Glide or 3 spd stick?

Jim Cimarolli · 08-26-2010, 02:31 PM

Does the classification guide say that this combo can be used with either a 2 or 3 speed automatic transmission?

Mark Yacavone · 08-26-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Cimarolli

Does the classification guide say that this combo can be used with either a 2 or 3 speed automatic transmission?

No, but the guide doesn't show a heavier weight break (W/TH ) for Chevelles , as it does with the full size cars.. Therefore, PG only.

ss wannabee · 08-26-2010, 06:17 PM

I wonder if some of the confusion might be that the BASE transmission for the SS-396 Chevelle those years was a HD 3-speed manual...console shifted...possibly a Warner trans? I'm quite sure that the 4-speed was an option...and could be had easily...as most went for the "four on the floor" option. I think I saw this in a GM ad in a magazine years ago. I actually saw a '66 SS-396 WITH the 3-speed...I was a young fella...and the car couldn't have been more than a year old at the time. I was scratching my head saying..."why didn't he go for the 4-speed?" I RODE IN A FRIEND'S 4-SPEED 1967 SS-396 Chevelle several times during the summer of 1967...it was a 325-hp....this I remember clearly!

ss wannabee · 08-26-2010, 08:02 PM

Not trying to "hi-jack" this thread...just pass along what I saw over the years. Maybe some of you guys have owned these cars before. But getting back to Eric's original inquiry...I think he said he wanted to run the Malibu wagon as a STOCKER, didn't he? Eric, I'm
quite sure you're ok in Stock with the 4-speed, and would like to add that the base 3-spd/optional 4-spd situation back in '66 probably followed the 396 engine NO MATTER
which body style they were installed in...including wagons and El Caminos....as well as Super Sports and the Malibu and others. BTW, didn't Tom Baird in Div. 1 run a '66 Chevelle hardtop 396 4-spd in Stock years ago...don't remember particular class?

Dwight Southerland · 08-27-2010, 06:16 AM

ss wannabee - You are correct that an HD 3-speed was standard equipment on many GM musclecar combinations. Over the years I have seen, ridden in, driven or owned SS396 Chevelles, Olds 442s, Buick 400 and 455 Gran Sports, a 400 Firebird, a 350 SS Camaro and two 396 SS Camaros that were factory equipped with 3-speed manual transmissions. Why anyone would order those cars so equipped, I do not know. Maybe the $185 optional cost of the 4-speed pushed over the budget or they didn't know you had to ask for it to get it. Yes, Tom Baird raced a '66 SS Chevelle 396-375 with a 4-speed many, many years ago.

Wayne W · 08-27-2010, 06:50 PM

I had a 65 Chevelle wagon with a 283 4 speed and a 66 4 door Biscayne with a 4 speed stick. The Biscayne was legal with the 4 speed and a 283 2 barrel engine ( it didn't run real well but was legal). Did they change the rules since the dark ages ?

08-26-2010, 02:31 PM	#1
Jim Cimarolli Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sulphur Springs Texas Posts: 743 Likes: 147 Liked 166 Times in 46 Posts	Re: Glide or 3 spd stick? Does the classification guide say that this combo can be used with either a 2 or 3 speed automatic transmission?

08-26-2010, 06:17 PM	#3
ss wannabee Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 663 Likes: 0 Liked 7 Times in 7 Posts	Re: Glide or 3 spd stick? I wonder if some of the confusion might be that the BASE transmission for the SS-396 Chevelle those years was a HD 3-speed manual...console shifted...possibly a Warner trans? I'm quite sure that the 4-speed was an option...and could be had easily...as most went for the "four on the floor" option. I think I saw this in a GM ad in a magazine years ago. I actually saw a '66 SS-396 WITH the 3-speed...I was a young fella...and the car couldn't have been more than a year old at the time. I was scratching my head saying..."why didn't he go for the 4-speed?" I RODE IN A FRIEND'S 4-SPEED 1967 SS-396 Chevelle several times during the summer of 1967...it was a 325-hp....this I remember clearly!

08-26-2010, 08:02 PM	#4
ss wannabee Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 663 Likes: 0 Liked 7 Times in 7 Posts	Re: Glide or 3 spd stick? Not trying to "hi-jack" this thread...just pass along what I saw over the years. Maybe some of you guys have owned these cars before. But getting back to Eric's original inquiry...I think he said he wanted to run the Malibu wagon as a STOCKER, didn't he? Eric, I'm quite sure you're ok in Stock with the 4-speed, and would like to add that the base 3-spd/optional 4-spd situation back in '66 probably followed the 396 engine NO MATTER which body style they were installed in...including wagons and El Caminos....as well as Super Sports and the Malibu and others. BTW, didn't Tom Baird in Div. 1 run a '66 Chevelle hardtop 396 4-spd in Stock years ago...don't remember particular class?

08-27-2010, 06:16 AM	#5
Dwight Southerland VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Arkansas - In the middle of everything. Posts: 2,002 Likes: 64 Liked 783 Times in 195 Posts	Re: Glide or 3 spd stick? ss wannabee - You are correct that an HD 3-speed was standard equipment on many GM musclecar combinations. Over the years I have seen, ridden in, driven or owned SS396 Chevelles, Olds 442s, Buick 400 and 455 Gran Sports, a 400 Firebird, a 350 SS Camaro and two 396 SS Camaros that were factory equipped with 3-speed manual transmissions. Why anyone would order those cars so equipped, I do not know. Maybe the $185 optional cost of the 4-speed pushed over the budget or they didn't know you had to ask for it to get it. Yes, Tom Baird raced a '66 SS Chevelle 396-375 with a 4-speed many, many years ago.

08-27-2010, 06:50 PM	#6
Wayne W Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 91 Likes: 8 Liked 3 Times in 1 Post	Re: Glide or 3 spd stick? I had a 65 Chevelle wagon with a 283 4 speed and a 66 4 door Biscayne with a 4 speed stick. The Biscayne was legal with the 4 speed and a 283 2 barrel engine ( it didn't run real well but was legal). Did they change the rules since the dark ages ?

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