Not a powerglide

[53 stickfigure]

Ok, today i decided, since money is tight from school clothes, to fabricate my own shifter. Powerglide shifters are outrageous in price. I crawled under the 70 chevy c10 and unhooked the linkage and lever to make it longer. After about 3 hours i had a rough mock up shifter. I sat it in the floor and hooked up the linkage. It went through the gears perfectly, park, reverse, neutral, drive, low, and low again? Crawled back under and looked at the pan, th350. So, apparently, i am missing 2nd gear. It shifts real nice but goes from 1st directly to 3rd. When i got it the vacuum modulator was hooked up to the carb. I switched it to the manifold but it still only shifted once. The shifter that was in it only moved about a half inch from park to low. I'll know more after i get everything bolted up tight tomorrow but if it still misses 2nd, is it an easy fix or am i going to have to get it rebuilt? I know absolutely nothing about transmissions.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Is the kick down cable connected?

.

 

[53 stickfigure]

There is a kickdown cable laying behind the intake, not hooked up, but there is a metal rod going down to the tranny like a kickdown on a ford. I'll investigate when i get home from work today. Did chevy ever use a metal rod kickdown?

 

[Bamamav]

I'd just about bet it's starting in second then going into drive. If it started in first then to high there would be a huge rpm drop when it shifted.

 

[53 stickfigure]

Today i put in my temporary shifter i made and drove down the road. I have all three forward gears. It shifts so smooth you can't feel the gears change. Ive never had anything shift so gently. I had to downshift to make sure i had all the gears. Even hammering it down from a dead stop still just glides through the gears. I just can't explain how hard you have to concentrate to feel it shift. There is no slipping whatsoever. Is the tranny just wore out?

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

There is a kickdown cable laying behind the intake, not hooked up, but there is a metal rod going down to the tranny like a kickdown on a ford. I'll investigate when i get home from work today. Did chevy ever use a metal rod kickdown?

Powerglides used rods/linkage. Every TH350 I've seen has a cable.

Today i put in my temporary shifter i made and drove down the road. I have all three forward gears. It shifts so smooth you can't feel the gears change. Ive never had anything shift so gently. I had to downshift to make sure i had all the gears. Even hammering it down from a dead stop still just glides through the gears. I just can't explain how hard you have to concentrate to feel it shift. There is no slipping whatsoever. Is the tranny just wore out?

Your shifts are going to be "soft" without the cable attached and properly adjusted, unless you shift it manually...

.

 

[Bamamav]

I thought the cable was just the kickdown on a T350. On a OD like a 700 R4 or 200 R4 I know it controls line pressure and will burn one up without it being right. I've ran T 350 's without a kickdown before and it didn't hurt them, they shifted fine. Maybe I was just lucky?

 

[53 stickfigure]

The s10 i had didnt have a kickdown. Jegs brand transmissions arent equipped with one but im sure they have made internal adjustments. Im taking a couple day break from fooling with it because of my back but im going to hook up the cable and find out where that metal rod goes to. I hammered her down today and it didnt downshift. I need to be easy on her until i can get it timed. Whoever put a purple anodized dress up kit on it and the cover don't have a timing pointer. I've been trying to do it by ear, and I'm pretty close, but at part throttle i can feel the engine jerking and the exhaust sounds odd. I dont think I've ever bought someone else's build that i didn't have to go back over everything.

 

[53 stickfigure]

I said i was going to take a break from the truck but i had to know what the plugs looked like. I haven't changed them yet but im pretty sure the part throttle jerking is the plugs. They're clean but they're autolite 145s gapped at .035. They would be right if it was the original points ignition and not the hei it has now. She might start easier too after i change them. The 145s are a tad shorter than the ac r45ts and barely clear the headers. Advance has accel 0576s header plugs which is the ac r45ts equivalent. Im willing to pay a few more dollars for a little less headache.

 

[Old Iron]

Dumb question but, is the metal rod actually a vacuum tube for the modulator?

 

[53 stickfigure]

Dumb question but, is the metal rod actually a vacuum tube for the modulator?

I know its not the modulator tube because i changed the vacuum line, and its on the other side. My back has been hurting so bad i cant get under her to see where its going. I'll drive it to work tomorrow and have one of the young guys get under there and take a picture for me. Whoever built this truck knew what they wanted but didnt quite know what they were doing. I have to go over everything.