Would it be best to buy a core tranny and rebuild it or start from scratch with a new case and gear set? The project car I`m getting from my buddy is a 4spd car and it may or may not come with the trans, still working out the details. I have a feeling it`s a saginaw anyway and the engine I`m putting together should be about 400hp so I don`t think the saginaw will last. I`ve been thinking of swapping in a th350 but I always wanted a 4spd mucle car. What would you guys do?

Anthony,
As a person that has been building 4spds for over 40+yrs, I'd wait until you see what you get.
If you get a Muncie, and it is in rebuildable condition, then it may be best to just go through it and make a good tranny out of it. If it comes with a Saginaw, you just can't hardly justify a rebuild.
If you have to start from scratch with a tranny, probably the best thing in the long run would be to just buy one of the new Auto Gear Muncies. Everything is brand new, quality gears and the case is somewhat stronger and reinforced.

I agree. If the car comes with a Muncie, rebuild it. Saginaws are not worth the effort. The Saginaws are not strong. If you do not have a Muncie to rebuild, Purchase a new one and call it done.

just for another opinion. i bought a questionable muncie for 300, worked well for a few weeks but the bearings were shot and it grinded into gears. tore it down and spent 100 bucks on a basic rebuild kit, works like new now. I had never even touched a tranny before and i rebuilt it myself, i thought it was pretty easy. For a total of 400 bucks i have a muncie that works great and i know that everything inside looks good. In my opinion its almost always better to do alittle work yourself and build something unless you have money to burn. Unless you got a total junk core you could build two muncies for the price of a new one

Anthony,
As a person that has been building 4spds for over 40+yrs, I'd wait until you see what you get.
If you get a Muncie, and it is in rebuildable condition, then it may be best to just go through it and make a good tranny out of it. If it comes with a Saginaw, you just can't hardly justify a rebuild.
If you have to start from scratch with a tranny, probably the best thing in the long run would be to just buy one of the new Auto Gear Muncies. Everything is brand new, quality gears and the case is somewhat stronger and reinforced.

I agree. If the car comes with a Muncie, rebuild it. Saginaws are not worth the effort. The Saginaws are not strong. If you do not have a Muncie to rebuild, Purchase a new one and call it done.


Thanks guys. I`m pretty sure I`m getting the car with no motor or tranny. My buddy and a partner picked it up to flip but my buddy is trying to convince his partner to keep the drivetrain for some project he has. I don`t care either way though. It`sa 1970 camaro with a replacement target motor but the fender tags say 350 but other than the 4spd it doesn`t have anything special so I`m figuring on it being a saginaw from what I`ve been able to dig up as far as production numbers of 350 camaros. I guess I`ll just wait and see. i was looking on ebay and alot of the cores needed to be rebuilt and alot of them had welded cases already so I started thinking I may be better off starting with a new one.

just for another opinion. i bought a questionable muncie for 300, worked well for a few weeks but the bearings were shot and it grinded into gears. tore it down and spent 100 bucks on a basic rebuild kit, works like new now. I had never even touched a tranny before and i rebuilt it myself, i thought it was pretty easy. For a total of 400 bucks i have a muncie that works great and i know that everything inside looks good. In my opinion its almost always better to do alittle work yourself and build something unless you have money to burn. Unless you got a total junk core you could build two muncies for the price of a new one


The problem is finding a core for that price in my area. The cheapest one I`ve found was $650 and it is one of those "ran when I pulled it out" deals. I wasn`t too worried about it since I had it in my head to go with a th350 but lately I`ve been wanting to stick with the stick.

if you don't have a core to rebuild

I'd just skip the 4 speed ..... an go straight to a 5 speed :D

if you don't have a core to rebuild

I'd just skip the 4 speed ..... an go straight to a 5 speed :D

That would be nice but I can`t afford one. I can`t afford a new muncie either but at least with that I can buy it piece by piece.

I just got off the phone with my buddy and he `s actually where the car is at and said it`s a cast iron tranny but doesn`t look like any 4spds he`s ever seen before and he`s had alot. It has a chrome ball shifter and the stick says Hurst. Would a 3spd have a Hurst stick? The console has the 4 spd pattern but the original motor is gone and I`m guessing so is the original tranny. Maybe they put a 3spd in this thing?