Event Coverage Another Stupid Trip

Wow, great read and cool trip. Thanks for taking us along.

 

Thank you for taking us along...!

 

Hi Jim,thanks for the ride along.Glad to see that you made it home safely.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Jim, is Wile E.Coyote in squirrel clothing,(complement in form of a picture coming)--->

.

 

At one time I made a portion of my living fixing Automatic Transmissions. I had a school bus packed full of good Used automatic transmission parts. Customers who abused the transmissions and expected me to fix them for free forever because I worked on them one time. Got me to hating automatic transmissions. My 66 chevy 3/4 (I still have what is left of it) had a factory 327 and turbo 400 trans. It eventually started slipping. I took it out and tore it down, the o ring on the clutch packs where hardened and leaking the clutches burnt ect. A rebuild kit was over $100. plus fluid ect. Because it was a early turbo 400 and made different. I just cut a hole in the floor hung a clutch pedal and linkage and installed a SM 420 four speed. It didn't cost me anything because I already had the needed parts. My current working & using truck is a 71 chevy 3/4 it has a 454 and turbo 400 trans. If that transmission gives any hint of trouble it will be converted to a granny 4 speed also. Im certain Jim is savvy enough to fix his transmission. And automatics are great until they leave you stranded. Those old granny four speeds will let you know they are getting tired long before they quit working. They start making noise, jumping out of gear and leaking lubricant long before they swarm. My opinion is that Jim,s 59 truck needs a stick shift trans. Maybe not a granny 4 speed . Maybe a overdrive of some kind?

 

I removed the stick shift trans in 1979, after rebuilding it and it needing rebuilt again within 6 months...put a used 400 in it and ran it for 6 years before I had to work on it.

so you can go either way on this one

I'll fix the trans. I kind of threw it together with whatever parts I had laying around, years ago, it was never supposed to be towing.

That 400 trans that I originally had in this truck, ended up in my 57 suburban, and I towed stuff across the country with it several times, no problems.

 

Transmission be damned, trailer tires that will happen, Chevy II fuel pump well that happens too. Planning a good road trip that turns out to be a GREAT ROD TRIP? Now that my friends is what HOT RODS are all about! Jim glad you made it home safe and sound no worse for the ware! Let the wife open the credit card statement for the fuel usage maybe she can soften the blow! Thanks for the cool ride along! Joe

 

I was wondering how you were doing when I checked into the HAMB this morning. Glad to see you made it home safe and sound Jim. This has been a great trip story, I really enjoyed following along, and watching the races (didn't help my productivity those days, LOL!). Congrats on the success you had at the track and the great trip you enjoyed.

 

Gee only 6 months out of a rebuilt stick trans? My 66 The trans I used came out if a 1953 one ton. (I still have the one ton) It had a 216 engine and 538 rear gears. And never did anything other than change the gear oil. Used it hard for several years. and sold it to a neighbor who now has it in his 67 chevy truck. and He sold me the Saginaw full syncro three speed that came out of his truck last month for $30. I know where there is a snub nose 54 GMC that pulled car hauler when it was new. The driver told tales about hauling brand new 55 chevys from the St Louis plant all over the country. The old truck had about three new 270 gas engines in the five years it was in service. Still has the original 5 speed trans and two speed rearend and it has about 800,000 miles on it. I pull a gooseneck with my 71 big block and automatic. And so far no troubles but I don't believe the automatic is near as tough as a stick. Just my opinion.

 

I like a stick in a car that's quick, it's just more fun to run through the gears. But I've got one in an old wrecker that I pull a trailer with and it gets old in traffic when it feels like I'm rowing the thing with the gear shift. Makes it hard to drink coffee too. I'm predicting Jim will go back with the TH 400 and a Gear Vendors over drive, something he knows and loves. Good luck Jim, thanks for the trip!

 

You sir rule. Thanks for a great trip. Snowman

 

great to see you Jim and thanks for sharing your trip and the experiences you encountered.

I sure am glad you didn't swap transmissions with the Suburban before you sold it to me. Not that I would pull with it, but it would suck to be on a road trip and have it fail. Like it did for you.

I hope to see you again soon.

