Muncie 3 speed manual, model 318

[GPurdy]

Greetings gentlemen,

I am restarting a project I have had mothballed for 15 years now and finding parts is a little more difficult. I have 1958 Apache 1/2 ton custom cab deluxe. I am putting a 350 (60 over) in and I wanted to keep the interior stock and use the three speed column shift.
After taking my tranny to the shop for rebuild I got box of parts (disassembled) back with a note saying "Not worth the effort". So, now I need to find another Muncie 318 3 speed or a bolt on replacement that won't require me to modify the linkages.
I am not opposed to rebuilding the one I have if I can find a good source for parts and a service guide.
Any suggestions on parts, rebuild guide for the 318, or a compatible bolt in replacement for the 318 would be much appreciated.

[OrrieG]

Did the shops "not worth the effort" mean wear beyond normal replacement parts, they felt the cost would exceed finding another, or ???. Every week, guys on this board are dragging trucks home and first things to go are the six and three speed, just a matter of finding one in your area. Someone else can chime in on using a later model, not my area of expertise.

[GPurdy]

Not real sure to be honest, I looked over the parts and while the gears had some wear the cluster and main shaft looked good to me. That is why I am looking for a rebuild guide. I need to I.D. the parts and see what is available for replacements for the worn parts. It may be the shop just didn't want to mess with all the digging around for the parts...

[_Ogre]

post up some pics of your truck, we like pictures

probably not worth their effort, but then why did the shop tear it apart?
i'd do like orrieg suggests and find a take out
maybe someone on this forum has a donor that makes it worth shipping

those muncie 3 speeds are pretty much bullet proof
when you find another just clean it up and throw it in
they typically didn't have a 1st gear syncro,
if you pull the side cover off you will see chipped teeth
use it as is

[GPurdy]

A donor would be great. I would be happy to pay if one is available, plus shipping of course. Otherwise, I am still looking for a service manual so I can put my original back together.

[Russell Ashley]

Sounds like my truck. I have a 57 with a 350 and a Muncie 3 speed with the column shifter. I don't know if mine is a 318 but it has a very low first gear. My truck has a 273 rear so the low first gear is a good thing. Mine is getting noisey in second gear when I down shift to slow down and I would like to "upgrade" to a later model all syncro three speed. I believe that most any later model GM three speed will bolt in but might need a different clutch disk due to different spline count on the input shaft. From looking at pictures on CL I think you would need to use your original shifter arms on the transmission.

[OrrieG]

My Dad used to say when those old cast iron transmissions started to whine it meant they only had 50k miles left on them.

[solidaxel]

Will a Camaro Saganaw 3 speed work?
At least it has a syncro 1st gear

[GPurdy]

I don't know, I was hoping you guys could tell me?

Thanks for the suggestion,

GP

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by solidaxel

Will a Camaro Saganaw 3 speed work?
At least it has a syncro 1st gear

yes it will, that's the nice thing about working on chevy's
they didn't change much over the years

[GPurdy]

Will I need to replace the shift linkages as well in order to stay with a column shift? If so, would they be the same ones that were originally paired with the Camaro tranny?

GP

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by GPurdy

Will I need to replace the shift linkages as well in order to stay with a column shift? If so, would they be the same ones that were originally paired with the Camaro tranny?

GP

It looks to me like you would only need to take the shift arms off of your current transmission and put them on the newer one. Most of the later model cars that came with a three speed had the shifter on the floor, and the arms are different.

[solidaxel]

I will look at the 3 sp Saginaw and see what size the 1-R and 2_3 are
You may need to shorten your drive shaft also

[solidaxel]

The length from the bell housing to the tail shaft seal is 21 1/2
The 1-R and 2-3 is a "keyed 3/8" with a 1/4 " bolt to hold the linkage in place
Put the arms in neutral and the transmission in neutral and see where you have to make the corrections, looks like very little.

I ran this 3 sp Saginaw in my 55 GMC for about 50,000 miles with a Hurst floor linkage and it was a daily city driver , before the last restro.