The Fantastic 4-Speed

Today on Muscle car, Rick and Tommy know their four speeds. And after this show, you will too, we'll show you how to identify, choose and rebuild one plus a 71 Torino cobra sinks its teeth into some pavement.

Hey, welcome to Muscle car. Today's show is all about, you guessed it, the four speed back when muscle cars ruled the streets. If you didn't have a third pedal, you were either a grandma or you had a pocket protector. If you wanted the most respect, you had four gears instead of three, a Mopar

Ford and Chevy all had primary builders for their four speeds and other than a few design differences, they all pretty much operate the same and even the modern five and six speeds, they all can trace the roots right back to the good old four speed. Now, one other thing that all these four speeds have in common,

they're a kick in the butt to drive. And if you're restoring an old muscle car odds are you're gonna end up with one of these. But what's the difference between them? And how do you know which one is right for you if you're working with the Mopar, you've got one stock option. The A 833 it came in different configurations with different input shafts and tail housings depending on engine and body style.

The earlier models can be identified by the cast iron case.

They're a good overall performer and rebuilt units can be found for under a grand. Now, Ford offered up several options. The T 10 top loader is easy to identify because as the name implies, everything loads in through the top. Now this makes the case a whole lot stronger and it was designed to replace the Borg Warner. This transmission came in two basic styles, either a wide ratio or a close a lot of guys think this refers to the actual throw on the shifter but it doesn't, what it actually refers to is the gear ratio changes between the gears.

Now say you're driving a wide ratio, four speed,

you can rack it up to about six grand grab second gear, but your RPM s are going to drop all the way down to say 2800 to 3000 that puts your engine below its peak horsepower. Then it has to work to get back up. If you're driving a close ratio, you rack it up to six grand grab second gear. It may only drop down to four grand. That means that your engine is still in its peak horsepower.

It

creates out to a whole lot quicker quarter mile times

as for General Motors, you had several makes to choose from their board Warner was the same as for

T 10 that Rick was just talking about. But with a different boat pattern for the bell hauser,

you could also get a Saginaw, one of several munchies,

you can always tell a board Warner by the nine bolts in the side cover where a Saginaw and a Munsey will only have seven and the Munsey will always have an aluminum case. So how do you know which one of these is right for you? If you're not doing the numbers matching restoration, let your wallet and how much horse

you're dealing with this side for you

choose a heavy duty model for your high horse applications. Otherwise a cheaper light duty will be just as fun to drive. You can pay a little more for a close ratio, but a wide ratio will still give you the feel of a good old four speed. If you are doing the numbers matching restoration, then be sure you do your research before you lay down any coin. And the best way to find out if your transmission is correct is by simply tracking down the OEM part numbers. Now, munies in particular can be ID by the casting numbers in the side case, the tail shaft housing and the main case. Now also don't forget to look for the date stamp and count the number of spines on your input and your output shafts and count the number of rings on the input shaft.

Now, all of these things need to match up for you to have a 100% numbers matching transmission.

The name Munsey almost always is gonna come up when you're talking about floor speeds.

That's because it was G MS premier performance transmission back in the sixties and seven,

it came in three main types, the M 20 wide ratio, the M 21 close ratio and the legendary M 22 rock crusher. This extra heavy duty close ratio, chunk of metal is the most desired and the hardest to find of the

MSES. Most transmissions have helical gears which mean they're cut in a spiral shape that reduces noise.

The rock crusher can be easily identified by its straight cut gears which generate the signature line.

It doesn't matter if you have a rock crusher. A top loader, a borg warn or a Saginaw. The rebuild process on all of them is very similar. So after the break, we'll be knocking one apart to show you how it's done.

Hey, welcome back. If you're buying a four speed from a swap meet, it's a great idea to remove the side cover for inspection.

I've opened up our M 21 to show you what to look for. If the gears are worn or chipped or the sin rows are shot, they'll have to be replaced. So just be aware of what you're buying

some will have a magnet on the inside to collect metal shavings. If it does check it out to see if it has any large pieces. Ours has some shaving stuck to it, which could indicate a bad bang or a lot of miles. So it's going to get a rebuild.

