Swap Meet 4 SPEED & Tri Five Parts For My 1956 Chevy Build

Here's the '56 Chevy project videos here: • Abandoned Tri 5 Chevy ...
I bought a swap meet 4 speed transmission & other tri five chevy parts for my 1956 Chevy Build. The 4 speed transmission is a Saginaw. I was looking for a Muncie 4 speed but found the Saginaw for a much lower price. I also found & bought a factory tri five bellhousing, factory engine/bellhousing mounts & factory clutch linkage. These parts will help get this project car on the road.
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[@freemansgarageextra]

Here's all the '56 Chevy project videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWWVhaiPi81kZrM

[@roypearce6968]

You are right about what you purchase you have a budget. Nice haul 👍

[@freemansgarageextra]

Thanks. Can’t wait to use it all.

[@TonyButay]

Richard you scored big time. I love going to swapmeets because you will never know what you will find once you are there! Years ago I had a saginaw 4 speed out of a '68 and gave it to a friend for his '56 Chevy and he loved it. I always look forward for posted videos on your progress on your projects. I enjoy watching, keep them coming.

[@freemansgarageextra]

The seller was generous with his pricing. Especially with people these days asking for more & more each day. That’s good to hear your friend liked the Saginaw. Hopefully I have a good experience as well. I thank you for your continued support & I appreciate everything you have done for Freeman’s Garage & myself.

[@tipetu]

12:00 I believe the ID-number you are looking for is stamped on the flat surface right under your hand in this shot. On the edge of the casing. That is where it was on my old Saginaw. Mine was way smaller than yours, and had the reverse shifter lever in the tailhousing and not on the side-cover like yours. I dont know which type you have to be honest.

[@freemansgarageextra]

Thanks for taking the time to tell me that. I'm just going with it's from a Vega or a Monza.

[@mrj-charles6383]

Hopefully the trans fits in the blast cabinet ok😁 I am also OCD about cleaning and refurbishing everything even if you can not see it on the car.

[@freemansgarageextra]

Oh blasting the trans! Didn't think of that.

[@bcavmechanic]

While Saginaw transmissions are definitely not as tough as a Muncie, they are still a pretty darn good transmission that gets little respect. I used to have one in my 55' Chevy and had a 400HP small block in front of it. It got beat on hard and never had an issue. They are cheap and easy to rebuild too. The worst issue with them was usually they came with a shit factory shifter. One missed shift with some power can frag them. A good Hurst Shifter makes a huge difference. I have a couple of those 3.11 first gear Saginaws. One is currently in my wife's Buick. It works great. 3 and 4 speed Saginaws use the same case. The transmissions were used in all kinds of cars including Chevelles, Novas, Camaros, Vegas, monza's and their other gm Siblings as well as trucks and vans. It will work well to get you up and running and should serve you well.

[@matthewmoilanen787]

You must not ever drive that car hard or that choice of trans would tend to show it's weaknesses. I'm a child of the 70's as I was born in 60 and every person I know as well as all racers used a top loader Ford trans for every car over about 300 HP. Due to case flex on Saginaw and Muncie GM trannies the synchros are constantly getting torn up. The worst one being the "rock crusher" Muncie being named that because after about 2 hard shifts it sounds like a box of rocks. It wasn't because they were strong. Oh and I'm a 35 yr Senior Master ASE so I try to help people help themselves. Life's to short to replace trannies all the time.

[@freemansgarageextra]

Thanks for sharing that. I'll be running an older Hurst shifter. I also won't beat the living tar out of the thing.

[@georgewilson9121]

thats 57 clutch stuff it as a working group will work on a 56 if you need a clutch bushing get 57 parts the throw out arm is 57 also they are different but will work

[@georgewilson9121]

the 57 z bar throw out arm on a 57 are actually better than a 55 56 cause they are stuck together if you snap a 55 56 return spring parts can fall onto the road that will not happen with the 57 set up also checkout the tranny mounts they should bolt rite on at the lower corners of the bell the truck mounts and tranny bolt up and shape is different that guy nmay be correct cant tell from the angle those are the same as the early camaro trannys but have a higer top gear i have one in my 57 sedad works great but then again i do not pull hhole shots i strongly sugest the same for the 56

[@freemansgarageextra]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I appreciate the info. I'm 99.9% certain the bellhousing is for a passenger car. But I'm not going to say anyone is wrong because I don't know it all. We'll find out I guess.

