Hello All;

I own a 1980 Black L-48 non-numbers match coupe.  Saturday of Mother's Day weekend we drove a 70 mile backroad round trip that was pleasant and uneventful.  That Sunday, we were going to take her to Mom's for lunch and I had only 1st and Reverse.  No matter if you start in drive, 1st or 2nd, you get 1st only.  In drive you get 1st only up to 3 grand on the tach, then nothing.  She had either 200k or 300k when I bought her (some would consider her a donor) and I know the engine is wrong however, I don't know if it is the original tranny. 

I have checked the governor and the gear was fine, the weight springs were somewhat soft (don't know if this is how they are supposed to be), but not bound or locked.  I changed the vacuum modulator and have good vacuum at the bottom of the hard line.  She has been leaking, usually when not driven frequently and the torque converter drains back, but I check and keep her topped off.

Any suggestions?  I see this as my excuse for a 700R4SS from Phoenix Transmissions in Weatherford TX, but really don't want to part with the $$$ if I don't have to, she needs gaskets and seals first...

Also, the cooling system (flushed) keeps climbing up around 220+ when on the highway, on the city streets it stays around 190.  My guess is a blockage somewhere however, I have recently flushed it and changed the heater hoses.  Next on the list is main hoses and a 4-core if this doesn't work (any suggestions here also welcome).

Thanks in advance for the help!

Dennis

The difference in engine temp could be in the air flow.  Our cars are very poor in this aspect.  Any spoilers, seals around the radiator or shroud, the shroud itself, etc. that are not correct or sealed could cause the temp difference.

Sounds like internal seals in the trans.  It could be rebuilt.  Chances are the internal mechanical components are okay.  So a rebuild would be cheaper than the new one, but the overdrive does have other advantages.   Tough choice time.

My first guess would have been the gov. gear for the no shift problem, but you say the gear is good. The trans would still shift if the mod was bad, but it would just shift really late, and hard.
It is very rare for a valve to hang in a 350 valve body, but it could happen. One thing you should check, is the detent, or "kickdown" cable. They can be frayed at the top, where they hook up to the carb, or even at the bottom, inside the trans, and cause a no shift.
It sounds like it was working OK on your Sat. trip, and then just wouldn't shift the next day? I would recommend taking the pan off, and seeing if there is any excessive poop in the pan. There will be some; all transmissions shed some metal, and friction material in normal operation. Too much would be having to scrape it off the bottom of the pan. If there is a ton-o-crap in the pan, then it's rebuild time.
If the pan is reasonably clean, the it is going to be a stuck valve somewhere, again, very rare in the 350s.

If you have rev. then the direct clutches are ok. The directs apply in rev, and third(direct). With 1st working, that tells us the forward clutches are working. I don't think the trans is wasted, at this point. The info points to a stuck valve, a bad detent cable, or a gov. prob.
Have you checked the vac. with the engine at a higher rpm than idle? Sometimes, you can have a decent vac. signal at idle, but it will drop to nothing once you raise the rpms past idle. This would indicate a collapsed hose/line, or even a restricted hose/line. Just a thought.

I had the same exact cooling problem you did. In town it was fine, but on the freeway above 65 mph in the summer it would overheat. I replaced the radiator with a 4 row core and in so doing found out the left vertical seal out of position and the right one missing. So check to make sure all your seals around the radiator and support are in place. Also make sure the chin spoiler under neath is in place.

I can now run the a/c and drive 75 mph with out over heating

Here are a couple of shots of the seals on top

Forgot to add if you go to the larger core, don't forget to order new rubber mounts. They have a larger cut out to work with the wider core.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/suncountry/Radsealrt. jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/suncountry/Radseallf. jpg

suncountry38859.8846643519

Suncountry, you were right about the seals.  The right one crumbled when I touched it and the left one had been replaced by the PO with the green foam stuff florists use for cut flower arrangements!

I have a seal kit on the way, with the larger mounts.

I haven't had time to tinker with the transmission, but should get to it this weekend.

I really appreciate the responses and I love this site!

Dennis

OK, here's what I did over the weekend at the direction of THE vette mechanic in town.  Roughly jerked around on the linkages, changed the rubber at the top of the vacuum line, found a fair amount of junk in the pan although the fluid was clear and "tapped" with a rubber mallet on the side case just to see if it would jar anything loose.  No luck.

So I called the guys at Phoenix and they said I have to know what rear end gears I have so they can tailor the 700R4 to my baby.  None of my books tell me what it might be or where to find the gear stack ratio.  Any ideas where to find a code that could be deciphered?

I know on the older cars (dad was a semi-gear head as well) you would line the valve stem up at the top of the right rear tire, mark a chalk line on the drive shaft and pumpkin and rotate the wheel one time counting the rotations of the shaft for a rough estimate of the gears.  I don't know if this holds for newer models, vettes in particular and I would like to be more precise than this if possible but I don't know where to look.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Dennis

The mark on the driveshaft and turn both rear wheels one turn works very well.  It applies to any rear drive car.  Granted this is not exact, but with care it will get you close enough to know which of the gear sets you have. 

Why not get the code off of the bottom of the diff. case? That will give you the ratio. Not that it would matter...all '80's had 3.07 gears!!

Ken & Joel;

Thanks for the quick responses and the info.  On the one hand, I'm glad to know that Dad's trick works for all RWD vehicles, on the other, thanks to Joel I can order it tomorrow!

Any other tips to know about for removal/install?  The guys in Texas tell me their transmission should be an exact bolt-up as it comes with the correct tailpiece and the bellhousing is supposed to be a bolt-up match.

Thanks again.

You Guys Are Awesome

Dennis

Well, it's not exactly gonna be a bolt-up...
You will need a T.V. cable for the 700 trans, that connects to the carb. The 700 does not use a vaccuum modulator, as the 350 does. You have to have someplace on the carb to connect the cable, and the geometry of this is very important!! The T.V. cable on the 700 is the only way the trans knows how much torque, or how much gas you're giving it. If it is adjusted too loose, the trans will burn up quickly. If adjusted too tight, the trans will shift very late.
There is also the matter of the speedo housing on the 700 being way larger than the 350. This usually requires some trimming/cutting/welding/beating/cussing of the trans crossmember, unless you are getting a new one from them.
The shifter also needs to be modified if you want to have all four forward gears manually. There are kits to do this, and it's not that bad a job. If you don't absolutely have to have a manual first gear, then no mods are needed.
You will need a different filler tube and stick for the trans. One from the '82 'Vettes work perfectly.
Are we havin fun yet?!!
Be sure to ask the folks you're getting the trans from some of these questions, so you can limit the number of "OH SH#$@s" in your project.
As always, C3VR is here for you!!