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The CASTING date on the tail housing APPEARS to be E87, which translates to May 8, 1957. A date code of 6 months PRIOR to the build of a car is considered as the maximum lead time for parts------------------but not 2yrs. Thus, that tail housing (and maybe the rest of the tranny) was built way to early for a 59 car.
Also, ALL early Corvette (as well as passenger car) 3spds were ONLY Saginaw up through 65. In 66, the 3spds were upgraded to a fully synchronized 3sp and they were still made by Saginaw.
Thus, your tranny for sure is a Saginaw 3sp, but I do not recognize the casting number on that tail housing.
Our guess is its a light-duty Muncie 3spd with the drum-style synchronizers which was used from 1955 to 1961 or so. For this to be possible, the casting number would have to be "3737xxx" While I don't show a listing for 3737087, its entirely possible it did exist. Can you take a wider angle shot of the gearbox? It would certainly help make a more accurate diagnosis. There were several early variations of 3spds, Light-Duty Muncie 3spd, HD Muncie 3spd, and the Saginaw are the most common. Pontiac also had the "Dearborn" 3spd later on, which was a design by some engineers at Ford.
Nathan
Originally Posted by DZAUTO
The CASTING date on the tail housing APPEARS to be E87, which translates to May 8, 1957. A date code of 6 months PRIOR to the build of a car is considered as the maximum lead time for parts------------------but not 2yrs. Thus, that tail housing (and maybe the rest of the tranny) was built way to early for a 59 car.
Also, ALL early Corvette (as well as passenger car) 3spds were ONLY Saginaw up through 65. In 66, the 3spds were upgraded to a fully synchronized 3sp and they were still made by Saginaw.
Thus, your tranny for sure is a Saginaw 3sp, but I do not recognize the casting number on that tail housing.
I do know that first gear is not synchronized. So is it a Saginaw?
ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Corvette 3spds were made by Saginaw, including the fully synchronized 3spds that were introduced in the 66 model.
The 55-65 3spds (NON-syncro in 1st gear) were simply an upgrade/improvement from the 3spds going way back into the 40s. The arrangement of the guts is nearly identical. The Chevy 3spds up through 54 were mated to an enclosed (torque tube----sound familiar???) driveshaft. The design and arrangement of all the gears was basically unchanged (early 40s up to 65).
ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Corvette 3spds were made by Saginaw, including the fully synchronized 3spds that were introduced in the 66 model.
The 55-65 3spds (NON-syncro in 1st gear) were simply an upgrade/improvement from the 3spds going way back into the 40s. The arrangement of the guts is nearly identical. The Chevy 3spds up through 54 were mated to an enclosed (torque tube----sound familiar???) driveshaft. The design and arrangement of all the gears was basically unchanged (early 40s up to 65).
Okay, that clears that up. So it's not original to a '59 like I thought. Always wondered about it. Thanks, as always, for the info.
Okay, that clears that up. So it's not original to a '59 like I thought. Always wondered about it. Thanks, as always, for the info.
Even though it may be a mixed combination of parts, if it works fine and doesn't make any weird noises, don't be in a rush to discard it--------------------------unless of course, your objective is to swap in a 4sp.
Even though it may be a mixed combination of parts, if it works fine and doesn't make any weird noises, don't be in a rush to discard it--------------------------unless of course, your objective is to swap in a 4sp.
That's why it's out. I installed a BW T10 4 speed, but the 3 speed ran fine. I was saving it because I thought it was original to the car.
10-22-2014, 08:06 PM
Saginaw 3 Speed?