 

I'm averaging one catastrophic automatic trans failure every 40 years, so I figure the odds are good that I'll be ok if I continue down this path

I might get working on the truck today. I'm still working on getting my energy back, after the trip.

 

We need a like button for your wife rescuing you.

 

My wife rescued me.

"like" away!

 

Jim, you are "THE MAN"! I enjoy these epic adventure posts. Can't wait for the next one.

oh, and congratulations on surviving drag week.

BigMike

 

Thanks!

I pulled the fuel pump apart today, the shaft is rusty where it goes into the bushing. seems to be a common problem on these Holley pumps if you drive a lot...moisture gets in when it rains, and eventually rusts the shaft. I've had it happen before, on another car.

 

At least you had a spare along. What a story, one more thanks for taking us along. A wife that will jump in the truck and drive 350 miles to meet you and tow the trailer home is a real keeper.

 

From Southern Arizona, going east on I-10 and then up through Las Crusties, Alamogordo, and Roswell on U. S. 70 up to Amarillo cuts a lot of miles off, rather than taking I-25 north and I-40 east.

 

Sure does, and about the same time. Scenic, too.

Ben

 

We decided to take 70 to US 54, most of the way up. Better feed lots on that route.

 

What's up with the truck transmission? Don't tell me you didn't take it apart yet

 

I took it apart. The rear thrust washer was toast. direct clutch got a little warm, but not really burned.

my wild guess right now is that I just cooked the fluid, by not having enough cooler for how much load was on it (low rpm climbing hills with a load and a torquey motor).

not sure what I'm going to do to fix it at this time...but I'll figure it out soon. I'm still pretty exhausted from the trip.

 

I know you like that W/M fluid , like I do, but I wonder if synthetic might work for you.
I never had the fluid in my stuff long enough to test it.
I did use the W/ M stuff in my Class A 454 T400 , mostly towing. About 15 year's worth. Never had a problem , except for when the cooler in the radiator rusted out and filled the trans with water on the way to Firebird.
I just drained it out, installed an external cooler, drove it home , and flushed it out again.Good to go for another 5 years.

Exhausted? I'd be exhausted long before I got to The Big Texan in Amarillo!

 

I have been using synthetic in my transmissions since 1976. The trannys run cooler and shift better.
Used the truck, with a TH400 and shift kit, for towing a 26 ft Sea Ray and a camper.

 

I like to do the pressure checks before I take apart a auto trans. That will most times diagnose a internal leak. What commonly happens is the seal on the clutch piston starts leaking. That loss of fluid pressure will allow the clutch packs to start slipping. I never reused any clutch drum that showed any indication of it being hot. I was afraid that the heat might have warped it or the piston. I would find a used one that had not been overheated. After a automatic fails its pretty hard to get all of the burnt clutch material out of the cooler in the radiator and from inside the torque converter. I used to take my converter's to a shop that had a machine to clean them. And bypass the cooler in the radiator and place a after market cooler on the vehicle. you could solder fins on the trans oil pan to help cool the fluid also. My 71 chevy 3/4 is a factory big block with a turbo 400. The transmission pan is much deeper than the ones commonly found on passenger cars. It holds a extra 2 quarts of trans fluid.

 

this one did not use the radiator cooler, it has an external cooler. It was not really a clutch failure, as far as I can tell.

I was thinking about putting a deep pan on it too, although it probably won't do much. Mostly I'm planning to run a converter more suitable for towing, and also put a bigger radiator in the truck.

I'm building a new transmission for it...I'll save the old one for another project, that doesn't have to deal with hauling weight around.

 

I finally got a transmission back in my truck. It was out of commission for a month. wow.

 

Hey Jim, good to hear your tow rig is back on the job. I need to thank you for all the information you share. After reading about your Holley fuel pump repeat issue on this trip I decided to investigate my identical pump which had failed rather than just order another one. It turned out mine wasn't rusted but that one of the field magnets had delaminated from the case. I thought "what would Jim do" and cleaned everything, cut a couple matching wood wedges, mixed up a little heated up JB Weld and put it back. Problem solved.
As you show us regularly, you'll never know until ya try.

 

heh...glad you fixed your pump! I had that happen on an older Holley pump, and I just gave up on it, because the rest of it was pretty well worn out. But yeah, if I had to fix it, that's what I'd do.