Restoring Rusty

[MikeB]

These 10" wheel cribs are nice, too, especially when jack stands only get in the way. But you need a serious floor jack and/or a 4x4 to get the truck high enough.
Of course, a 12-ft ceiling and a lift would solve all my problems.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

These 10" wheel cribs are nice, too, especially when jack stands only get in the way. But you need a serious floor jack and/or a 4x4 to get the truck high enough.
Of course, a 12-ft ceiling and a lift would solve all my problems.

You're killing me smallz, I love it! Yeah gotta watch out for the garage door opener box too cause it likes to hit the truck cab, ha ha.

[Gregski]

so I pretty much came to realize that when it comes to big parts replacements it's a three day love affair:

Day 1 - disassembly and removal

Day 2 - tinkering and chasing parts

Day 3 - reassembly and installation

So today was Day 2, this means usually lots of hours spent working with not much to show for.

I learned that GM likes to make two different bell housings, ones for trucks and ones for cars, the truck ones have a slightly larger input shaft housing hole, my transmission came off of a car so although I could bolt it up to a truck bell housing it wouldn't be wise as the smaller input shaft housings would not properly center the trans on the bell

so off with the car input shaft housing

[Gregski]

worth mentioning is that divit / gap for the juices to lubricate the front bearing I recon, this is important as the input shaft housing has to be clocked proper

[Gregski]

I did procure a New Old Stock (NOS) truck input shaft housing, yes these are a bit harder to find and I recon less popular

Saginaw 4 Speed Manual Transmission Input Shaft Housing Part Number: 3920738

[Gregski]

and the mandatory stare and compare of the car vs truck Saginaw four speed transmission input shaft housings

(you notice how I spell stuff out and seem repetitive this is to aid the next generation of Shade Tree Mechanics STMs in their wrenching endeavors and searches on this forum) The Greg is all about giving back, ha ha

[Gregski]

you will note that the truck input shaft housing came with an input shaft seal but not with the big round gasket itself, so we wasted half a day visiting all the local parts houses trying to find one...

this is where The Greg gets bent out of shape when his Pontiac and Mopar friends tell him, Chevy's are easy to work on and you can get parts at your local Walmart! [insert expletive here]

so it was time to make our own gasket, using a Fel-Pro part number 3060 gasket assortment kit, thumbs up, using a ball peen hammer and a vice

The Greg is most pleased with the result

[Gregski]

after I replaced the input shaft housing the next thing I diddle daddled with was the reverse / backup light switch, mine had one of the blades broken off so I swapped it out with the one from the NP833 trans as they appeared similar in nature

oh and no parts houses had the one for the Saginaw and I tried late 60s / early 70s Camaros, Novas, Chevelles, etc.

[Gregski]

and a stare and compare of the Saginaw 4 speed manual transmission reverse / backup switch and the New Process NV833 overdrive manual transmission switch

[Gregski]

and here it is installed, fits like a glove

[Gregski]

next I removed and examined the speedo drive, these are color coded and correspond to a cheat sheet that shows you the number of gears / gear ratios etc.

it's so much easier to pop one out off the truck then having to crawl under it and leak gear oil so I decided to do it now

after I had it out and cleaned the plastic gear a bit I realized I could tell the color by just looking at the tip while it's installed but prior to the cleanup it was so black and dirty I couldn't tell what color it was, plus this way I could check it for brokerage and cracks etc.

those black O rings love to leak, so a trip to my local ACE Hardware store is in my future for some replacement generic thicker ones

[Gregski]

Next I transplanted the transmission mount and was again pleased that it bolted right up and just transferred over - thumbs up for sure

so far this is looking as an easy straight forward swap!

New Process NV833 overdrive manual transmission top

Saginaw Four Speed Manual transmission below it

(one lock washer decided to skip the photo shoot!)

[Gregski]

I realize this is boring, but like I said it's common Day 2 stuff, tons of work and not much to show for

Here I show you that the tail shaft yoke just transfers over as well, this is a dime a dozen TH350 yoke

also I would like to add that I wanted to replace the rear / tailshaft seal but none of the parts houses had them locally and although it appears to be the same one as for the TH350 (makes sense as the same yoke fits) it is being transferred from another store

[Gregski]

and that concluded Day 2 Festivities, yes some day I will work on a work bench and not the floor, that day will come!

[MikeB]

Good job Greg!

I'm not 100% sure, but a hardware store o-ring may not like gear lube. Wouldn't surprise me if your speedo housing fits lots of different GM transmissions, like Muncie and TH350. So you could probably pickup an o-ring from a trans shop.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Good job Greg!

I'm not 100% sure, but a hardware store o-ring may not like gear lube. Wouldn't surprise me if your speedo housing fits lots of different GM transmissions, like Muncie and TH350. So you could probably pickup an o-ring from a trans shop.

thanks for looking out bud, I will do some research on this, I appreciate it

[Gregski]

well it wasn't easy but I got her bolted up, I gotta be honest wichu at 46 years old I don't know how many more one man transmission swaps I got in me (minus a proper 4 post lift and a proper trans jack, ha ha)

[Gregski]

here I show you the trick I use to wiggle the transmission into final position once I lift it up with a jack

the stands and 2x4 work great with some tie downs, they only tipped over after it was already bolted up from all the fandangling, it's actually pretty sturdy otherwise

peace!

[LeesTruk]

Hmmmm… 46 and whining already!! Yeah, I've heard the story, "It takes all night to do what you used to do all night", too. But you know what? You get a little gear lube "in yer veins" and you won't quit wrenching. I'm 71, still playin' with my C10 (LSswap), and sure, you may need a little help from friends once in a while, but the smile on your face when the job is complete, is still the same no matter what your age.

[MikeB]

A few of us well-over-60 guys were reminiscing about the days when we could lie on our backs and "stab" a Saginaw or Muncie into the clutch & bellhousing without assistance or a jack. Hard to believe those transmissions have become so heavy over the years.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LeesTruk

I'm 71, still playin' with my C10 (LSswap), and sure, you may need a little help from friends once in a while, but the smile on your face when the job is complete, is still the same no matter what your age.

SUBSCRIBED, lol

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

A few of us well-over-60 guys were reminiscing about the days when we could lie on our backs and "stab" a Saginaw or Muncie into the clutch & bellhousing without assistance or a jack. Hard to believe those transmissions have become so heavy over the years.

Man I swear up until about 45 I felt like a 20 year old, then as if somebody flipped a switch and my body started to break down, back, shoulder, knee now elbow, and don't get me wrong, I don't smoke, I eat clean and I exercise 6 days a week!

[Gregski]

so moving on, hesitated a bit before I had to notch the trans tunnel a bit on this numbers matching, one of 1,365,487 built by all left handed workers, non convertible, non C pillar, factory AC delete trucks - so there goes the concours d'elegance

[Gregski]

alright so I'm lovin' the HURST Goose Neck shifter rod, or swan neck you get the idea nice an tall and swoopin' and plenty of clearance (both between the dash and the bench seat)

so I go to put the icing on the cake (aka the 4 speed shifter ball) and the thread on the rod is 3/8"-16 Coarse... but the thread on the darn ball is 1/2"-20 Fine... go figure nothin's easy

[Gregski]

so I jump in my Seven-Fo' and bust a quick one to Home Depot, but they are useless and don't have any 1/2"-20 bolts let alone adapters

so then I hit Pep Boys (always my last choice for anything) but they do have a decent hardware selection so I give them a try

that's where I buy this joke of a shifter ball that is so bad I return it the next day, but I just gotta show you what a piece it was...

it has no threads its some crazy universal slip on setup that slipped right off the first time I went to grab a gear, when I returned it the guy at the counter didn't even bat an eye just gave me my money back