Butch, I think it good you put up this report. Makes us other guys feel like we are not alone in our frustrations. And gives good lessons. We cannot expect everything to go well after installation, even if the re-builder has done a flawless job. Mission accomplished, now go enjoy those "HOT AUGUST NIGHTS" !!!........................MO
{Steve Mick} http://stevemick.shutterfly.com/pictures#Part%202----- Original Message ----- From: "Butch Edison" <waedison@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 11:47 AM Subject: Butch's 64 Sport Fury 383.... torqueflite education
Pat Blais is nearly a legend in the Northwest for his ability to rebuild Torqueflites. The best I've heard it put is that Pat was the first one in this region (back in the sixties) to take a TF apart, figure it out, andbuild them out the way they should be. He's an Ebay seller as well and is onour forum's vendor page. I removed my first ever TF, Pat swapped out asimilar TF with me that he rebuilt, taking mine as a core. I wanted to stay with authentic ball & trunnion look of the car, but Pat was not happy aboutthat, as he said the 64s had some inherent problems that were corrected in 65-66. But he found a way. I think he said the TF I got was out of a 65 Imperial or some such, the last car Chrysler put the ball and trunnion on, then he beefed up the internals and the shift points a bit. So, I get the transmission, install it, and I'm feeling pretty darned goodabout myself having never done anything like that before. Lesson learned....don't tighten up those Schumacher headers before installing all the TFbolts, because there's not quite enough room to slide one bolt by the headeron the right side. Having paid attention on this forum and listening to Pat, I carefully adjusted the Neutral Safety Switch tangs to the proper position in Neutral and Park before putting the pan on. I'd already pre-loaded the convertor with one quart of oil, put in 5 more. I left the transmission cooling return line off the tranny per Pat's instructions,started the car for about 20 seconds, draining a quart of TF fluid off. Then I buttoned it up, put in 2 more quarts of oil, started the engine and filledthe tranny the rest of the way. Now I'm feeling near-brillant, soon to be humbled again. Keep in mind, this is all with the headers off, so I'm not hearing anything coming from the tranny. I put the console shift lever in Reverse,,,, no reverse. Instantly I'm thinking "I wonder what refunds I can get from the Hot August Nightspeople?", but I fish around with the shifter and find reverse, almost in thePark position. Well, not time to worry about it right now, I've got to getthe car over to the exhaust shop and get the pipes welded on, so I drive itout of the garage and into the trailer. Not going to sleep well tonight thinking about the Torqueflite.I leave the car overnight, the owner of the shop calls, says the exhaust is on and "by the way", he noticed that the tranny wasn't properly adjusted buthe did that, so all the gear shift positions work and are in their proper place and the car only starts now in Neutral and Park. Lesson learned....just getting the tangs correctly positioned on the Neutral Safety Switch isnot the end-all be-all for getting the shift points right. You still may have to use the control cable adjustment wheel to fine tune the shifter. The car is still on the rack when I get to the shop, we check out theexhaust system,,,, I'm a happy albeit poorer $$$$ guy. He starts to back thecar off the rack and HOLY CRAP !!!! The tranny is clattering like crazy! Again.... I'm like totally deflated. What the H***! He's much calmer. The car is on a rack that allows you to "drive" the car, so he starts it up, puts it in gear and I listen as best a deaf guy can, feel along the tranny till I come to the Park Lock cable. AHAH! That's the problem area, what'sthe problem? When I took the old tranny out, I was careful to note that that the park lock cable was in as far as it would go, so was very diligent aboutputting this one all the way back in till it stopped. I anxiously call Pat and he says "Hmmm, I gave you a sheet that tells you how to adjust that cable Butch. You want it in just far enough to make PARK engage on a slope but not so far in that it makes any noise. AND he says, you should never assume that Park will hold the car on a hill. It could fail. (never knew that). " Whew... we adjusted it, pull it off the rack and a couple ofminutes later...HUGE puddle of TF fluid under the car! Here we go again. Weput the car back on the rack and see that it all came out the filler tube. The shop owner surmises it was an air bubble that cut loose and pushed the TF out. We refilled it and I start putting miles on the car. Well, not many. I get above 40 mph and the damn thing starts clattering again. I know what to do now though, so my wife (how thinks and deals in micro) helps me adjust the Park Lock pin in 1/8ths, then 1/16ths, andfinally 1/32nd of an inch using a variety of washers and shims to accurately gauge travel movement of the pin. You have to do something like that becauseonce you tap the holding bolt loose, unless you have 8 hands, the pin will move a little. So, I've now put about a hundred miles on the car. It runs cool, sounds great, and the Torqueflite feels super.I'm sure you have nodded off by now and I surely need a nap, so this is thelast of my great adventure notes (HOPEFULLY!) /Butch/Ferndale, WA ----Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks!1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.