Thread: saginaw four speed

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i have a saginaw four speed trans that came out of a later 70s cosworth vega with aproxamately 75000 miles on it. i am debating weather to put it in my 64 chevelle super sport that is equipped with a 283 engine that is for the most part stock(mild cam with edelbrock performer manifold and carb and headers). the gear ratio in the trans is 3:11 for first gear 2:20 for second gear 1:47 for third and 1:00 for fourth. i dont plan on racing the car or driving it hard. just a nice weekend crusier. is this a setup that would be ok for this car or would the transmissions for these smaller cars such as the vega not hold up behind a V8? i will be converting the car to manual from automatic. any advice or comments would be appreciated.

I ran one of these trannys for years, first in the Vega it originally came in (it went through several engines the last being a 327 with tri-power). It then got a second life for several more years in my 68 El Camino. It was finally retired with over 275,000 miles when I went to a BB and Muncie.

They are a good reliable tranny as long as they are noy badly abused.

I've been running a saginaw 4 speed in my '69 Camaro for the last 15 years or so. It has to have at least 100k that I put on it, because it is my daily driver. The trans has been sitting on the end of a 350 since bought freshly rebuilt for great price. Only abused occaisionally, but the 4:11s in the back keep it working hard all the time.

If I remember correctly, the position of my old Mr. Gasket vertical gate shifter changed location slightly when I was forced to replace the existing muncie creating some problems with the shifter rod clearances and the placement of the shifter boot.

Allthough I have no idea if mine is the same as the one you've got, my saginaw has served me well.

Hi Utahpops, I just want to say I ran a Saginaw 4-speed in my '34 ford with a really hot 355 Chevy. Never had any trouble with the tranny but the Ford 8" rear was a little weak, pinion bearings didn't like all that power. I used a Hurst shifter and really liked that setup. Good luck, Topless.

thanks for the input. i appriciate it very much.