I have a 69 Malibu with a 6 cylinder w/ 3speed. My question is. Is the 3 speed a muncie or saginaw?

saginaw. muncie are 4 speeds

Actually I've heard there are such things as Muncie 3 speeds...but I think they came in trucks.

Saginaws are also avaliable in 4 speed.

Your 3 on the tree is probably a Sag.

There's a way to tell by the side cover bolt pattern but I can't remember right off which is which. I'll look it up when I get home and post tomorrow if no one beats me to it.

How many shift rods are there? 2=3 spd 3=4 spd. And yes Muncie did make a 3 spd

its a three on the tree, I know there is a 3 speed muncie. Trucks usually came with a saginaw 3 speed. I wasn't sure about cars.

My 65 had a Lasalle three speed. Unsyncronized first gear,column shift and drum brakes kept you on your toes. With a 283 and 3:08s and the three speed she whould cruise at 75 no problem.

Non-syncro low Saginaw 3-spd., 2.94:1 low. For '66 that Saginaw trans was changed to a fully syncronized box with a 2.85:1 low.

When the M13 h.d. 3-speed was made available in mid-'65 it was made more saleable by being a fully syncronized box, with that advantage over the base trans. It was only offered for V8s though.

edit:
Oops! I thought the question was about a '65 3-speed. Doh!

According to Chevrolet's "Restoration Kit" for 1969:
230/250/307 cid - base 3-speed (2.85) and H.D. 3-speed (3.03).
350-2 - base 3-speed (2.54) and H.D. 3-speed (2.42).
350-4 - base H.D. 3-speed (2.42).
396 - base H.D. 3-speed (2.42).

The only RPO code shown is for a Special 3-Speed; floor-mounted(included with the SS 396 is ordered) - RPO MC1

It appears that if you didn't order a H.D. 3-speed in the 230/250/307/350-2, you got the base transmission for that engine and the ratios were different.
Ordering RPO MC1 with the 230/250/307 got you a 3.03 geared H.D. unit.
Ordering RPO MC1 with the 350-2 got you a 2.42 geared H.D. unit.
The 350-4 and 396 3-speeds were all the 2.42 geared H.D. unit and the 396 was floor-mounted.

Manufacturers are not specified but looking at a Hurst application chart for their 3-speed shifters, all they have are units for a Saginaw. Muncies were used in 69-81 pickups and vans. Here's Hurst's ID photos for the two. Note the difference in the side cover bolt patterns.

http://photos.chevellestuff.com/albums/userpics/10001/3-speeds.jpg

JEEZZ, what would this site be without Dale!

red65:The LaSalle 3 speed went out in 1939, probably your car was a a conversion. The LaSalle 3 speed had a really long tailshaft, like about 18 inches which would mean a very short propshaft. Are you sure it was a LaSalle trans?