I just heard via the grapevine that Greg had passed away today. I have no other details. HQ GTS350 owners will all have known Greg well.

I only met Greg last year at his workshop and he help me in sourcing parts for our LS 350 and he new so much about hq 350 engines it was

unbelievable . He will be sorely missed a true gentleman.

Edited by user Wednesday, 8 February 2017 4:33:11 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

With Greg gone our knowledge base has diminished substantially.

What he didn't know about HQs, 350 & Muncie especially, isn't worth knowing.

I raced against him many times at Castlereagh in the early 80s & he was a tough competitor.

Dr Terry

I don't know many people in the later Holden movement and never got to meet Greg...May he rest in peace.

...Dr Terry .. Could you elaborate on the Muncie in the HQ GTS 350 please. I went to great bother sourcing all the mechanical clutch gear, levers, rods, brackets and boots, seals, shift etc. (even including the bulged console) back in 1979-80 to convert my TH 400 to manual. The last item that never really bothered me was the fine spline Muncie, that at the time could be had quite readily, with any other fast moving parts also very readily available....(I still have all these items in packets, envelopes and boxes as they were issued)

...Was there a special fine spline Muncie set up for the HQ compared to the normal "rock crushers" found in the USA ?

Edited by user Saturday, 11 February 2017 8:05:22 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

AFAIK there was nothing 'special' about the Muncie fitted to the HQ 350.

It had a fine-spline input shaft & a 1st gear ratio of 2.52. HK1837 might correct me here, but I believe it had option no. M21 on the US market, where they are commonplace. GM-H's option number was MC7.

The Muncie which was referred to as the 'rock-crusher' was a high torque version built for performance Big Blocks & was a relatively rare item. They are very rare in Australia, I've only ever seen one dismantled.

The unique feature of the rock-crusher gearbox was the much shallower helix angle of the gears. Most manual gears are cut at 35 degrees to minimise gear whine, but the higher angle reduces the torque capacity of the teeth themselves. The rock-crusher's gears were cut at around 10-15 degrees. BTW rock-crushers are a noisy gearbox.

I believe the term rock-crusher originated because the almost straight-cut gears resembled those in a rock crushing machine.

I've heard the HQ fine-spline Muncie being referred to as a rock-crusher since the 70s, sadly another Holden myth.

Dr Terry

Edited by user Sunday, 12 February 2017 9:04:48 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I have always understood the Muncie in the HQ GTS350 as being referred to as an M22.. ?

...what also needs to be understood is that the 4 speed Muncie, Saginaw etc. were used in a variety of light/medium commercials offered by GM right through the 1960's and beyond...Hence I guess the Rock Crusher being made available with not too much consideration for gear whine...

Edited by user Sunday, 12 February 2017 8:07:39 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified