I'm working on a '59 Chevy panel truck with an Olds 307/Powerglide combo, and can't get the trans to shift into any forward gear. The work done by the PO is pretty rough ( the Olds Cutlass clip is poorly grafted, the tilt column is up against the dash and difficult to shift, etc) The plan is to get a spare chassis built to replace the current one, but I'd like to get the current drive train working to get the panel moveable. There is no indicator, so shifting is by feel. I can feel it drop into Reverse from Park, although it takes at least 5-10 seconds for the trans to engage (feeling the rpms drop and the vehicle push against the brakes), I can find Neutral, but really can't feel Drive or Low, almost like they aren't there... Transmissions are not my strength, so any advise is greatly appreciated!
Seems like a lot of Powerglide issues lately on the HAMB. Is this a 307 Chevrolet engine from an "Olds" car, or is it an actual Olds engine? Chevrolet engine-Powerglide; Olds engine-ST 300 trans, which is a 2 speed trans that's sort of a cross between a Powerglide and a TH 350, and guys often refer to them as "Powerglides". I'm going to just guess it's a Chevrolet 307/Powerglide combo. Look at the other posts about Powerglide problems, as yours are virtually the same. The internal detent mechanism on a Powerglide, AKA the rooster comb, is somewhat weak and bends fairly easily; it also breaks, and can strip the splines out. Be sure it's well engaged with the manual valve (the part that slides in/out of the valve body. You really need a good shifter, so make sure there's no binding or loose/worn bushings; the manual valve HAS to be to engage the rooster comb accurately, and slide freely in the valve body. There are some slight variations in manual valves also, and these parts get reused/transferred/salvaged from one Powerglide, and used in another. The reverse issue could be bad seals (hard, cracked, etc), or it could be pump related; throw a can of Trans-Medic in it (or whatever variation you can find); all the stuff does is soften up the seals, makes them more pliable so they seal better. It's usually only a temporary fix however. And finally, get a copy of Carl Munroe's (RIP) book, "Powerglide Performance Handbook-How To Rebuild Or Modify Chevrolet's Powerglide For All Applications", put out by HP Books. Carl, and now his son, are the owners/operators of TSR Racing Products; racing Powerglides and parts. You can usually get a copy for around $16.00 on E-Bay. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Olds 307 connected to a Powerglide? I kind of doubt it.... pictures would help us help you figure out what you're working with.
Have you checked the fluid level? If it is ok you could check if the shifter is working correctly. You would have to go under the car and disconnect the linkage to be sure. It should be possible to adjust the linkage so it will work at least to get into D and R. As you are not keeping the trans it wouldn't be worth going to too much work.
Sorry, it is a true Olds 307 with a 2 speed auto trans (I will guess that it's an ST 300). The fluid level looked good- will have to check the rooster comb to see if it's bent or broken, because there is quite a bit of travel, after neutral, in the column shifter without any detent. The truck sat for two years, so there's also a good chance that there are pump/seal issues as well. The PO was able to drive it a couple miles without any problems to a good, flat loading area, and we were able to get it off the trailer after the trip... that's when the troubles began
Odd combination there; Super Turbine 300 trans were 64-69 vintage, while the 307 Olds engine were late 70's to mid 80's. The ST 300 is not a popular trans, and if it has any problems, it's time to swap it for a TH 350. The only good thing about the ST 300 is that some of them came with the switch pitch torque converter setup; like the switch pitch TH 400. HOWEVER, there is a remote possibility it could be an actual Powerglide; there were some Powerglides made with a B-O-P bellhousing. They are somewhat rare, and the B-O-P Bracket Racers grab them up as fast as they get advertised for sale. IF it's a Powerglide, it will say POWERGLIDE on the passenger side of the transmission. Those were a late 60's/early 70's transmission. Dig a little deeper to find out what you have; maybe a photo or two of either side of the transmission or of the pan. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
If it's a ST300 with a switch pitch converter, sell the converter to someone who knows what it is...they're getting hard to find.
First, thank you for the info and help guys- I really appreciate it! The engine/trans and clip should have all come from the same car, and the engine has HEI, so it may be a newer trans as well... this is all a steep learning curve for me. The CL add described it as a 307/PG combo, so I figured it was just like the engine trans in the '70 Nova I grew up with, but when I looked under the hood and saw them funny lookin' valve covers, I knew I was in for more than I bargained for... Will try to take pics this afternoon for more clarification. One thing I was wondering- are the mounts on the crossmember the same for Cutlass and Monte Carlo (G Body)? If so, I could drop a belly button SBC and be done with all of this foolishness until the other chassis is done.
