Hmmm, I thought I had front seal or torque convertor leaking on my 32 and was dreading the major undertaking of pulling the motor and******* out but when I pulled the cover off the front of the******* it was bone dry around the convertor etc. so that was not the problem. I cleaned everything off and waited for drips....it appears my chrome Taiwan pan leaks all away around it and from the drain pulg also...but also the thing is leaking from the big ol black plastic speedo housing... Now, years and years ago I had one of those leak and I changed it to a metal one and it was a nicer set up than the plastic one I had...when I pulled mine off your could tell it was worn out...the gear and the shaft were moving. Anyhow, I go to the parts store and they don't have the housing but I get a B&M shift kit and everything I need to try and get the dang pan to quit leaking. I put the kit in...so one question is...and keep this in mind I aint a******* guy and usally buy one and bolt it in...how can this thing work right with only one ball in it for street strip use....what do each of the four do and how different will it act from using two for heavy duty or one for street strip. I have had cars with shift kits in them and I know it holds them in gear longer...but what is the differenct between the two or one ball set ups...what is going on? Those balls regulate pressure or flow, right? Now, my dad took the houseing to his******* shop near his lot and they said that the housing is a Pontiac (or maybe a olds)...and that they do not make a metal one like they do for chevys for a Pontiac...why would they be so different? The guy said that the Pontiac******* is a better one than the chevy, more heavy duty....I thought all turbo 350's were the same...anyone know anything about them? Is one better than another? All the shift kit stuff for a 350 appeared to be the same...so I guess they are the same inside...is the case some how different or something?
Other than the bolt pattern, they are the same. I have the aluminum speedo plug if you need one. PS, do yourself a favor & use a good silicone sealer on that Taiwan pan. Forget the gasket.DAVE
The speedo drive is indeed different. The casting for one, I think B-O-P, is much larger than the Chevy one. There is a VERY good book on 350's from HP books by Sessions. It has a lot of info on parts differences and interchange to get the best stuff.
And also I believe you can convert to the speedo drive you like by swapping on a Chevy tail housing. See sessions book for more authoritative version.
Thats another thing I didn't think of when I was on the phone with you....how is it a Pontiac transmisison if it's bolted behind an SBC???
From the Sessions book, the BOP cased ones and also the universal case ones were made by Buick division, the Chevy cased ones by Chevy. There were quite a number of minor differences in parts, mostly interchangeable, and by now probably most trans have been rebuilt and contain parts of mixed origin.
The Jalopy Journal
