The Rock Crusher

I was going to through some photos on my phone for the last post, and I found some photos of the Muncie M-22 that we installed a few months back.  If your not familiar with that transmission, it is pretty rare to find one in good condition.  It is a heavy duty transmission that has been run in race and drag cars over the years.  In 1963, GM began using Muncie four-speed automatic transmissions, favored for its ability to handle the torque in high-performance cars. The Muncie manual transmission came as the wide ratio M-20, the close ratio M-21 and the heavy-duty close ratio "Rock Crusher" M-22, which was produced from 1970 through 1973. An earlier version of the M22 was used in 1965 Corvettes and in the Z16 performance options in the Chevy Super Sport models.

So, needless to say, I am pretty pumped to have it in the Pickle.

The way the gears are cut are unique to the Muncie. This transmission has a distinct whine that is specifically identified with it. You can really hear it in a scene from Two Lane Black Top. Turn up your volume, it is a little quiet.




Here is another great clip from about 30 years after the movie.  You can really hear the whine in this near the top end.


Ok, for the last picture, I have to post one of my new valve covers the folks got me for Christmas. While I love everything about Ron's engine, these valve covers will give it that vintage feel that I want.

I lied, here is the last photo. It is of the Indian head lit up. Pretty cool.