Stock 3 Speed Standard transmissions

[60short]

Hey All,

The three speed in my truck ( which I believe to be the stock one) is quite un-happy ( second gear has been almost impossible for a while, and first doesn't want to stay engaged without some serious help )

I put a feeler up on one of the local face book groups (looking for a 60-66 3 speed) and got two people that have transmissions that seem to fit the criteria.

If I remember my research from when I got the truck correctly, these were available with either a muncie or a saginaw 3 speed transmission.

Without having my hands on these transmissions, does anybody have any insight if they are interchangeable? I am trying to see if I can swap one without having to modify the driveshaft if possible ( as much of a bolt in as I can get).


I would like to do a 5 speed swap eventually, but at this point, I would be happy to be able to drive it for a bit longer, and not work on the logistics of driveshaft and clutch master and rear diff that should be done at the same time...


Thanks!
Keep on Trucking!!

[geezer#99]

Could be there’s nothing wrong with your transmission.
Could be your shifter instead.
What do you have for a shifter?
Pics of the shifter body and linkage helps.

[60short]

it was hacked into the floor by the previous owner.

it is definitely loose (and worn out, I'm sure, after however many years).

i can take the boot off and grab some pictures and will post them up.

[geezer#99]

Sure thing.
Pics are good.
From underneath is better if you can.
Common problem with those shifters. Get real sloppy over time.
There are fixes.

[cwcarpenter98]

Hopefully, the shifter is your problem, but if it isn't, look for a 4 bolt side cover trans for the Muncie version, the 7 bolt side cover for a Saginaw. GM made a long tail shaft version and a short tail shaft version of the Muncie, but it's quite easy to see the difference in length

[jayoldschool]

I put new bushings on my shifter linkage on my 3 speed, it feels like a brand new trans. The rods had no bushings on them before.

[karlbenz]

I tore up 4 saginaws before I put a 70's heavy duty in it. don't remember about driveshaft length

[60short]

from the top :

from the bottom :

[geezer#99]

Good pics.
Appears you have one of the worst of the bunch shifters. Looks like one made by Spectre. The telltale is the shifter handle is welded on and not bolted on.
Fixable though.
I dug up a thread with some pics of the shifter I’ve used on several trucks. The way they’re designed is with a centre bolt that goes right thru the body and uses a lock washer and nut to hold it all togethor. That long bolt and nut gets loose after awhile. The bolt is easy to see in the third pic.
My cure was to tighten the bolt up just snug enough to still allow movement of the arms and then drill a hole right thru the nut and end of the bolt and put a cotter key in the hole. The nut can’t back off after that.
To drill a hole in the nut I first chucked it into my vice and drilled a pilot hole in just enough not to break into the threads inside. That made it a lot easier to drill all the way thru once installed.
Give that a try.
Do you know how to align the shift arms?
I could explain that if needed.



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