School me on 3 speed manuals

[vkh]

So I'm eyeing a c10 with a 250 and a column shifted three speed manual. I think it could be an excellent little daily driver. I can't find anything about them. How did these transmissions hold up? Can one have fun with the column shifted manual? Also I seem to recall the i6 3 speed trucks also coming with some really shallow gears, is that common?

Thanks all

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Should be ok with a 6. I wouldn’t do to many burnouts or reverse launches. Keep the linkage lubed and the bushings in good repair. Nothing like locking your shifter up while pulling out into traffic.

 

[vkh]

Should be ok with a 6. I wouldn’t do to many burnouts or reverse launches. Keep the linkage lubed and the bushings in good repair. Nothing like locking your shifter up while pulling out into traffic.

About what I figured. This would be a mild driven cruiser for me. I always have my big block for fun!

 

[bucket]

The levers at the end of the column are easy to adjust if there's enough slop to get the shifter jammed up. It's about a 10 minute fix.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Get it! That’s a good setup, and not enough people appreciate the 250/292. I’ve heard the same about the three on the tree, but I don’t think that’s too scary.

 

[vkh]

The levers at the end of the column are easy to adjust if there's enough slop to get the shifter jammed up. It's about a 10 minute fix.

Good to know, and I always have a set of tools with me. Though I think I could just about take my truck apart with a 9/16 and 1/2 inch wrench.

 

[vkh]

Get it! That’s a good setup, and not enough people appreciate the 250/292. I’ve heard the same about the three on the tree, but I don’t think that’s too scary.

I've got a thing for i6 engines, though I kinda hate v6s. I'm hopeful but we'll see how things play out. Last guy had a 292 c30 with a 4 speed. He was way out of touch though, turns out the thing hadn't started for 12 years and the floor was rusted through.

 

[Dougnsalem]

It can be a lot of fun, if you get first and reverse mixed up.... I love driving those things...

 

[rpcraft]

They were plenty good enough that they kept using them up into the mid 80's with the 4.3 vortec when they put it in the C10. My dad used to bang the hell out of the gear box on his and used it to tow my broken down heaps more than once.. Not sure that qualifies has heavy duty but he never hesitated to do about 75 down the freeway with my ford ranger about 5 feet off his bumper. I knew better and my macho buddy figured he knew how to roll a towed vehicle. Needless to say he found out my dad was outhouse crazy that day, lol.

 

[CSFJ]

I was under the impression that the column shifted manual went away when they introduced the v6 engine to replace the I6. I don't think I've seen a column shifted truck after about '83.

 

[bucket]

I was under the impression that the column shifted manual went away when they introduced the v6 engine to replace the I6. I don't think I've seen a column shifted truck after about '83.

I've seen at least a couple. I've also seen an '87 short van with the 4.3 and 3 speed. It had been converted to floor shift too.

 

[CSFJ]

I've seen at least a couple. I've also seen an '87 short van with the 4.3 and 3 speed. It had been converted to floor shift too.

now that you mention the vans, I do recall rearing of an early astro van being equipped with a manual. I recall they said the shifter was really odd because it ran forward from between the front seats.

 

[hatzie]

The Saginaw 3 speed was not a bad transmission. It put up with the low end launching torque of the 292 I6.

The column shift isn't that difficult to deal with.

• You will need rod bushings.
  • The rod bushings on the column levers are the same ones GM used on some of the automagic shift rods and they're still available from GM.
  • IIRC the bushings on the transmission levers were the same as the Muncie and Saginaw 4 speeds with Hurst side mount shifters. You can find em on Amazon. My recollection of this is 35 years ago so...
• Most of them are full of gummy half solidified grease. Rinse it out and re-lube it. Worst case dis-assemble, clean and re-assemble with fresh grease.
• If it's jamming in 1st and 2nd you can usually make a fairly painless adjustment.
• Column bearings are still available.
• IIRC The backup lamp switch is the same as the neutral safety switch on an auto column. Again it's been 35 years.
• The only real kiss of death is when the bucket at the top wears out. You may still be able to find those NOS... You can certainly rob one off another Saginaw three speed manual column from a G series van or another C series truck.

 

[vkh]

It can be a lot of fun, if you get first and reverse mixed up.... I love driving those things...

Lol I'm sure passengers get a real kick out of it

They were plenty good enough that they kept using them up into the mid 80's with the 4.3 vortec when they put it in the C10. My dad used to bang the hell out of the gear box on his and used it to tow my broken down heaps more than once.. Not sure that qualifies has heavy duty but he never hesitated to do about 75 down the freeway with my ford ranger about 5 feet off his bumper. I knew better and my macho buddy figured he knew how to roll a towed vehicle. Needless to say he found out my dad was outhouse crazy that day, lol.

Lol, sounds like they should hold up to my dumb **** then.

 

[Dougnsalem]

Lol I'm sure passengers get a real kick out of it.

Just make sure to have a good grip on the shifter, if you're gonna slam that 1-2 shift. That windshield is kinda hard....