The Saginaw would never hold up under 500 horsepower. The saginaw was designed for non-performance cars. The maximum horsepower that a saginaw can handle is 250-300 horsepower.

 

SS is right, but a muncie won't do you much good with a true 500 horsepower motor, you'll have to go with a Super T-10, T-5 or a T-56

 

The saginaw was designed for non-performance cars. The maximum horsepower that a saginaw can handle is 250-300 horsepower. <hr></blockquote>

ummm.....I have approx 220Hp in my car right now,It works VERY well.And last time I checked,a camaro was a performace car I'm pretty sure thats what is in my car.


Later, Neil

 

The saginaw was designed for non-performance cars. The maximum horsepower that a saginaw can handle is 250-300 horsepower. <hr></blockquote>

ummm.....I have approx 220Hp in my car right now,It works VERY well.And last time I checked,a camaro was a performace car I'm pretty sure thats what is in my car.


Later, Neil

I cant hold my self back on this one "a Camaro is a perf car". That depends on the year of Camaro some had a wimpy 150 hp rating or in them lines 80's- 90's. I think my 96 Camry has more hp then some of them wimpy Camaro's did.

 

Factory camaros that came with saginaws never had 300 hp. I don't even think they had 250.
A T-5 won't hold 500hp either, in fact the saginaws internals look beefier than the T-5's.
People are only trying to help...the question was will a saginaw hold 500 hp...the answer is LOL <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> try it and find out, it'll be your loss not ours.

 

Correct!! i've seen modified vegas' take them out on a second gear power shift.

 

I want trying to say that you guys were wrong
Its just that some people have told me different,but so for all the answers look the same one here.Anyway,would a m-22 rockcrush do the job? I want to try and keep the 4-speed,kuz I love it.

 

As for how much a Saginaw will take I've been using them in my 71 GTO for years and have had them outlast Muncies. Saginaws are classified in 3 different catagories, you cna check to see what you have by looking at the input shaft. A plain input is a light duty primarily used in Vegas or other 4 cyl models. A 2 ring input is a V-6 model and has heavier gears than the Vega unit then the best is the unit with a 3 ring input. As for how much power they'll take I've been using a 2 ring input tranny in my 71 GTO with great sucess and has held up to drag strip abuse very well. In fact this trans has been in the car for over a year with no problems and has handled 4-5000 launches with slicks and a 400 Pontiac engine (over 440 lbs of torque and close to 400 horsepower) Yes I've busted some but wouldn't run anything else except a Borg Warner T-10 or Ford toploader. the Saginaw has excellent gearing also 2.89:1 1st gear and 2.53:1 second compared to an M-20 or M-21 Muncies which has a 2.54:1 1st gear or an M-22 (and some M-21's) have a 2.20:1 1st gear which really kills the bottom end. When I fisrt switched from a Muncie to a Saginaw my 1/4 miles times dropped from 14.40's to 13.80's running a basically stock 400,3.23 gears and 28 1/2 in tall slicks. Nothing else was done just a tranny swap. I'll let you be the judge.

 

Does anyone know for sure what kind of trany is in my car. Its a 1980 Z-28 with a 4-speed,is it a borg warner,saginaw or whatever kind it is.I am getting confused <img src="graemlins/drunk.gif" border="0" alt="[drunk]" />

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: neil madsen ]</p>

 

Every original 1980 Z-28 that I have seen (about four) had a borg warner t-10 with an aluminum case and iron side cover.

 

YES,that is it.MUHAHAHAHA I finaly know for sure what my tranny is. So all I need to know now is how much hp are these rated for?

 

I have done some checking, and as always, everyone has a differing opinion. But most everyone says the saginaws are good trannys but not for a hi po car. Muncies M-20's or M-21's and Borg Warners T-10's are a bit heartier and can handle maybe up to 350-400 hp. Maybe even up to 450, but remember it depends on how you treat it. Even one of the older m-22's, I was told, would not stand up to hard abuse at the 500 hp level. The new "super" m-22 supposedly will handle up to about 650 ft lbs of torque, but even then, depending on how you treat it. Any machine will, at times, take a great deal of abuse, but like Jason said, whichever you use (and abuse), try it and find out, it will be your loss not ours. Remember, opinions are like a**ho**s, everyone has one. Its your money... <img src="graemlins/crash.gif" border="0" alt="[crash]" />

 

Originally posted by neil madsen:
<strong>YES,that is it.MUHAHAHAHA I finaly know for sure what my tranny is. So all I need to know now is how much hp are these rated for? </strong><hr></blockquote>

I had one and beat the crap out of it for a long time...running only mid 12's.
What killed it was doing a burnout at the track in second, track official waved me to stop like it was urgent so I just let off the gas and it stalled, the whole car buckled. On that run I noticed a funny noise. I did two more burnouts and two more runs with the noise. A week later I took it apart to find a tooth missing off the input gear.
That makes me think it's a tough trans as long as you don't treat it like that. The fact that it was still run hard with a broken tooth and never failed.
I'd put 500 hp to one.

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: Jason ]</p>

 

Thanx guys.

 

I would love to know why people here speak in HP capacity for a transmission. I've seen broken TH-400's behind a Cummins 4BT, less than 200 HP. Torque breaks things, not HP! Please think about it...

 

Why would you go through the trouble to post this on the back end of a 15 year old thread?

Russ

 

Amen Brother...

PS, he is right Torque is how the "snapping deal" comes into the equation HP gets you across the finish line usually first.

Double PS, what was I thinking this is 15 yrs old, lets give him a brake after all it was his first post. LOL

 

IIRC, some of the '68-ish 396 Chevelles came with the Saginaw 4-speeds and I saw a new '68 Buick GS 400 with a 3-speed in it.


I had a Saginaw from a Chevelle in my '66 Nova and it took some abuse. But like the Muncie, there have been no new ones made in a long time. The last new Muncie was around 1974, I've seen the Saginaws in later Vegas and Monzas. But it is hardly a stout piece.


Talk to Nathan here from Auto Gear, he's a wealth of good advice and knowledge.

 

Thanks for the Kudos.
There are very few Saginaw "hard parts" being made. Theres one set of ratios or parts of a gearset that were being made for the 3spd circletrack guys. Theres some billet forks, billet sidecovers and a few other odds-and-ends. Sanctioning bodies still think that we can go to our neighbors farm and trip over a 3spd saginaw in the front pasture. Its starting to be a real pinch-point in some circles.