Diego

So no M20 with the 350-2?

Interesting!

jensenracing77

i thought we went through this a year ago, lol. we had determined you could get 3 on the floor in 72. i had explained i had on documentation to prove it but a friend had one that was original. someone backed it up but i would not be able to find the thread.

Diego

Hmm . . . .

wmachine

Maybe someone went through this before, but that "we" wouldn't have included me!
And I verified this info front to back. Meaning it was not available, and didn't show up in the production records.

1971 was the last year for the M14 Heavy Duty 3-speed floor shift manual (the only floor shift 3-speed ever available). And in '70 and and '71, it was a GM trans, not the Ford Toploader used from '65 - '69.

Diego

Kurt, what are these production records you speak of?

FWIW, I looked at the specs I have and it indeed shows M20 as not being available with the 350-2. I also don't see a floor-shifted 3-speed option. However, factory literature is not cast in stone, so I'll wait and see what happens here. :-)

wmachine

The production records I'm referring to (the "back" side of the evidence) I got from one of my research visits to the GM Heritage Center. These records are very limited, but still provide some interesting info (like in this case). The particular one I refer to is an IMB tractor paper printout of ROP options by month, by series. Unfortunately, the last month there is June, so July is missing.
Anyway, there is no 3-speed manual there.
There is no doubt in my mind about this.

Diego

I need to visit the place. Is it the one in Warren?

wmachine

Sterling Hts.

jensenracing77

i found it.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ual-floor.html

again, i have no proof but i seen with my own eyes an original 72 3 sp floor shift car. with a Hurst shift lever, i do not know if the shifter was a Hurst but the lever was. i am not trying to be a problem but i know it is possible.

wmachine

JR, thank you, thank you, thank you! Boy did I ever #$^$ up! Not only did I not remember, I stumbled over it again just like I did back then. There's my myopic vision. I missed it because I was looking in the wrong place.
Please accept my apologies and let me correct myself.

Yes, '71 *was* the last year for the M14 Heavy Duty 3-speed manual trans with the Hurst floor shifter.
However in '72 they continued to offer the floor shifter, but only with the same regular 3-speed manual trans as the column shifts got. So it was not given a "Mxx" RPO code as it was only a shifter change, not a transmission change. I thus missed the W39 RPO code given to it. Missed it in the "front" and the "back". I didn't have the production figures then that I do now, and I can now add that there were approx 475 3-speed floor shifters that made it into Cutlass S series cars, and that would include ones also 442 optioned.
And Diego, following your line of thinking, that is about 25% of the number of 4-speeds in the same series.

I promise not to forget *that* again!!

jensenracing77

not a problem at all. i am still beating myself up over the 455 oil return i severely goofed up on a while back, on another thread.