camaro 4 speed?

[Guest bigjim240z]

ok i have a freind who has a 305 in his garage with a 4 speed bolted to it..he said it was out of a late 70's early 80's camaro...before they changed the body to the newer early 80's style..is this a good 4 speed trans for a z v8 conversion?..i can get the motor and trans for 200 bucks..i really dont want the 305 but ill take it and sell it or somthing..my interest is in the trans..thanks for any info guys..jim

[fl327]

people on this board like od a lot, i do too, but i love four speed manual american transmissions, i would drop it in so quick it would nt be funny, its a good starter motor and trans combo, youll be quick.

[DavyZ]

The trans should work fine, but you'll be missing that 5th gear on the freeway. If the car is basically an around the town racer, you have yourself a good tranny for cheap, but remember that your revs with the Z will be high on the freeway. Just food for thought.

 

If money is an issue, you scored with a good find. The stick shift V8 Z's are a ton of fun. Also, the money seems pretty reasonable considering the trans is in good shape presumably.

 

Bottom line is this: if you are running around town, great. Buy the trans. If you are doing some highway driving, consider a different tranny. Just my $.02.

 

Davy

[Mike C]

GM used three different 4 speed transmissions in the second generation camaros. From 70-73 in high perf cars they had the GM Muncie 4 speed with aluminum case. From 74-81 they used the even stouter Borg Warner Super T-10 aluminum cased 4 speed in high perf cars. Any year could have had the iron cased Saginaw 4 speed that was not nearly as durable and optional in the base model V8 cars and 6 cylinder cars. The T-10 is still available new from Richmond. I have 26" tall tires on my Camaro with 4.10 gears and it turns 3200 rpm at 60 mph. Nnot practical for a road trip machine, it's not too bad just around town. (Actually, at 30-45 it gets exceptional mileage!)3.54 and 25" tall tires in the Z and it would be quite liveable. A non-OD manual trans can tolerate more gear on the street than a compareable non-OD auto because of the extra slippage related to the converter (excluding the uncommon TH350 with lock-up converter. Check out Gearzone.net for help id'ing your tranny.

[660Z]

my first 4sp was out of a 84 firebird 305....it was a super t-10 the last year they made them.it had a 3:43 1st gear which made it feel like a trucks granny gear behind any motor with more grunt than a 305...it really sucked for performance! it lasted 2yrs before i blew the cluster gear...manual gear ratios go like this...the higher the ratio the weaker the trans!!!...the trans is ok until you find somthing better but like everything automotive in the late70`s early 80`s they suck and are nowhere near as strong as they`er 60`s early 70`s counterparts....mark

[Mike C]

I thought '82 was the only year of the 3rd gen with the 4 speed? 83 should have been a cable actuated T5 and 84 and up the hydraulic clutch T5. I have two '84 T5's from Z28s.

[660Z]

thought it was 84 but maybe it was 82???...like i said the 4sp i had was the last and highest gear ratio made.it came out of the body style like kit in knightrider...mark

[fl327]

regardless of which four speed it is, i dont think youll have trouble with it in a z car, if you do tons of freeway it might kind of suck, in my z i would be stuck up at 3k doing 60, which is like 4.11's but i had 3.54s and tallish rear tires

225-60-15 on a 7" wheel. i only broke 1 four speed in my four year reign of terror, and thats from rear seal failure over time, not the gears themselves. davy-tell em how that yoke looked!!!

for street brawling, that trans will do you fine, and it will have you setup for any stick trans, starting with a stick is going to cost a little more though. and yes, the gears are like tow trucks, i had a nice wide ratio muncie though. on the street you have the gearing to blow the tires loose like a champ though.