Muncie 4-Speed Transmissions. Paul Cangialosi

Road Racing and Endurance Use

       Chapter 7: Advance Adapters 4x4 Conversion Kit

       Mainshaft Assembly

       Maindrive Inspection

       Gearbox Assembly

       Chapter 8: Parts Resources

       Group A: Mainshaft and Extension Housing

       Group B: Maindrive and Retainer

       Group C: Countershafts and Case

       Group D: Internal Shift Linkage

       Group E: Service Kits

       Appendix: Original Muncie Patent Illustrations

       Source Guide

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      When CarTech offered me a contract to write a book on Muncies I thought to myself that it is something I do every day, and it will be an easy task. Wrong! It took longer than anticipated. I had many setbacks, both on a personal and a business level. I’d like to thank my editor Paul Johnson and CarTech for their support and belief in me.

      Brian Higgins of the SK Tranny Shop allowed me to crawl around his parts photographing some archeological finds. His place was mind blowing as usual. Thank you, Brian, for allowing me to interrupt your busy schedule.

      Larry Fischer, a true legend and a long-time friend, also took some time to drag out parts and talk about his experiences.

      Ed Hartnett was instrumental in sending me pictures of his rare 3864848 cases. I thank him for putting up with my nagging to get the perfect shot.

      George Sollish of Auto Gear is the man responsible for bringing back the Muncie. I’d like to personally thank him and his hard-working staff: Robin, Matt, Nathan, Billy, Howie, Joe, and the cats. Without them there would be no future for this transmission and I’d still be playing drums in some crappy punk-rock band.

      The late James Fodrea, who was credited for the design of the Muncie, gave many others and me a career in manual transmissions. I give sincere thanks to his daughter, Joan Fodrea Cooper, for taking the time to talk about her father and his days at General Motors.

      My biggest realization in writing this book came from seeing how unorganized my shop really is compared with everyone else’s. My webmaster, Janet, aka ‘“Gear Rhonda,” still makes it a point to insult me every day in front of hundreds of web clientele. She inspires me to continue to push myself and set unrealistic goals.

      Cristina, one day all this will be yours!

INTRODUCTION

      You have purchased this book because you want to learn about the Muncie 4-speed. I was chosen to write this book because I have been involved with rebuilding, manufacturing replacement parts, and selling completely new replacement 4-speed Muncies for 34 years.

      Writing this book has been an interesting journey and I have met a lot of people along the way. One thing that I must point out before I start going into technical details is that if not for all the people I met buying, selling, rebuilding, and manufacturing parts for these transmissions, I probably would not have been in this line of work. Many people have transitioned their love for Muncies into viable businesses, or in some cases, great supplementary income. The Muncie was used in GM vehicles from 1963 to early 1975. The number of these transmissions is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of Muncie 4-speeds were produced and no other 4-speed in the world comes close to those numbers.

      In 1979 I was one of those hobbyists. I purchased loads of Muncie cores at local car shows and started rebuilding them with parts scavenged from other transmissions. I purchased inventory from auto parts stores that were liquidating new gears. In those days, junkyards used to rebuild transmissions with cores they had on hand. It was the same thing I was doing, except they had a lot more space and inventory. When these businesses got out of rebuilding, I ended up purchasing their inventory and new parts. I had acquired a few hundred Muncie transmissions and loads of parts. I also had Ford and Mopar transmissions but, honestly, the demand was just not there at that time. Because these transmissions were relatively untouched I got to see the pattern of how they were put together. For example, I learned how certain case components were mated to other parts and what type of bolt logos were used during certain years.

      A few Corvette collectors contacted me about authenticating their transmissions. I recall they were 1963 and 1966 Z06 “Big Tank” cars. I started rebuilding transmissions for a number of Corvette collectors and shops during that period. One owner suggested that I go to the Corvettes at Carlisle show and sell my rebuild kits to the public. At the time I had a fulltime job as a mechanical engineer and never really sold at car shows; I was always buying. I did notice that nobody was selling anything new. Typically, most used parts were laid out on a blanket, unclean, and with some price sticker on them. There was endless used stuff around but nothing available new for sale to repair or to rebuild these transmissions.

      In 1981, I took my friend’s advice. I started by selling gasket and seal kits as well as complete rebuild kits for Muncies at 14 car shows that year. I quit my job. The car-show routine went on for 12 years. I had also added a few complete rebuilt transmissions to make up a nice, attractive, eye-catching display. Much to my surprise, I sold out often. Working 14 shows a year for 12 years, you meet a lot of people and see loads of parts. You get invited to things, including the 10th anniversary of GM’s Bowling Green Plant or just having breakfast one day with Zora Arkus-Duntov and his wife Elfi. All this from a bunch of greasy parts!

      The concept of this book is to give you some history about the Muncie and how the transmission evolved from 1963 to 1974. Identifying the type of Muncie you have is important because most correct automotive restorations demand the correct transmission. This is something that is regularly overlooked. Frequently, cars advertised as “matching numbers cars” don’t have the correct transmission. Both the history and identification sections of this book aid you in learning about this process. You will also learn how to completely rebuild a Muncie, inspect for worn parts, and make necessary repairs.

      A complete parts breakdown with three-dimensional diagrams is at the end of Chapter 8. The actual GM patent for the Muncie is in the Appendix.

      Muncies have been mentioned in many automotive restoration books. The cut-and-paste culture of the Internet has created overnight “experts” out of novices who copy information (often incorrect) onto home-brewed websites selling transmissions and parts. You can also find many self-proclaimed experts who offset free erroneous advice on blogs and automotive Internet forums every day.

      For some reason, people expect that free videos and free information on the Internet will be high quality. This book is not free. It took time and money to research, obtain photos, and write. Visit my support page at MuncieBook.com. I welcome any feedback (positive or negative) you might have, and will answer any of your questions. I sincerely thank you, the reader, for recognizing the value of this book.

WHAT IS A WORKBENCH® BOOK?

      This Workbench® Series book is the only book of its kind on the market. No other book offers the same combination of detailed hands-on information and revealing color photographs to illustrate transmission rebuilding. Rest assured, you have