dennyb7

Keep the 3 speed tranny don't get rid of it and than convert it.The '59 was the second highest (3617 3 speeds,behind 1957 (4282) the lowest or the rarest 3 speed year was 1969 the last year for standard 3 speed,it was 253 out of 38,762 made, per the black book

gbvette62

I know of quite a few 3 speeds around here. I have a customer in the Bronx who has a 69 white, blue gut 3 speed ragtop. I also know a 68 3 speed t-top in central Jersey. A friend of mine had a 67 maroon ragtop with a 3 speed. When he sold the car, the next owner put a 4 speed in it (which is what happened to most 3 speeds). At the Atlantic City auction 2 years ago, there was a 67 Lynndale Blue coupe, 3 speed with air!!! for sale.

My favorite one belongs to a friend of mine who's father bought it from the original female owner in 1985. It's a 67 red coupe with black interior, headrest seats, speedminder speedometer, side pipes and a 327/300 and a 3 speed. Strange mix of options, to say the lease. Right now the car is going through a body off restoration.

3 speeds were pretty common in 57-62's, just as they were in regular passenger cars. When they get really rare is in the 67, 68 and 69's when your only talking about 200 or 300 being built each the year. Of course, this is a case of rare not always being the same thing as highly desirable or valuable.

tommyn

Was this car at Bloomington trying for a Survivor this past summer?

Yes the numbers kept droping thru the years. 564 3 speeds in 1966.


I always get a chuckle out of this comment.

tommyn

I got a lot of cr_p from a few guys. My father owned the 66 I have now and shoved a 4 speed in it. The next owner left the car like that for the next 21 years. I got the car back and reinstalled the 3 speed.

63Corvette

They've all gone to (more valuable) 4-speeds

MikeM

I'd say most of the 3 speeds that weren't wrecked or stolen were converted to 4 speeds in the mid-years. If stolen, it was easier to find a four speed than three speed with the linkage.

I bought my '65 three speed in 1972. I got the four speed transmission and linkage ready to go in. I just never got around to putting it in. It's still on the shelf. Good thing I guess but there's nothing wrong with the three speed.

wmf62

not true, i ALWAYS special order my cars.
Bill

ps374

I know most Corvettes of this era were beat upon,kicked upon and I am surprised how many numbered matching ones actually survived. I wonder how many 3 speeds were converted to 4 speeds and current owners have just left them that way.

ejboyd5

My original 3 speed and linkage is safely in storage to be sold with the car by my heirs. Over the years I have substituted several 4 speed transmissions for 3 speed units in various cars and have always been pleased with the end product. Why everyone didn't order a 4 speed (or why it wasn't made standard equipment) remains a mystery although $188 was still considered substantial money in the late '50s.

toms silver 60

In the 60's, if a 3 speed Vet owner wanted better performance, one of the first major things to get changed was the 3 speed. If you were lucky, you might get $25 for it to help pay for the upgrade to 4 speed. (Unlike the FI doorstops which nobody wanted). Now, if you just wanted a Vet for transportation and leisurely cruising, the 3 speed would be acceptable. My guess is that there was eventually little if any Corvette demand for the obsolete 3 speeds and were installed in full size cars as replacments or just scrapped.
I found a wrecked 66 4 spd Vet in a junkyard in 67, believe cost was about $100 for tranny, bell housing and crap OEM shifter. I had a buddy install it and he found a buyer for the 3 speed. Hurst shifter soon followed on the 4 speed. I never looked back.
Another consideration is the 3 speed shifter. If you wanted something better like a Hurst, why not put the same money towards something much better, like a 4 speed with a Hurst?

Dan Hampton

Absolutely true on the customer order vis a vis the dealer order. No dealer, back then, was crazy enough to wrap up $3,500 in inventory on a car that he couldn't move when, in fact, he could order two passenger cars for the same price that would sell in 20 days. Those were different times, my friends, and many dealers were not the mega/monster dealers you see today. Many of them were located in small towns with minimal inventory.
The world was a much more fiscally, conservative place back then.

gbvette62

[QUOTE=tommyn;1568914447]Was this car at Bloomington trying for a Survivor this past summer?

No, this car has been apart for about 4 years. My pals father and him (he?), started the body off about 4 years ago. The frame, motor, trans, suspension, etc. are done. The bare body is painted and back on the frame. At about that point, 2 years ago, his father had a major stroke and work obviously stopped on the car. His father passed away this past June after a second stroke.

Though my buddy works full time for a Corvette restoration business and has his own side business doing restoration work, and has a daugther in college, he's now trying to find the time and extra cash to finish the car to honor his fathers memory. He also has a 61 to finish, that his father was putting together for his sister. Though the 61 was pretty close to being done when his father first had his stroke. It's down to things like a top, grill, bumpers, exhaust and other final touches.

Bumper Sharks

I have a 66 convertible with the original 3 speed trans. It still has the original 350/300 engine with power steering and power brakes. It sports the original sunfire yellow exterior (a repaint of course) and black vinyl interior. It is fun to drive and I plan to leave it just the way it is.

MikeM

Yeah, it was 2-3 car payments out of 24 and two weekly take home paychecks.

quahog

I have a 67 coupe that has its original 3 spd. the car has power brakes ,power steering , shoulder belts, am fm radio, and power windows. a very peculiar mix. Its currently undergoing a body off as it had frame issues that have been corrected now its "just" the cleaning , painting and reassembly. Jeff

Plasticman

Last time we did that, it took almost 6 months to get the vehicle (99 GM Jimmy that we ordered in Oct. 98 and finally received in early April 99), and still did not get all the options we had ordered! And due to "grouped factory option packages", still had to order a few items we did not want, just to get the ones we did want.

But you are right that it pays to order only the stuff you want, if you are willing to wait.................................... ...........................

Plasticman

rengawdor

My 60 has the original 3 speed in it...

Dan Hampton

Those non synchro 3 speeds were interesting with the long 2-3 synchronizer that lasted a nano second under hard shifts. The low/reserve sliding gear encircling the synchro was a cute idea, too. My first foray into transmissions in '66 was replacing that gear as well as the cluster. It is no wonder that those were replaced with Warner T-10s in most Corvettes.

Dave K.

The cars aren't really marked as far as 3sp. or 4sp. So it is any easy change and no one is the wiser. Yes, there are a few things that need changed, but darn few.

uncle427

Just restored a late build base 67 coupe, base car, 3 speed, radio delete, white. Blue vinyl. That had to be the cheapest car a dealer could order.

He he had me ad the 4-sp and radio, changed colors to blue/blue,
saved the 3 speed trans in a box under the bench until scrap value gets higher!

Nicer car now!