I'm starting by removing the front bang retainer.

The main shaft has to be shifted into 2nd and 4th to lock it in place for the removal of the input retaining n

the roll pin needs to be removed from the housing. So the selector shaft can be pried out of the way.

Next to come off is the tail housing.

Use a puller to remove the speed of drive gear, then pull off the reverse main gear,

engage forth before removing the main shaft assembly from the case,

tap the input shaft loose with a soft hammer, then take out the reverse idler and tap out the input bear,

Tommy. So you got the guts knocked out of this thing. Yeah, pretty much. All I gotta do is press out this counter shaft right now. You don't wanna help, do

you? No, I can give you a

hand.

Get a hold of that greasy dude.

Yeah, I just want to get me dirty too. Huh?

This could be done with a hammer. But as usual, the press makes it a whole lot easier.

Use a dirty transmission back. You know, we got a parts washer over there right here. Let me let you clean it up.

All right.

Now I can unload the main shaft, remove all the retaining clips, gears and sink rows that can be slid off.

Next, press the main shaft out of the third gear sys

the rear main shaft support bear is held in place with a snap ring, just spread the ring and tap the bearing loop.

Rick got everything cleaned up. Nice and pretty for me so I can start putting this thing back together.

Summit sent us this rebuild kit that comes with all the gaskets, needle bearings, clips, bearings, seals and sync rows so we can get it back to that light new condition.

I

hope you were paying attention earlier because now you can assemble it by reversing the process I just showed you,

but in case you're just tuning in, I'll go over it step by step,

install the new snapping and bearing into the rear main shaft retainer

during reassembly, make sure to use plenty of heavy grease to prevent damage on your first ride out of the shop, drop on third gear and the new synchro ring then tap the synchro hub onto its flight.

The fourth gear sleeve must be pressed back into place.

Next slide on second gear in the synchro and tap the hub into place

a snap ring holds everything in place.

The synchro hubs each have three notches for the clutch keys,

use some grease to hold them in place during assembly

with the clutch keys installed, the selector sleeves can slide over the synchro hubs.

Fourth gear is last on the stack and the retaining plate falls into place with another snap ring, keeping it all together.

The input shaft bearing assembly is put together piece by piece, one roller bearing at a time, then slides inside the shaft.

Next comes the counter shaft assembly. After inserting the spacer, the needle bearings go in.

There's a bunch of little bitty pieces here, so take your time and do it right.

Use grease to hold them in place and make sure you don't need any out or bad things will happen

with those out of the way I can get to filling the case up starting with the gear set, thrush washer and counter sha

the reverse gear rolls into place and a new thrush washer slides in

tap the new input support be

into the case then slide in the input check.

Now comes the big chunk better known as the main gear assembly.

The reverse gear shaft falls into place, followed by the reverse electric gear and Speedo drive gear.

The tail housing is held in place by six folks that need to be to

the specs.

The reverse gear selector can slide back into its spot and a new roll pin will keep it there.

Don't forget the output shaft seal and the Speedo assembly which both go on pretty easy.

Some lock tight will keep the input nut from loosening up and don't forget to engage 2nd and 4th before tightening it down.

Last, but not least the side cover can be torn down.

Rebuilding a four speed from a different manufacturer will be pretty similar. But if you get into a more modern five and six speed, you're gonna need some specialty tools. So do your homework before cracking one open.

That looks good

up next. There's a whole lot of shaking going on in this ramjet Torino Cobra.

Today's flashback, a 1971 Ford Torino Cobra,

the seventies may have beaten the tar out of the muzzle car, but the 71 Torino Cobra still had plenty of venom left to make its fight deadly watch out because this snake is co up and ready to strike

as part of Ford's mid size line. The Torino served double duty as both a sensible family car and a radical street machine.

