I bought this car a few weeks ago in Washington and my friend has been helping get it ready to drive back to Michigan. The car has been sitting for over 20 years. Here's what he found when he dropped the transmission oil pan. It's also worth mentioning that previously when he checked the oil level with the dipstick, the fluid appeared clearish amber. The sludge is not magnetic. Any ideas?
Any ideas here? I need to drive this thing back next week. If I need to rebuild it I can but it will just take time. Or I could ship a trans there and swap it. The plan as of now is to flush the trans, put new fluid in it, get the engine running and test it and maybe I will get lucky.
Ya, that does look ugly. If I were you, I would change the fluid/filter now, drive it a little and do it at least once more. and take a gander and how the fluid/filter look when you do. BTW, that Turbo 400 in the 64's is an odd duck. Nailhead bell housing and really a one-year only design valve body wise. You would really need to secure a 1964 Turbo 400 or re-build that one.
Looks like clutch plate fibers. How many miles on the car? The old TH400s will go 100k miles or more if cared for before needing a rebuild. If possible, refill with fresh ATF, drive a hundred miles or so and drain and refill a second time. This should flush out most of the crap. FWIW, I don't care for the AT flush services at the oil change shops. The old filter can be cleaned and reused many times. Honestly, I wouldn't drive any car that has been sitting 20 years that distance. Even with fresh fluids, belts, tires, something is bound to go wrong. Most likely it will be rust in the fuel tank moving around and filling the carb and filters. My car with the same fuel system had a similar issue that developed after putting it on the road after a long rest. It took a few hundred miles but it eventually filled the sock filter on the pickup tube after first filling the new in-line filters every 50-100 miles or so. Fortunately the pickup tube can be pulled w/o dropping the tank but the tank cannot be drained in the car. I had to drop the tank and have the inside blasted and coated and holes in the top pathed in order to fix it. The next likely trouble point will be the radiator which may be fine now but may be a timebomb waiting to go off. Can you hire someone to trailer it to MI? If you still plan on the trip take extra inline fuel filters (a dozen or so), some hose of various sizes, have the radiator pressure tested and cleaned, and pray a lot. Good luck and don't forget to keep us updated.
Hopefully the engine will be running by the end of the day and the trans fluid replaced too. Then we will see if it is going to work or not. If not I can either rebuild the trans there or rebuild a spare one here and ship it there or a friend has a good switch pitch setup I could ship there and replace. I am pretty bound and determined to drive this thing back and have accepted that I will likely spend at least a cumulative day of the trip broken down. I bought 4 spare fuel filters maybe I will need more. Fuel hose is on the check list, cooling system has been replaced, and praying has started! The car has 119,000 I believe. I figure trunk is big enough to put a junkyard fuel tank in with some ratchets straps if mine is shot. Any idea where I can buy pick up socks? In any situation me and another friend already have flights booked to Washington for Friday, at the very least we will have a fun visit with our friend in Washington. Thanks for the good luck wishes!
Also, any recommendations for a rebuild kit for the trans? Would any 60s GM TH400 rebuild kit do the trick? I'm not finding a kit specifically for a 64 Electra.
The trans will likely hold up with a good flush and new fluid. As others have mentioned the '64 TH400 is a one year only design. I believe the case and valve body are specific to the '64. A S-P trans could probably be dropped in but the kick-down switch and shifter from a '65 or later would have to be used. The 64 shift pattern is P-R-N-D-L, the 65 and later is P-R-N-D-L2-L1. IDK if you could temporarily make the '64 shift mechanism work with a '65 trans or not. I never found a source for the sock filter. I removed mine and just keep an extra inline filter in the trunk, although rust hasn't been an issue since the pro tank cleaning. A road side tank swap would be tricky as the panhard bar must be removed and the suspension dropped down to clear the axle. A good portion of the tank is above the axle and just below the shelf at the front of the trunk. The 4 bolts that mount the tank to the frame are usually rusted and must be broke or cut off. Two in line fuel filters is a good idea. You might want to get an extra fuel pump or install an elctric pump as back-up. Oh yeah, the muffler has to be removed for the tank to come out if it is in the stock location behind the axle. I admire your courage to try this trip.
Thanks for the rebuild kit link I sure hope it will hold up. I've spent about $2500 in parts in the past few weeks and am just hoping I don't have to spend to much more. Just found that the driveshaft center bearing and u joint were bad, that was another 100+. I sure hope I like this car! As for the fuel tank, I wouldn't change it out on the side of the road. I would just put another fuel tank in the trunk and connect it.
Good idea. That should work in an emergency. I think you'll like the car. I've had my '64 Wildcat for 6 years now and love it. I bought it with new body and paint work, new top, and the rest mostly original. Between the upgrades and the suspension, driveline, and fuel system rebuilds I've doubled the purchase price but am still in it for for less than a similarly equipped '64 Impala. I believe the Wildcat is a much better car
Good news, the engine is now running and idling. Also the trans goes in and out of gear and the engine loads up when put into gear with the brakes on (currently on jack stands). It seems like it will be ok. Hopefully the driveshaft, wheels and fuel lines will be on it tomorrow and it can be street tested.
The trans MIGHT make it home; I drive locally some hundreds of miles before taking an unknown very far. Plan on taking it apart and putting in new soft parts when home. And the timing chain. The thing I would WORRY ABOUT MOST is that single circuit master cylinder brake system. I refuse to even own such a car, or front drums. I routinely replace anything brake fluid touches every couple decades. The lines here are already Stainless Steel. good luck, Bruce Roe
Got the car on the ground today. The trans was working on and off but appears to be working itself out. Definately going to change the fluid again before I hit the road but I'm feeling pretty good about it. What I'm not feeling so good about is the coolant coming out of the block at the head gasket. Hopefully that's just a change of head gaskets and I'll be on my way. One way flight leaves to Washington tomorrow at 3. Wish me luck!
Well the transmission lasted all of about 5 miles. Fortunately I found another transmission locally and it is working perfectly. When I pulled the heads to do the gaskets I noticed that one of the valve stems was rusted out in the intake port. Fortunately I found a new set and everything seems to be working well drivetrain wise.
Sounds like she was parked due to a bad trans or head gasket leak...or both. Did you find a 64 trans? If so that was a good omen.
I got home Sunday at 5AM. The trans I got was from a 65 Wildcat, so its a switch pitch deal. The carb was pretty messed up the whole way but it ran great at highway speeds. The car overheated a couple times until I blocked off the gaps around the radiator. But all in all it went well. She got me home.
Glad you made it home with little trouble. I am curious about the 65 trans swap. Did you have to change the shift mechanism or was it a simple drop in?
You are ahead of the game. Now you just need to figure out how to control the switch pitch. Bruce Roe
The actual shift mechanism was a simple drop in. If it was from a different car I would have had to hack the linkage off the 64(riveted on) and bolt it on the 65 trans. I got another carb that has the linkage for switch pitch, also got a few switch pitch switches with brackets. I should be all set to hook up the switch pitch. Maybe a project for this week.
