4 SPD Saginaw tail housing
- Thread starter KYMalibu
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Doug- I have never seen a 2:85 geared unit. I saw a 2:56 geared 3 speed unit in a step van/bread truck.It must have had some crazy rear gears. I took a 3:11 geared unit out of a 4 cylinder Vega and used it in a V-8 Firebird.
I used a 3 ring 3.50 first gear unit for my 1966 Pontiac Tempest with the OHC6 cylinder to increase the torque. With a decent 3.08 rear gear, it took me over that magic number of 10 when you multiply the first gear by the rear gear and being over 10 makes for a nice combination.
The original 3 speed Saginaw in the Tempest had a 2..84 first gear. So living in a mountainous area, it took a bit of clutch slippage to move the 3400 pound Tempest. Now, I can almost pull out on a idle with clutch fully engaged and the car won't buck or stall. I still have the nice 3.08 highway friendly gear but now I have a transmission that helps the torque of the OHC6 unlike the 3 speed limited in it's ability.
And I did the tailhousing swap from the 3 speed to the 4 speed and vice versa. That allowed the 4 speed to go back in to the Tempest with no modification and allowed me to use my Hurst Competition Shifter as well which could NOT be used on the later model Saginaw tailhousing with the holes or mounts for the torque tube.
The original 3 speed Saginaw in the Tempest had a 2..84 first gear. So living in a mountainous area, it took a bit of clutch slippage to move the 3400 pound Tempest. Now, I can almost pull out on a idle with clutch fully engaged and the car won't buck or stall. I still have the nice 3.08 highway friendly gear but now I have a transmission that helps the torque of the OHC6 unlike the 3 speed limited in it's ability.
And I did the tailhousing swap from the 3 speed to the 4 speed and vice versa. That allowed the 4 speed to go back in to the Tempest with no modification and allowed me to use my Hurst Competition Shifter as well which could NOT be used on the later model Saginaw tailhousing with the holes or mounts for the torque tube.
You have an OHC six?!? Nice! I miss mine that I yanked in favor of a 400. My '68 Firebird handled beautifully with the OHC motor. A 350 wasn't faster, but the 400 was. My current station wagon manual trans is using an original OHC bell housing I scored accidentally at Englishtown.
Yes, guilty as charged.....actually my 2nd OHC6. The responses the engine brings at car shows is quite fascinating. People are not aware of the 1966-1969 run of that engine. I just recently detailed mine for some added eye candy and as mentioned went from a column 3 speed to a four speed with the Hurst Comp shifter AND a bench seat. With the added 1st gear torque, the old OHC6 gets up in the revs much faster and the car is fun to drive. I have a four barrel AND dual exhaust (true) on it and when it revs it sounds like a Ferrari, a cheap Ferrari mind you.. It is such a bare bones basic Tempest, I think the only option it came with was a passenger sun visor and maybe air in the tires.
Wait- a 4 barrel and duals? That is the SPRINT option. Holy Cow is that rare!!!! You know, the short chrome air cleaner that came on the GTO's and Firebirds was also an option on the OHC6 SPRINT or might even have been standard. I saw one with it and I think there were some other chrome trim pieces too. Looked sharp! I have two of them, one from a '67 400 and one from a seller on this site. I gotta tell ya, that 6 revved to the moon and was smoooooth. I hit 110 mph in my Firebird with a one barrel.
You know your stuff, but my Tempest is NOT the Sprint model. The 4 barrel and duals were added so it is just a stock 230 ci, 165 hp but it sure gets attention at the car shows for the engine bay. It is a blast to drive with the 4 speed now.
Maybe not when new, but you knew enough to score that SPRINT set up when you could. Good looking out! GM released another SPRINT option in '79 I think. It was the 4 barrel 301 with a 4 speed manual Saginaw. I saw it on a '79 Ventura IIRC, not sure if anything else had it..
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