do a trade for a floor shift tilt instead of molesting them what u think
jz

Originally Posted by hugger6933

I bought a 70 last week with the 3ott. Ihad a lot of trouble getting her home because of the 2-3 hangup. The shifter is really sloppy and hard to manage. I have another column[or 2] I could put in for now but my plan is a T-5 overdrive install. I allready have the s-10 trans and the v-8 camaro trans just have to go collect these up. I also have a van tilt that I shaved the shifter bowl and gear pointer on to make it smooth so I can hve a tilt in there when I changr to the floor. To answer your questions yes, you can put a shifter in the floor , they are readily available and not that difficult to install

[hugger6933]

What I did was to get a van tilt. I had been picking up a few items here and there after I bought my first truck that I didn't get to work on [much]. Then I found this van tilt it has some problems with the shifter the mech. where the shifter arm went into the arm at the top of the bowl was worn pretty bad and the pin that holds the arm in was wollowed out. So when I bought this 3 speed truck and decided it was to be a 5 speed, that column made perfect sense to me. I took the pin out holding the shifter arm in at the top, this wasn't a problem since it was all jacked up, I just pulled it with a pair of needle nose pliers. then I ground off the knot where the shifter arm had been. I also removed the shifter indicator screws and the lens and pointer, once that was done I welded up the little holes left from the screws. Next I made patches to go inside the bowl where the open areas are that are exposed from the removed parts. I slid the patches into place then placed fiber strand over the holes[fiber strand is a fiber glass based body filler but stronger]. With dry and ground smooth I then did the remaining body work with filler finishing with high build primer. One other thing. To keep the inside shift tube from moving around, I placed the shifter in what would have been the park position and then tacked the inner tube to the outer tube. Now the column is smooth all around it and look just as if it were one fro ma floor shift tilt. Now as far as doing one of yours I wouldn't I would get another instead of cutting an factory truck one knowing what they are going for . You can pick up one on E-Bay[van tilt] for 25% of what your will bring. Good luck if you need anything else holler. Jim

[jhwkns]

I wouldn't get a truck 4-speed unless you plan on pulling stumps. I've got a Saginaw in mine. They bolt right in with no modifications other than the hole in your floorboard. They're quiet, and it shifts real smooth. Hurst has linkage available that you can use with a bench seat.

[54belair]

Originally Posted by jhwkns

I wouldn't get a truck 4-speed unless you plan on pulling stumps. I've got a Saginaw in mine. They bolt right in with no modifications other than the hole in your floorboard. They're quiet, and it shifts real smooth. Hurst has linkage available that you can use with a bench seat.

Good for you Man---so few people have good words to say about a saginaw 4 speed. If you keep the horsepower down, and add in a little common sense---these were pretty good transys.

[In The Ten Ring]

Don't change it man. Get it fixed if it needs fixing but keep it. Not very many of those around.

Mine is a 3 speed on the column and for a long time I wanted to change it too but now, I like it just the way it is. It's definately different and not many thieves know how to drive it.

If you want a 4 in the floor....buy one. It's much cheaper in the long run and you don't alter what is a rare bird. Now if you just HAVE to get rid of your 3 on the tree, let me know so that I can get it from you. Just in case mine ever goes out. I'm serious. I'll keep all that for spare parts.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 54belair

Good for you Man---so few people have good words to say about a saginaw 4 speed. If you keep the horsepower down, and add in a little common sense---these were pretty good transys.

x3.

They are a nice little trans, in low/moderate hp situations.

Plus - you can get them with a 3.11 low gear which really helps those low/moderate hp engines get off the line!

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by mr.chevy

Yeah, You could convert or put a truck 4-speed in it..........Or you could go and get a New Process 833 4 speed with an overdrive out of 80-85 Chevy C10. That is what i am doing on mine. just need to buy auto cross member and shorten your shaft. Be sure to get the bell housing with it.

Here's a link about them:

http://www.classicjunkyard.com/new_process_a833.htm

x2. This is what came in my '87 and I love it.

K

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by 68LambrechtC10

Been thinking about the 4 on the tree....and found this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-40Opubirw

reverse 'knob' would have to go somewhere nifty tho

OMGosh, that video is just plain COOL! So to the OP'er, that is one way to keep the "cool factor" AND get a 4 speed.

