Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train '52 Olds trans

I'm hopping up a Chevy 261 bored, stroked, etc) and was planning on using a T-5, but I can get a '52 Olds 3 speed trans from a friend. He said the drag racers used to use them back in the day... and it would keep the car period correct, but is it a good trans or would a T5 be that much better? Does it share the same bolt pattern?

thanks!

Absolutely!!!

That Olds trans was a 'nightmare' X Ten.

A friend ran one in a 50 Olds with the later 394 CID and rarely won a race. This was in 1962 when there wasn't many options.

It was a fast car but took 'all day' to shift.

are you guys talking about an automatic trans or the 3 speed manual? "Slow to shift" sounds like an auto. What I'm looking at is a 3 speed manual tranny. Any thoughts on those?

This was a manual 'stick shift' transmission that had a 'strange' shifting mechanism as Chuck said. As I recall it had one shift rod that slid in/out for selection and rotated to change gears.

The Hydra-Matic can be beefed up to work great and was used on many a drag strip, way back then.

Go with a 4 speed Muncie or the T-5 as like he said. You can't go wrong.

Hey I like your website, cool cars!

I like nostalgia and period correct too, but how many people really get to see your transmission?

A t-5 would be more fun to drive and cheaper. Or if you still wanted to go old style try a Chevy 3 speed with overdrive (available at a lot of the junkyards.) It's all up to you.

I'm getting the Hydro-matic rebuilt in my '55 Olds right now and it's gonna cost $1,600-$1,800. But most of my other cars I try to use more modern transmissions like TH-350s etc.

Jeff

Dear Jeff;

That's a lot of money for a trans rebuild ($16-1,800).

Someone just posted a place in Texas that does old automatics. Check past posts in the driveline section.

Good luck,

Joe,
Are you still wanting to use the column shift and floor starter pedal?

thanks for all the help guys. It's hard to beat a free trans, but if it's that problematic and slow, then I guess I'll pass. I'm building it to beat my friend's flat 8 ford shoebox, so I can't have "slow".

I want to build it with as many original parts as possible, but you're right, no one will see the trans... and if they want to crawl under the car to find out... let them criticize me! hahaha!!

wow gearhead, you have quite a memory! holy moley!

I would like to use the floor starter, but I may switch to a floor shifter... because it looks cooler ...but I'm flexible.

For the foot starter, make sure you are using a 48-59 truck bellhousing.

Using a floor shifter will make your options much better. If you do want to stay with the column shift, don't be afraid to use a plain ol' Chevy 3spd or 3spdOD. They are plenty good enough for what you are doing. Even if you break one, they are a dime a dozen and easy to replace.

There is another tranny that you may want to consider (for floor shift). The New Process NP-A833 4spd used in 81-86 Chevy trucks. See the post "1985 Chev Overdrive Trans" for details and pictures.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I have that bellhousing.

a Chevy 3spd trans will hold up? Will the gearing be good for street and highway use... and the occassional trip down the dragstrip?

I'll check out that other post

Depends on your rearend gearing. 1st gear would be 2.95, which is the same as a V8 T5 Camaro.
Without OD you will be compromising the driveability is some way, either too many rpms for highway use, or a little too slow at the track. Its up to you.

I'd run the A833 or the T5 myself. Or go to a late model OD automatic...