I recently swapped a saginaw 3 speed overdrive transmission from a 67 Chevy pickup into my 58 Suburban. It is a synchro first gear tranny with the 7 bolt side plate. The last transmission was the original 3 speed trans with the 4 bolt side plate.
The trans and overdrive work great. The problem is that 1st gear and reverse are too high. They are much "taller" than the old trans. Its too hard the get the truck moving. I have seen lots of conflicting/confusing information about the gear ratios of these trannies. I know there are different first gear and reverse ratios depending on the year and engine size of the vehicle it came out of. My Burb came with a 6 cylinder engine. The truck I got my overdrive trans out of came with a V8 (283).
I still have the old transmission that I took out. What I am wondering is whether or not I can take it apart and pirate the 1st and reverse gears and install them in my new trans.
Anybody know if the gear sets are interchangeable? If not, how about buying replacement gears for the new trans?