[@neilpryce3356]

Hi Richard, you got a good deal, and that's no yoke ha ha . Do you still have the white Rambler?

[@freemansgarageextra]

Yes I do & I’m chomping at the bit. Neat car with a neat story.

[@jaynedoe1959]

Really bad idea that cast iron bell housing. When it breaks the trans hits the ground, the engine hits the ground, the clutch comes through the floor & the driveshaft is shrapnel. Been there, done that. Really bad idea...

[@freemansgarageextra]

I'll keep that in mind. Thaks for taking the time to let me know.

[@harveydavis4764]

I u sure that trans will bolt up to that bellowing? Look like bolt holes are different to me

[@freemansgarageextra]

It will. I’ve set the trans in the bellhousing & lined it up. Also I bought all of these parts from someone who has been building tri fives for decades. He wouldn’t steer me wrong.

[@jamesday1638]

THIS Bell Housing IS FOR A TRUCK YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO USE THE REAR MOUNTS.

[@freemansgarageextra]

How so? It looks like a passenger car bellhousing to me. I appreciate you saying something.

[@bcavmechanic]

@@freemansgarageextra Truck bellhousings have a larger hole for the locating register so double check that the Saginaw fits tight in the hole when bolting to the case. The late 50s and early 60s truck bellhousings look very similar to the Tri five style ones.

[@jjdriver55]

@@freemansgarageextra THE ANGLE OF THE TRUCK BELL-HOUSINGS IS DIFFERENT AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THE MOUNTS BOLT TO THE FRAME. Try to put on the mounts and bolt it in the frame without the motor bolted to it. This will tell you real quick if it is a Truck or not. You can also run the numbers on the Bell-housing.

[@billywird]

@@bcavmechanic You are referring to the diameter of the front collar on the transmission. There are some of those cast iron bellhousings that use the smaller diameter collar and some use the larger collar. On the Saginaw three speeds the collar is interchangeable and I had a friend of mine who took a cast iron bellhousing put it in hie 68 El Camino (he was changing over from automatic to 4spd and the hole in the bellhousing was for the larger collar but he just used the transmission bolts to keep the transmission in line (although I am sure his clutch runout was out some) and he drove it for years. How do I know this? Well he was a good friend and I knew the car from when he bought it and I now have the car. He modified the bellhousing so that he could use the starter mount to the engine block. I have just replaced the flywheel ring gear and had a bellhousing with the smaller pilot (cast iron) for Chevrolet truck and have a starter for the bellhousing mount as well. I would have preferred to use the proper bellhousing but did not want to buy the proper bellhousing for the larger flywheel. The car has a Muncie 4speed and it appears that i could have robbed a collar from the Saginaw 3 speed units I have but opted not to.

[@billywird]

@@jjdriver55 Yeah it has been a long time but I bought a V8 from the same friend back in 1971 and of course the 56 Chevrolet I had was a six cylinder three speed and of course the bellhousings are different. So I acquired a V8 bellhousing from my friend and was able to use the rear mounting brackets to the frame that I had actually replaced when I had the six cylinder engine in the car. What the fellow shows in the video look to be the rear engine/bellhousing mounts. Like I said it has been over fifty years since I did that swap so memory can be a little foggy. The acid test is like you suggested see if the bellhousing will mount up with that arraignment.

[@henryjewell3900]

My advice to you get rid of the cast iron bell housing and Saginaw transmission. Get an after market bell housing and at least a Muncie 4 speed.

[@freemansgarageextra]

I hear ya. Working within the budget at the moment. I can swap later.