Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train Saginaw trans ID

I have a Saginaw 4 speed trans which was installed in a 64 Nova Wagon that I bought in the middle 70's, and the guy I bought it from told me that it had a transmission from a Corvette in it. I drove the car for several years, and when a lady friend managed to back the car into a city light pole, about 20 pounds of bondo fell off the right rear quarter panel, and I wound up junking the car after pulling the 4 speed out of it. After joining Inliners and checking some numbers, I discovered that the trans is probably NOT from a 'Vette, and am now trying to figure out what kind of car it DID come out of. I've looked up the casting numbers on the main trans case, and it was made sometime in the mid '70's, but according to the casting numbers on the tailshaft housing, it didn't come out of a Camaro, either. Does anyone know where I can find a list of ALL the vehicles that Saginaw 4 speeds were used in? I think it might have some out of a Pontiac because of the paint color on the trans case, but so far have not been able to find a match for the casting numbers on the tailshaft housing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The Saginaws were in a zillion GM cars and trucks, mine was out of a Chevy Monza. Seams the real indicator is the gruves cut in the input shaft, 3 gruve means 3:11 first gear if I remember. These are great little transmissions and pretty stout and will last forever if you dont abuse them. I've used one in a pickup for years. THere are plenty of transmission sites out there, check this site for tech tips and also go over to Stovebolt.com and see what you can find. Best of luck.

I don't think there is a way to tell exactly which car it came from. You can figure out the year and gear ratio. The only way I've identified them was by the grooves on the input shaft:
0 Grooves - 1st/2.85, 2nd/2.02, 3rd/1.35, 4th/1.00
1 Groove - 1st/2.54, 2nd/1.80, 3rd/1.30, 4th/1.00
2 Grooves - 1st/3.11, 2nd/2.20, 3rd/1.47, 4th/1.00
3 Grooves - 1st/3.50, 2nd/2.48, 3rd/1.66, 4th/1.00

OK, after looking at the trans and checking the casting numbers against the specs I've downloaded from various sites, what I have so far is this: Main case # 3925656, Extension housing # 3873886, and serial # 191516691, plus L198 cast into the main case, and GM6 on the extension housing. The numbers translate to a Camaro built between 1970-72. Did Chevy paint Camaro transmissions with the same blue-green color that Pontiac used for their engines in those same years, or did the same casting numbers apply to both Chevy and Pontiac models? Another minor mystery is the serial number location. It's on a machined pad on the upper right side of the main case, and according to what I've been able to find about Saginaws, it shouldn't be in that location for 70-72 model years. The # on the side cover is GM3920738 (I think; the last 2 digits are blurry and not very distinct). I also have a question about the grooves in the input shaft. Are they machined into the spline area or are they on the smooth section behind the splines? It looks like there is what could be a groove in the rear section of the splines, but no grooves on the smooth section. And I guess I'm wrong about trans not coming from a Camaro. I may have to recheck some of the research I've done, but I'm still curious about the anomalies with the paint color and serial # location. Anybody have any more information?

The list of cars the Saginaws were installed in will basically cover any low horsepower GM passenger car that came with a low power motor and 4-speed from the late 60s up through the early 80s. The grooves are cut across the input splines and should be very apparent if there. Since you do not see them, you trans is most likely a 2.85 first gear.
I do not believe the transmissions were painted from the factory; someone may have painted it when it was installed in another vehicle or rebuilt. If your search for the tranny's origin is to find normal rebuild parts, most tranny suppliers just need to know it is a Saginaw 4-speed and its first gear ratio. Six-states may still have the parts in inventory. If you need internal gears some are very hard to find and may cost more than it is worth.

Like Bruce says, all of the normal service parts are the same for all 3 and 4 speed Saggys. Gaskets, needle bearings, seals, blocking rings, etc. Only the actual gears differ. I've always done business with The Gear Zone in Florida www.gearzone.net They will give you excellent service and recommend other suppliers who can provide you with gears and sliding hubs, etc if you need them, as Gear Zone does not stock them.

Thanks to Bruce (another Boise Inliner), Mike G,jbrancheck, HiTork, and walt 1940 for the information you guys posted. As far as I know, there's nothing wrong with the trans; it was working fine when I pulled it out of my first 64 Nova Wagon and has been in storage since then, and will soon be installed in the 64 Nova Wagon that I own now. I was mainly just curious about what sort of vehicle it had originally been installed in at the factory when it was new, which I still don't know, and may never find out exactly. However, I'm a lot closer than I was, thanks to you guys and some internet web sites. Thanks again.
Zeke Giesecke
Inliner #4259

You're very welcome. There's nothing like rowing through a 4 speed is there?

I have one from a 80 or 81 camaro painted red (some kind of thick brittle paint)P.O says it came out of car that way -also I have to use a certain # Hurst shifter as the mounting is different from other saginaws.Hurst list the different tranies for ordering parts.

The following link shows both styles of the Saginaw on pages 3 and 4. If the torque tube mount is cut off the bottom of the tailshaft it can be used just like the earlier version.
http://www.teufert.net/trans/trannyid.pdf

Thanks, Bruce. From the chart, it looks like the trans is a 441 style non torque tube and not the Vega/Monza type either, so it probably was originally behind a 2-bbl V8 of some kind.

My thanks also for the chart. It is a good reference to save for the future.