What was the First USA built production car with a 5 speed trans ?

The question  over a Beer today  ......

What was the first USA built production car with a 5 speed trans ?

Not a rebadged car but something where the 5 speed gearbox was USA  made  ,  so that would take out a USA built  VW Rabbit , 

Whats your guess !

Diesel Chevette.

1982 AMC Spirit with the Borg-Warner T-5 manual

Didn't the 78 Cutlass come with a 5 speed?

76 Buick Skyhawk had a dog leg 5 spd with a 231 V6

One would hope it was a Corvette or at least something performance oriented.

I think Wally and Sonic are on the right track.  There was a Cutlass S with a 260 and a five speed somewhere in the mid 70's.  "Performance" cars of the era had too much torque for what was available.  Camaros didn't get one til 84, I think- The 82 and 83 had a Muncie M22.  Turbo 200 for the automatic.  Not sure where the logic was on that choice.

My guess would have been a Corvette. But I know zilch about American cars. 

The Chevy Monza Spyder could be had with a 5 speed starting in 1976.

In reply to noddaz :

The first 5 speeds I remember in cars were an early Borg Warner model, strictly for mileage and they would fall apart with the slightest hint of performance.  I don't think Corvettes ever had 5 speeds. They went right from an odd 4+3 box to 6 speeds. 

Corvette never had a 5 speed. They had 3 and 4 speeds, and later in the C4 the 4 speed was hooked to the Doug Nash overdrive making the 4+3 7speed. (some of us managed to get the OD to work in 1st for an 8 speed.) Finally they went to the ZF six-speed in '89. There were some aftermarket 5 speed cars.

(edit)

Wally types faster than me...

Schmidlap said:

The Chevy Monza Spyder could be had with a 5 speed starting in 1976.

What 5 speed was that?

I was orginally going to say Ford GT40 but it was a ZF trans.

I stand corrected, it's the 1976 GM compact car lineup with the Borg-Warner T-50 manual transmission.

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

Diesel Chevette.

That was an Isuzu drivetrain. 

Wally (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to noddaz :

The first 5 speeds I remember in cars were an early Borg Warner model, strictly for mileage and they would fall apart with the slightest hint of performance.  I don't think Corvettes ever had 5 speeds. They went right from an odd 4+3 box to 6 speeds. 

Right!  After the Oil Embargo the US car companies went for fuel mileage which ended up as a 4 speed plus overdrive.

Just as an aside, both Ford and Chrysler turned their 4 speed trans into a 3 speed plus od by changing the third gear to a .75 ratio, and turning the shift arm the other way up.  I don't recall GM ever doing that.

Steve_Jones said:

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

Diesel Chevette.

That was an Isuzu drivetrain. 

But it was an American BW T5 transmisssion.

Schmidlap said:

The Chevy Monza Spyder could be had with a 5 speed starting in 1976.

So wait.  GM made H-body Vegas and H-body Monza/Starfire/Skyhawk at the same time?  

This is somewhat relevent to the topic because Google finds listing of Vega's with a five speed box.  Cosworth I guess?

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I think GM used Chrysler 883s with overdrive in some trucks. I seem to remember that NASCAR teams used GM cased 883s to get OD on road courses before Jericos came alou.  

noddaz said:

One would hope it was a Corvette or at least something performance oriented

Corvettes never had a 5 speed trans.  They went straight from four speeds, to four speeds with an overdrive, to six speeds.

Chevrolet trans code MY6 = A-833OD for trucks, yes.  I didn't think they would live long in a NASCAR application; they were small-block spec, not 440/Hemi boxes with smaller bearings.

I know this isn't it but it's interesting to me.

Steve_Jones said:

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

Diesel Chevette.

That was an Isuzu drivetrain. 

It took a long time to figure out how to make the T5 live behind the torque of a V8.  The first T5 in a V8 Mustang appeared in 1983.  I really like the 85s with 5 speed, roller cam and 210 hp four barrel.  I'd love to find one in clean condition to restomod.

There were 5 speeds in trucks going back to at least the 50s. The New Process 54x series and the Clark V series are at least that old. Pretty sure Spicer and Fuller had 5 speeds back then too.