That is a great question.I read the latter from Vintage Vehicle Services Inc, and in part states"Please understand,due to the age of the material being provided,the quality may vary considerably,accuracy is based on production record information available to us.Some information may be missing,but they are as complete as we can make them."
So I'm lost.Has anyone else ran into this?Obviously color,model,engine are all there but how should I go about finding what the original transmission was.It does have the 4-speed "hump" and no signs of any welding from putting that in.Also the linkage and pedals are there.If it was put in non-factory,then they did a greaat job.I will continue to investigate and see if there is any remnants of any kind left in the car to help us figure out how she was born.Any ideas guys?Thanks,Mark G
Your talking about the data tag on the front drivers side under the windshield?That would make sense to me,but unsure if thats true.Ill have to dig deeper into this.Hopefully guys can chime in and help figure this one out.Thanx,Mark G
Sometimes mistakes happen , just might have just been missed. It has happened before to me, Im sure a quick call to George at GM historical , and the Transmission code would be added and a new sheet sent out ASAP.
I don't think anyone has suggested this but I would suspect it was a 3 speed from the factory, which would be the base transmission, which would mean no trans data on the build sheet or the cowl tag.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Thanks Ponchheart,Ill give that a try.Mistakes due happen and you would think something as important as a transmission would be on that build sheet.
4SPEED427,I don't know.I've ran across a few of these cars over the course of the 80s and 90s but never saw a 3 speed transmission(except Auto of course,lol).Guess it could happen,but my take on it is there was no way it could handle the torque of the BB.But thats definitely an interesting thought...Hmmm....think I will George at VVS a call and see what he says. Thanks guys, Mark G
They definitely were available with a 3 speed, but it was a special trans, an HD version. There is a fairly well known 68 SD convert that was sold new here in Manitoba that was a documented 3 speed floor shift.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
FWIW, the heavy duty 3-speed manual was the standard (base) transmission available for the '68 Beaumont SD 396. If you didn't check off an option box for another transmission, that's what you'd get.
We don't think about it so much these days, but it was the norm back in the day. A buddy of mine has a survivor-ish 1970 Dodge Dart 340 car, that had a 3-speed (floor shift) in it from new. He still has the transmission in his garage but swapped in a 4-speed because it was more fun to drive. I can recall when he first got it, shifting the 1-2 shift in the same position as the 2-3 in a 4-speed... he called it the "bus transmission"... lol.
I suspect a lot of (most) muscle cars that originally came with a 3-speed manual had a 4-speed swapped into them at some point in their lives - easy swap and much better (and faster) to drive.
I'm storing a friends '67 SS 396 Chevelle in my garage now. It was delivered new with a 3 speed manual transmission.
However, the car now has an M21 installed and the original 3 speed transmission is in the trunk. In addition, back in the day one of my high school teachers had a brand new 68 Camaro and it too was a 3 speed stick car.
From what I understand, the roundy round racers preferred those 3 speed Muncie's over a 4 gear transmission. They took a beating but worked well on a circle track.
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1949 Pro Street Meteor Coupe, 468 BBC, 4L80E, Narrowed 9" 3.50 posi
1966 Biscayne post, 427 L72, M21, 4.11's 16600 original miles
1966 Hemi Satellite 4 gear 59K original miles 1968 Z28 302MO, M21, 3.73's, cowl plenum induction
WOW!!! You learn something everyday.This is why I love this forum.Todd you maybe totally correct on your idea.Ill still contact VVS to see if there was any oversight,but what a cool idea that this car had an HD 3-speed.Well if that doesn't just put a smile on my face.Thanks,Mark G
And thanks ZAPPER68 for substantiating that.Looks more and more like thats what it was.Mark G
You're welcome...after I submitted my post yesterday I checked out my friends GM of Canada document from George Zapora. There is no mention of the transmission on the option list.
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1949 Pro Street Meteor Coupe, 468 BBC, 4L80E, Narrowed 9" 3.50 posi
1966 Biscayne post, 427 L72, M21, 4.11's 16600 original miles
1966 Hemi Satellite 4 gear 59K original miles 1968 Z28 302MO, M21, 3.73's, cowl plenum induction
So we just talked to George at VVS and YES he confirms that it was a 3 speed HD manual.Who who would have thunk.And yes,MC not clicking off the option box would give you that transmission as standard.Thats why it doesnt appear in the "option"list on the build sheet.So we asked if we can get some confirmation on this and supposedly there may be some in the "large" packet we got as part of the build sheet package.Ill let you know what we find.Other then that it's pretty much a go for the Standard trans,its just a 3 speed.Thanks to Todd and Ponchheart as well for getting in and that.They were both correct.Mark G
My Butternut yellow 68 SD convertible is a HD 3 speed also and George ( or his predecessor) did list it in the GM Canada build sheet years several years ago ....
I never realized that was the standard option either.
Great info
My Butternut yellow 68 SD convertible is a HD 3 speed also and George ( or his predecessor) did list it in the GM Canada build sheet years several years ago .... I never realized that was the standard option either. Great info
Your's isn't the Winnipeg car I'm referring to is it?
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Carl , I Actually had the original owner Darrell and his son out to see the car a few years ago. He lives in Calgary now, but he had lots of stories way back...!
