1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Or run it low/dry?

Cleaned out the governor. The B weight would get a little sticky in the bottom of the bore; a thorough cleaning has resolved that and now sees both weights falling freely under their own weight when the governor shaft is rotated.
That'll certainly have been a not-changing-gear issue.

Phil

It had been hammering too hard all the way in.
The head had made an indentation and a burr on the edge was catching.

I cleaned up the burr and removed the lipped edge and now the shaft glides smoothly from fully in to fully out

A little lubrication helped too

Phil

For quite a while now I’ve felt a lot of love for early 50’s American stuff, but figured that were I to indulge I would stay on the manual gearbox side of things. I just wasn’t feeling the early autobox tech honestly; this thread changes that.
I love feeling a clockwork mechanism come together perfectly, and reading about you fixing this intricate piece of machinery really gives me that smooth click-clack feel.

Please go on

For me this is a fascinating example of how well the American car industry innovated not just in design but also production engineering. All too common to bash American cars but that misses many points, especially for those of us born/raised in Europe but came here at some point and grew to understand the size and history of the country, and how the domestic car industry evolved (then, admittedly, faltered in the 70's, 80's and 90's.)

I've just read a history of Rolls-Royce (by Peter Pugh) that documents how the R-R leadership realized by the late 20's that their heretofore superior automotive engineering was being surpassed by the better American manufacturers, all at much higher levels of consistency and lower costs (the two being closely related, of course); we've likely all read how the Packard-built Merlin engines were in many ways better than those from R-R's own facilities.

This transmission rebuild makes me think about all this, and reminds me of the 79 Oldsmobile Delta 88 my Dad was assigned as a company car when we arrived in 81; esentially a Chevy Caprice with somewhat more luxury, it ran a corporate (Chevrolet) small block 350 with a Rochester Quadrajet carb, TH350 autobox and A/C that could make you shiver in the desert...the only car my (engineer) Dad ever loved (the one he loathed most was a J-reg Maxi bought new in 1970 from Henley's in Bristol). That Olds was the right car for the time and place, making 1000 mile trips (common here) with total comfort and reliability. Yes, the US industry here became flabby and ignored outsiders with better vision (J. Edwards Deming found the Japanese ready to listen when he own countrymen rejected the ideas upon which Toyota et al built their own quality-based systems), but there remains so much for us to wonder at in terms of how Detroit positively affected our lives.

I also dig how you're meeting guys all over the country who have the parts to get your car back on the road. Best, John

Like everyone else, I'm finding the auto rebuild fascinating! The engineering is impressive for sure. I'm surprised it drove at all with all the problems you've found. Gonna feel pretty different to use when you take it out with the refurbished gearbox!

To: General Motors Corporation
Stupid Designs Department
c/o Accounts Receivable
Detroit, MI

Dear General Motors Design Team,

Slotted Fillister head screws do not have a place in any application over 10lb/ft.

Thank you

Yours,

Phil Andrews (Annoyed)

Glad I read the manual. That gray circle bottom left of the right hand section should have merrily popped up- it's the overpressure relief. It was jammed up tight. That's now freed up.


Also, hallmark moment! First new parts going on.


Used the old seal as the mandrel to knock the new seal in.


This I do like because this is the piece that was leaking so badly. New seal, new rings should resolve that.


Next up, rear servo. Not looking forward to that there spring...

Phil

Your constant progress continues to make me smile.

Simple thing I previously noticed, working on baking trays, keep the table clean, so easy.