I have a 1953 GMC 1-ton pickup with a 1954 Chevy 235 and a Muncie SM-420. It has 31" tires and I swapped the center carrier to 4.11 gears.

I've been driving around the neighborhood on test runs for the past couple weeks. One thing has become clear - the SM 420 gearing is too wide and ill-matched for the engine and rear-end combination I have. I never use 1st gear for anything, start out in 2nd and wind out the engine hard to get momentum into 3rd gear on hills. When I'm on a hill going from 2nd to 3rd its pretty dicey, the poor old engine lugs really hard no matter how quick I shift.

So I'm debating on either a Saginaw 4 speed with the 3.11 1st, or an S10 T5. The OD in the T5 would be good once in a blue moon but I'm really after a better gear combo through 1st - 4th.

I read about the T5 swaps and feel ok about that, but I like the gear setup in the Saginaw 3.11. Will a Saginaw 4-speed fit ok and what can I do for linkage? I've not found linkage that will work on the Saginaw and a bench seat. Advice?

1953 GMC 1-Ton Pickup with 350 and 700R4