The New Venture Gear NV3500 (85 mm) is a 5 speed manual transmission used on light duty truck with 4.3 L, 5.0 L, and 5.7 L engines. This manual transmission is identified by the RPO's M50 and MG5. The reason for 2 different RPO codes is because of the different first speed gear ratios that the transmission can contain. The shift assembly design inside the transmission for NV3500 installed on C/K (GMT400 and GMT 800) trucks are different from that of NV3500 transmissions that are installed in smaller S/T trucks. The 85 mm is the distance between the inputshaft and the counter shaft. The transmission is available in rear wheel and four wheel drive versions. The NV3500 transmission is built in Muncie, Indiana by New Venture Gear, (a division of New Process Gear) for General Motors Powertrain.

The transmission has the following features: