The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Passenger car 3-speed on a truck?

Yesterday I picked up a Passenger car SM 319 three speed (lower mounting holes not threaded) with an R10 overdrive. I bought it for the overdrive, but I'm thinking it might be easier to swap the whole trans rather than just the overdrive. Would it cause any problems if I put a couple of regular grade 5 or grade 8 bolts in the lower holes and just put nuts on them? I have heard that there is some kind of bearing in the transmission that falls out when you remove the output shaft on the trans, and that it can be very difficult to reinstall, which is why I'm wondering about swapping the whole transmission, but maybe that's not as big of an issue as it is made out to be? Are there any other differences between car and truck transmissions (gearing, etc.)?

Thanks in advance

I guess you are talking about your 63, but on my 55 (three on the tree), I got a 3 speed trans with R10 out of a 57 BelAir. At least that's what the person that sold it to me said. I used the front part of my trans and put to R10 behind it. Same length, etc.

You're talking about the "pocket bearing" that is in the back of the input shaft. It is an uncaged roller bearing that usually dumps into the case when the input shaft is removed. Heavy grease is your friend on reassembly, sticking the rollers into place as the trans is put together. It's not terribly difficult, but after assembling a few dozen of these transmissions it gets a lot easier to do. I'd just install the complete passenger car transmission and swap side plates so the shift linkage lines up correctly.
Jerry

So the side plates interchange and just bolt up? Is it that simple?

Your shifters will probably be clocked differently between the two transmissions. If you use the entire shift cover off of your original transmission, it will work. If the OD transmission is known to be good, I would install it as is. On some models, the main shaft is different on with or
w/o OD and you can run into lots of problems.

There are 2 sets of needle bearings on the inside of the clutch gear. As stated, they can be recovered inside the case and reinstalled.
The parts should be interchangeable with the exception of 64/65 units that used a different pitch on the gears. If it looks good, swap the side cover and install it as it is. It's a common practice to use bolts & nuts on the lower mount holes when using a car trans in a truck.

Th OD trans is longer than the stock 3 speed in that year truck, so a driveshaft modification will be required.
Fred

Thanks for the responses you guys, that answers all my questions. I will just install the whole passenger car transmission using the side plate and shifters from my original trans.

rfs56trk, thank you for telling me about the bearings and confirming that I could use bolts with nuts in the lower holes. This isn't the first time I have heard that I need to shorten the driveshaft, but both the original tailhousing on my truck and the overdrive case are the same length (14.5"). Maybe I don't have the original trans like I thought I did??

63 was a transition year and yes you have the long tail housing transmission which is the same length as the OD. Most 63 through 67 6 cyl trucks had the short housing. You don't need to modify the driveshaft. It looks as though your truck has a floor shift. This could be a problem with the overdrive as there will be interference between the the solenoid, speedometer cable, shift arms, and the shifter itself. It may be easier to locate the column shift components than to find an "overdrive" shifter assembly. You may be able to use the existing one with some modifications and relocation.
Fred

I believe the pickup still has a column shift- - - -the later pics in that sequence show a different, bigger truck. If it's the one in the video, I think I remember working on it at the homecoming a couple of years ago.
Jerry

You're right, another truck with a 4 speed mixed in there.
Fred

Yes, the bigger truck is a C-70 the I got the cab off of. It has a 5-speed Spicer. The one I'm talking about is the blue one in the video, and yes you did work on it at homecoming last year Jerry. Sorry about that, I should have clarified that better. I was wondering where all the stuff about a floor shift was coming from, I didn't think about the photo album in my signature!