Skatepunk60

Hey guys me and my dad took the 4 speed saginaw tranny out of the junked out 82 trans am we had and put it into his ride. Right now its behind a 305 .. but this 305 has no problems keeping up w/ stock 350s. Its def puttin out some horses. Hes looking to upgrading to a 502 in the distant future. How long do you think it will be before the saginaw pops? Its been rebuilt before it was put in the car. Its not daily driven and driven pretty nicely when it is .. unless he fells the need to open it up.
So the question is exactly how weak are these trannies? Will the 502 grenade it like nothing? And which tranny can handle a high horsepower engine? Autos are out of the question.

Air_Adam

A 502 will snap that tranny like a twig.

If you wanna handle that much power, you'll either wanna go auto (TH400) or try to find one of the old hi-perf 4 speeds, like a Muncie M21 or M22, or maybe a BW T10. They are getting harder and harder to find though.

Motor City Mike

I originally had this trans in my '82 also. When I put a supercharged small block in the car, the trans only lasted about 100 miles before it stripped nearly every tooth off the input gear. I still managed to drive the car home in forth gear (direct drive). I ended up putting in a TH400 auto, and haven't looked back since. If you're dead set on a manual tranny though, I'd seriously consider getting one of the Richmond units.

MCM

MrDude_1

i recall reading about someone making a "universal" kit that may let you use a t56..... i never looked into it though.

StreetRoc85 350

well its hard to say. everyone told me that i was crazy putting a v6 t-5 behind my built 350, but i routinely hammered that thing without any problems. maybe the tranny could take it, maybe im just lucky. however if youre going to put ANYTHING behind a 502, youd better be damn sure its built to take it. i agree with adam, go with an old rock crusher out of a 396 chevelle or something. otherwise youll be remembering this post as youre walking home...

RB83L69

"Strong" and "Saginaw" don't belong in the same sentence. That's one of those "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence" combinations of words. Besides, you'll just generally hate a transmission made for a grocery cart or a small truck in what's supposed to be a sporty car; bad gear ratios, sluggish shifting, etc.

Skatepunk60

Ohh, probably just beat it till it pops. A muncie would be wicked sweet. Anyone know what the m22 rockcrusher's max hp and toruqe are?

scottland

m22's are weaker than you think, the gears are rock soild, but the case is weak.

plus good luck finding one.

if you want to keep a manual, run a t-56, they hold up to 400+ lb tq.

on i side note, i too have a saginaw, with a 350HO(330hp, 380tq)

i haven't really beat on it yet, but im sure the first time i do it will break right then and there.

Morley

Not strong enough to handle the 73-74 Pontiac 455SD's. If you are shootng for power like those produced you're going to need a "bullet proofed" TH400.