The mount brackets that fit the same engine into the Cutlass and the Monte are the same (since the chassis are the same)...but the mounts for a Chevy engine are different than the mounts for an Olds engine. A panel truck isn't quite the same as a Suburban, is it? I was driving my 57 Suburban a couple days ago, and an old lady chased me down to a parking lot, and said she had one, and wanted to know who to hire to get the body and paint done so it would look as good as mine. I told her it took me 15 years to finish mine...and didn't offer to do hers. I wonder if it's the same one I looked at 20 years ago, a nice decrepit $1000 truck, my friend offered 3k and they turned it down.
Maybe pay attention to Rusty here. Tell you a story, I went to look at a cheap '64 Malibu SS. it was a 283 powerglide car. It was cheap because the transmission didn't work, I figured that shouldn't be a problem I had transmissions and stuff. So I fired it up ran it through the gears and could barley tell that it was hitting them, so I check the fluid, it took 2 quarts to fill it. So I had already decided to buy it and gave the man his money. As I drove it off it wouldn't shift into high without me lifting and then it banged really hard. Stick my head under there and found the vac line off the modulator. Cheap car desirable body and all because no one checked the fluid.
Picked up some Lucas transmission fix, so will add that Friday afternoon (my 6th grade band has their first performance tomorrow evening, so I won't be able to leave school until after dark). Here are some pics of the trans (can't get the pic of the mine field that is the engine bay to load)... I have the feeling that the sooner I find an sbc/tranny combo, the better
yeah, it's a 200. Haven't worked one of those for 30 years. no vacuum modulator on that one, it uses a TV cable to determine shift points.
I would really check that shady linkage out. Like Rusty said. Disconnect it underneath and see if you're getting full range.
Interesting "spacers" for the transmission cross-member, and the shift linkage is a bit dicey. Looks like the PO sold you his unfinished/poorly thought out project (sorry). Wipe the transmission pan off, it should say exactly what it is, a Metric TH200 transmission. It's a light duty transmission, but the Stock and Super Stock racers have been using them for a few years now; better gearing than a TH350, and lighter. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Yeah, the "quality" of the chassis brought the price down a good bit... will post pics of the booger butt welds later The plan all along was to build up a spare chassis. I'll drop the bottle of trans fix in and play with the linkage over the weekend and see what happens. Will also pull as much of the smog junk off of the engine as I can (no yearly inspection here in Winder ) to try to simplify things and try to get it mobile (have to get that mower out to trim the weeds every once in a while ).
"Maybe pay attention to Rusty here." Beaner I wish I had a dollar for every time someone comes on one of these boards looking for advice on how to fix their car, and refuses to do easy cheap stuff like check fluid level and look under the car. I always say, one of us is going to have to get under there and look, and you are closer than I am. I see the OP is off to buy an expensive bottle of Transmission Rebuild In A Can which won't do anything a quart of used crankcase oil won't do if the trans is low, and won't do anything at all if it isn't. O well we all had to learn. Too bad we have to learn the hard way.
Rusty, I really do appreciate your input, and everyone else's- the fluid level is okay (forgot to mention that I checked it- nice and pink, which tells me that the PO filled it recently, so it was probably low and the seals dry, etc), and the linkage is a mess. The linkage and vacuum lines will be the next things to work through, but I'm also willing to go get an $8 bottle on the advice given of someone who's helped me out a number of times before. If I don't need the extra fluid, it'll go back to Wallyworld... but if I do, I won't have to waste an hour going to get it (picked it up last night while running some other errands).
So, after a much busier/shorter 3 day weekend than I expected, here is an update- I took the linkage off at the shifting lever/yoke... easy to do, because it was held on by an unbent finish nail. The PO modified the linkage by cutting and welded the two lengths of rod together with two tack welds. The upper tack weld was broken, which explained why I couldn't feel any detents after neutral- the linkage would bend after I got to neutral. Yeehaw. The rooster comb is good, and I could feel all of the detents by manually turning the lever/yoke, but it feels like I have P/R/N/D/L1/L2, so it may not be a 2 speed after all... like I said, transmissions are not my forte'. That was all I had time for- will be fixing the linkage problem this week, will let you know how it goes... and most likely returning the bottle of trans fix On a side note, the 307 has a Rochester 4 barrel on it- seemed odd for a 307... will be looking into that, unless someone has some info on late 70's early 80's Olds small blocks?
we told you it's a TH200, I guess we forgot to mention that this is a 3 speed transmission. good to see you are making progress! The 307 olds usually had a Qjet on it. They were computer controlled, starting in the early 80s.
Yep, mine had a computer controlled Rochester on it. It would run OK w/o being hooked up but I switched to a regular Edelbrock and it woke it up. Mine also had a non vacuum advance distributor on it so I switched it out as well. Make sure you don't drive w/o that detent cable hooked up!
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