1954 chevy truck 3 speed transmission needed

[jeckel]

Can any one help with a 3 speed manual transmission for a 1954 chevy truck. I loan the truck to a guy who was down and out and got a truck returned with the main gear busted ! Oh well . Any help would be appreciated. Respectfully George

[Guest De Soto Frank]

George,

Is this a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton ?

[jeckel]

A 3 speed column shift

[jeckel]

1/2 ton

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Okay;

If you '54 has an enclosed driveshaft ( nice simple metal tube from tranny to differential; can't see any u-joints or anything spinning when the truck is moving), then the three-speed column-shift tranny from any '48-'54 Chevy pick-up should fit. Note: Chevy Car trannies of the same period have a different bolt pattern where they bolt to the bell-housing. You need a tranny from a pick-up.

There was a heavy-duty 3-speed option: this this tranny was a Warner T-89; it may or may not swap. The easiest way to tell the standard truck 3-speed from the HD is to count the bolts on the side cover: the standard 3 speed has four side-cover bolts; the heavy-duty has at least six.

Question: you say "the main drive gear is gone"... I had the 3-speed in my '54 "blow-up": wouldn't stay in high-gear unless you held the shifter lever down with your arm; turned out that the detent mechanism inside the side cover had come apart, and that was why the tranny wouldn't stay in high. At any rate, it was able to be rebuilt, as no gears got damaged and the case was not cracked...

Good luck repairing yours or finding another tranny...