1978 Oldsmobile Omega

I have a saginaw 4-speed.. Not sure on a year but for sure mid seventies.? I have never had it in a car but the assembly looks pretty great, turns by hand well and shifter moves good from what I see... The question is what to do with it, can I buy a gasket set cheap and just open it up to check it over and then freshen up the linkages and paint it up?
AND!!
What about shifter... Am I fine with the stock shifter with a fancy new ****? I don't want to spend a lot on it until the car is done. But want to buy a shifter in the future.
ALSO!!
It seems to have short shifts, is there anything to that?

RandyS

If you are going to be running a lot of HP, the Saginaw is not as strong as a Muncie. Yes, you can buy a gasket set for it. The shifter depends on what car you are putting it in, console or not, etc. If the handle will fit thru the hole in the tunnel without modification, then it will probably work. The length of the throw on the shifter depends on 2 factors, how long the shift levers on the tranny are, and how long your shifter handle is. The shortness of either one or both will give short throws.

garys 68&72

As stated, the Saginaw is pretty weak. Turning by hand doesn't tell you much. Did you ever drive the car with the trans in it? If so, did it shift well, stay in gear? If not, open it have a look at the gears and engagement teeth.

1978 Oldsmobile Omega

I am thinking 400 or less hp, not sure it matters but I have 3.08 posi, no console so I think it will fit. Where would one look up a gasket set? I would prefer to have a Muncie but the only one that's for sale in my area is $950! And there's no way I would pay close to that ballpark.

1978 Oldsmobile Omega

Like I had said, I have never had it in a car, so playing around with it is all I can do right now, but it's not that it is a weak trans it's that it is not as good as a Muncie, I have never heard that the saginaw was bad.
I think if I can't find a good deal in my area on say a Muncie, then I will get a kit and crack into it

garys 68&72

I'm not even sure how many saginaws were put behind V8s, but the higher numeric first gear, the weaker it will be. You can easily get by with a weak trans if you don't drive it hard, but if the gears are damaged or engagement teeth worn, there's no point in fixing a Saginaw.

1978 Oldsmobile Omega

When I looked up the numbers they were commonly put in the Camaros and I believe it said v8s but I can't be sure on the source. That's exactly what I plan to do, open it up and check the gears. So far it sounds like that in these days it's a cruiser trans, so I think I will put feelers out for a Muncie, people around me are asking around 400-500 for Saginaws so maybe I can find a Muncie for that. Also can anyone confirm my bellhousing working, it has multiple hole sets and I believe it is saginaw and Muncie... Maybe I will put it in for a bit until I can find one. Might as well upgrade because you never know when you want to use the power..

Seff

You're looking at a rebuild anyway, so here's a Muncie for $350.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/pts/4502036904.html

mmurphy77

My friend had an Omega SX ('78 or '79) that came with a chevy 305 2-bbl and a 4-speed from the factory and I believe it was a Saginaw.

1978 Oldsmobile Omega

Interesting... I know that in 78 there was little to no omega with olds motor, so mine likely had the same setup.. My mounts are also the clamshells so it had an chev. But I don't know if my trans is original because I bought the car all in pieces and don't know what was original, could very well have been the same setup