It started off as the sporting member of the fairlane line in 68 but by 71 the Torino had taken over and the fairlane was given a boost.

The name comes from Italy's version of Detroit which suits the car well, with great styling matched with raw American power under the hood.

The real muscle was in the cobra first unleashed in 69

came standard with a 285 horse 351

or you could pick your poison.

There was the 429 Co

Jet banging out 370 horsepower.

But to really shake things up, you could order the Super Cobra Jet with a Ram Marisco

and shaker hood

capable of 375 horsepower that ran through the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds at 100 and two miles an hour. Not bad for a two ton beast

like any snake. You can tell if it's dangerous by its markings. The warning signs were the blacked out hood and tail panel, not to mention a ton of badges all around.

Plus it had a unique grill that wasn't split in the middle. Like all the other Torino standard features also included heavy duty suspension,

dual exhaust

and a set of wide ovals with

seven inch wheels. A base model cover would cost you about 3300 bucks.

But this one is tricked out with lots of extras that ran the ticket up to almost five grand

extras like the unusual ribbon tag,

which was cool but kinda hard to read.

It's also option with high back bucket seats, an automatic C six transmission

mag wheels

and reflective laser stripes down both sides.

A nine inch traction lock v with 391 years

help shed some snakes team.

The cobra was one of the blue ovals last attempt of big cars with big muscle

tipping the scales at 3800 pounds and measuring 206 inches in length.

The Cobra. It's really more of an anaconda

the styling for 71 was pretty much the same as the 70

featured the fast back sports roof that didn't come on. The base models,

only about 3000 Cobras were sold in 71

making this one rare car

throw in options like the Ram Air 429 and red on red look and this is one of only a handful and rebuilt.

It was also the last year for the second Gen Torino and the cobra option

in 72. A brand new look was on its way and power it went out the window.

So if you see this cobra slithering down the road, think twice before going near it ain't no garden snake

coming up. How modern gearboxes have improved the classic four speed design.

You're watching muscle car for a DVD copy of this episode. Just go to Power Block tv.com and order your copy for just 595 plus shipping and handling. Start your own muscle car collection delivered right to your door from the power block.

Hey guys, welcome back. And we've been talking a lot about four speeds today. You can have the best gearbox in the world, but it's not gonna do you a bit of good if you can't control it. That's where a shifter comes in. It's basically a lever that pushes on the rods to control the gears. But there's more to it than that. A performance shifter is gonna have a shorter throw a more precise pattern and that's gonna equate out to quicker shifts and less jamming. Now, upgrading was a must to be competitive. And her shifters like this have found their way into a lot of muscle cars for that very reason. Now, all standard transmissions have some kind of linkage to control the gears. Now, some are external like our Munsey but others like our late model T 56 6 speed. Well, it's all internal. Now, the main reason for going to an internal design is size two more gears means an extra rod and a bigger shifter. And there's flat, not enough room for all this hanging off the side. So they took the shift or moved it to the top ran all the linkage internally. A stronger input shaft is another feature on later model transmissions. They use higher quality materials and a higher spl

count. Now the larger spines on the four speed may look stronger but they're not the higher spine count means more contact area, which means it can handle a lot more torque. But hey, let's be honest. The biggest

manager swapping out a four speed to a five or a six speed is the overdrive. I mean, the best you can hope for with a four speed is a final drive ratio of maybe 1 to 1. Whereas with a six speed you can get a double overdrive and that means less engine wear and better gas mileage. Plus you can run a set of 456 is out back. If you're going to build a boulevard bruiser

and still cruise down the freeway 70 mile an hour, no problem.

Hey, that's the best of both worlds.

All you automatic guys may be feeling a little left out. But if you want to join in the three pedal fund, there's a lot of companies out there offering conversion kits and that means you can drop in a 45 or six speed into just about any muscle car. But all you slush box fans out there don't sweat it because we'll be getting a lot more in depth in the autos later on. But for this week, we're out of time. So until next time we're out of here.