I really like the "open header switch."

[zicc1835]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

What I did was to get a van tilt. I had been picking up a few items here and there after I bought my first truck that I didn't get to work on [much]. Then I found this van tilt it has some problems with the shifter the mech. where the shifter arm went into the arm at the top of the bowl was worn pretty bad and the pin that holds the arm in was wollowed out. So when I bought this 3 speed truck and decided it was to be a 5 speed, that column made perfect sense to me. I took the pin out holding the shifter arm in at the top, this wasn't a problem since it was all jacked up, I just pulled it with a pair of needle nose pliers. then I ground off the knot where the shifter arm had been. I also removed the shifter indicator screws and the lens and pointer, once that was done I welded up the little holes left from the screws. Next I made patches to go inside the bowl where the open areas are that are exposed from the removed parts. I slid the patches into place then placed fiber strand over the holes[fiber strand is a fiber glass based body filler but stronger]. With dry and ground smooth I then did the remaining body work with filler finishing with high build primer. One other thing. To keep the inside shift tube from moving around, I placed the shifter in what would have been the park position and then tacked the inner tube to the outer tube. Now the column is smooth all around it and look just as if it were one fro ma floor shift tilt. Now as far as doing one of yours I wouldn't I would get another instead of cutting an factory truck one knowing what they are going for . You can pick up one on E-Bay[van tilt] for 25% of what your will bring. Good luck if you need anything else holler. Jim

thanks Jim for the tip and i will take your advice
jz

[special-K]

The Saginaw 4spd isn't as weak as so many seem to think. Me and my friends are 4spd junkies (for longer than many here have been in this world) and we feel the Sags ain't so bad. Eddie swears he's had better luck with the Saginaw than the Borg Warner. He's ripped a couple of those and no Saginaws. He presently runs one behind a ZZ3 in his '68. One thing's for sure,you can break'em all,but for what a Sag costs it doesn't hurt so bad. Don't miss a shift on any of them while in it or you'll know what I'm sayin'. I have a collection of about all of them. Sure,the hotter trucks will get the Muncies and I'll use the Saginaws in any 3spd I get.

[jhwkns]

Tim's right. We ran them in a IMCA Modified, and beat the snot out of them. I haven't always had a mellow engine in my truck either. I had one that went over 70k miles after rebuilding without touching it. I don't understand why they have such a dubious rep. I've had good luck. It's when you shock them that they break.

[Lattimer]

I ran a Saginaw for a while behind a 327. No issues. Got it for nothing and just had to put new seals in it and a new input bearing. Still have it sitting here in my garage. I didn't abuse it, and the engine isn't a monster, so it was fine.


However, now that I have the TKO..........its all smiles.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by special-K

The Saginaw 4spd isn't as weak as so many seem to think. Me and my friends are 4spd junkies (for longer than many here have been in this world) and we feel the Sags ain't so bad. Eddie swears he's had better luck with the Saginaw than the Borg Warner. He's ripped a couple of those and no Saginaws. He presently runs one behind a ZZ3 in his '68. One thing's for sure,you can break'em all,but for what a Sag costs it doesn't hurt so bad. Don't miss a shift on any of them while in it or you'll know what I'm sayin'. I have a collection of about all of them. Sure,the hotter trucks will get the Muncies and I'll use the Saginaws in any 3spd I get.

I think the bad rap comes from the folks who put them behind monsters and sidestep the clutch on almost every take off.

[special-K]

I think the only reason they got a bad rap is because they were used in Vegas. They weren't Vega transmissions,they were overkill in a Vega. It was pure economics,I think,why the Sags were used in Monzas and Vegas. They more the cheaper. Figure GM used their 3spd forever as well as the steering boxes. On the muscle cars they used the while variety and it's more confusing than I care to fathom. But,muscle cars were an upgrade and the extra cost was covered in the price. In a Vega it was just the standard transmission,like about all imports had,a 4spd.

I have seen many a Rock Crusher that pops out of 4th. I have one now. You know what the cause is? There's no detent and when you drive resting your hand on the shifter,as many do,eventually the shift fork gets spread