Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

so $217 dollars later (yes more than what we paid for the transmission in the first place) see lesson #1 above, ha ha we had ourselves what we believe is a proper or more better transmission mounted shifter linkage - this one I was told came out of a Chevelle

[Gregski]

and this is what the shifter bits looked like when they arrived, can't wait to bolt them on and give them a go shiftin gears

hopefully they don't position the shifter too far back where we have bench seat clearance issues

kinda cool that the eBayer threw in that white shifter ball, I happen to have a shifter stick that I hope will work so this should give me everything I need

[Gregski]

Saginaw Specifics

When looking at a Saginaw transmission, the front input shaft will likely have one or multiple grooves cut around its diameter. These grooves are there to indicate the ratios of the gears inside the transmission.

0 grooves: First 2.84, Second 2.01, Third 1.34, Fourth, 1.00

1 groove: First 2.54, Second 1.84, Third 1.44, Fourth, 1.00

1 groove: First 2.54, Second 1.84, Third 1.32, Fourth, 1.00

2 grooves: First 3.11, Second 2.20, Third 1.47, Fourth, 1.00

3 grooves: First 3.50, Second 2.46, Third 1.65, Fourth, 1.00 (I believe ours has three grooves so it's this one)

[rusty76]

This ought to be fun. I’m watching. I know you are ready to cruise a new four speed.

[Gregski]

so decided to clean the Saginaw four speed transmission a bit, using Mineral Spirits from Home Depot, a wire brush, and some paper towels

[Gregski]

remember our goal being: Progress Not Perfection

[Gregski]

and here it is with the Hurst four speed shifter linkage mounted and my old chrome HURST shifter installed, not sure if this stick will work/clear but we shall see, it does look pretty cool though

of course couldn't mount the white ball do to thread differences not only size but also pitch, coarse vs fine, it's not easy fellas, really wanted to see that ball atop the stick

[Gregski]

When looking for a brand new Hurst shifter components I further learned there were two Saginaw transmission types the 441 and the 456.

Hurst makes linkage for the 441 but not for the 456. So naturally I believe I have the 456, lol. Though with that Chevelle style bracket I think it makes it a moot point as to which one I have the 441 vs the 456 as it mounts the shifter using the bracket and ignored the holes in the tailshaft.

hope you is following all this it can get unnecesarily complicated

and I still don't get how this is supposed to be a torque tube transmission as it accepts a regular Turbo 350 yoke and has a rear seal for an open shaft, but the graphic saying it could be off of a 1981-82 Camaro or Firebird makes me feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside

[hatzie]

The F-body torque tube mounts to the three holes on the bottom of the tailhousing.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

The F-body torque tube mounts to the three holes on the bottom of the tailhousing.

thanks bud anyway you can help me find a pic of one, I can't seem to find it on the Google, ha ha

[brakenit]

Originally Posted by Gregski

thanks bud anyway you can help me find a pic of one, I can't seem to find it on the Google, ha ha

He meant torque arm, 3rd and 4th gen f-bodies had a torque arm suspension. C5 and newer Corvettes have a torque tube.

A bushing bolts to the tail housing of the transmission and then a link connects the rear axle to that bushing to control axle rotation. It's basically a type of 3 link suspension.

Looks like the Vega had a torque arm suspension as well.

I found this picture here.

http://dave.h-body.org/H-body%20Conversion%20Tips.htm

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by brakenit

He meant torque arm, 3rd and 4th gen f-bodies had a torque arm suspension. C5 and newer Corvettes have a torque tube.

A bushing bolts to the tail housing of the transmission and then a link connects the rear axle to that bushing to control axle rotation. It's basically a type of 3 link suspension.

Looks like the Vega had a torque arm suspension as well.

I found this picture here.

http://dave.h-body.org/H-body%20Conversion%20Tips.htm

Thank you, aha, I appreciate that, but there's a big difference between a torque tube and a torque arm. I can buy into the torque arm setup, the torque tube as you pointed out I only knew of one modern car that had it that being the Corvette, the older Chevys may have had it but those may have been pre War cars or 50s.

[brakenit]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Thank you, aha, I appreciate that, but there's a big difference between a torque tube and a torque arm. I can buy into the torque arm setup, the torque tube as you pointed out I only knew of one modern car that had it that being the Corvette, the older Chevys may have had it but those may have been pre War cars or 50s.

I agree, I don't understand why your graphic says torque tube since that should refer to some type of enclosed driveshaft which no Camaro ever had.

[Gregski]

it's that time of year again Comrads, haha

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Saginaw Specifics

When looking at a Saginaw transmission, the front input shaft will likely have one or multiple grooves cut around its diameter. These grooves are there to indicate the ratios of the gears inside the transmission.

0 grooves: First 2.84, Second 2.01, Third 1.34, Fourth, 1.00 (I believe ours has zero grooves so it's this one)

1 groove: First 2.54, Second 1.84, Third 1.44, Fourth, 1.00

1 groove: First 2.54, Second 1.84, Third 1.32, Fourth, 1.00

2 grooves: First 3.11, Second 2.20, Third 1.47, Fourth, 1.00

3 grooves: First 3.50, Second 2.46, Third 1.65, Fourth, 1.00

And the one with the tallest first gear (2.54) can handle the most torque. That's the ratio our trucks used for 350s with 3-speed manual trans.

The 3.50 first gear was used behind small six cyl engines, like the 250. Your 2.84 is probably right on the ragged edge for a 350, but I know you're a conservative driver.

[rusty76]

Is that a current pic of Rusty? Man what happened to the hood? I still like seeing you taking Rusty camping.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Is that a current pic of Rusty? Man what happened to the hood? I still like seeing you taking Rusty camping.

yes current pic, used wrong acid, muriatic instead of phosphoric to clean it, broke my heart when the rust came back, got second hood, will paint it instead, the rusted one is also tacoed

peace and chicken grease,
g

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

...but I know you're a conservative driver.

ha ha, yup, I almost chocked on my beer when I read that, sure thing I'm a super hypermiler, lol

[Gregski]

Rusty treated me to some scary transmission noises on the way to work this morning to where I had to limp it home after work. So I decided to open up Midnight Auto and go Def Con 4 on the ol' OD trans!

I lifted the truck up to the highest click on the Harbor Freight 6 ton jacks and went to town

at nearly 10 PM it was still almost 80* F

[Gregski]

How does a one man with a bad elbow git the trans out by himself without a proper transmission jack you ask?

Introducing the Semi Fully Adjustable TransJack 3000... suitable for the semi amateur casual transmission swapper

brought to you by Pollack Potrafi (TM)

[Gregski]

and two short hours later she was out

Profanity Disbursement = Minimal

[Gregski]

mandatory stare and compare of the GM New Process NV833 and the Saginaw 4 Speed

hard to tell from the pics but they is nearly identical at roughly 21 5/16 inches long from bell housing to tailshaft end

[Gregski]

doing my best here to hold the squigly measuring tape with one hand and snap the pic with the other

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

I lifted the truck up to the highest click on the Harbor Freight 6 ton jacks and went to town

Can't tell you how awesome these 12-ton stands are. I've never had to extend them past half way up. Just trying to spend your money.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...hoCUsUQAvD_BwE

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Can't tell you how awesome these 12-ton stands are. I've never had to extend them past half way up. Just trying to spend your money.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...hoCUsUQAvD_BwE

me want