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AllTorque's 1970 Buick Sportwagon


AllTorque

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So I went to work today and put the wag up on the hoist to change the oil and discovered the bell housing on the transmission has a crack across the top almost the whole way over. I can move it up and down. The front of the trans is pretty much supported by the torque converter.

I pulled the trans pan off to find all sorts of shiny shiny in the fluid.   Bugger.

I took the trans out. I suspect the metal is from inside the torque converter. I don't have the cash for another trans at the mo so I might try to get this one welded up and chuck it back together and see what happens. It was driving sweet so who knows. 

My computer is away getting fixed so photos will come later. Hopefully it is all sorted by then. 

What a way to start a new page.

 

 

Give me shit here  //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/33837-alltorques-1970-buick-sportwagon/?hl=alltorque

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I talked to a tranny specialist. He said to weld it up properly I'd have to get the guts pulled out of the trans, heat the whole casing, then weld the crack, or it will just crack again. Plus the metal in the fluid is most likely from the pump, not the torque converter so that'll be poked too.

Here are some pics ...

 

xtd44s4z.ual.jpg

3fqkofow.tyf.jpg

mqtxgiqd.edf.jpg

hhcrameu.xwr.jpg

oosqhlxq.ct1.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Replacement Turbo Hydramatic 350 transmissition aquired.
It is from a '76 Trans Am so has the correct BOP bellhousing.
 
Post clean up...
3yto2wiy.4db.jpg
 
I pulled the pan off to have a look see. It was pretty grubby inside. Quite a bit of 'mud' on the bottom of the pan. No metal tho.

Fingers crossed it is all good.
It came with a torque converter, which is handy, because no doubt my old one is choka fulla metal filings.
Torque converter has a drain bung so I drained out all the old dark fluid ready for some fresh Dextron III.
 
Bung hole
lkmry01s.42i.jpg
 
I swapped over the speedo drive, shifter bracket and trans mount.

Discovered that the mount bolts on my old trans were loosey goosey and that metric bolts had been used. Grrrr.

So this weekend I'll jam it in and fingers crossed it'll be skids on.

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Yes. She's a runner once again.

I took my time today putting the replacement transmission in. I pulled the old cooler lines out and re routed them because they were touching the headers. Who ever put the now broken trans in needs a punch int he nose.

 

Before:

ia5yqukc.uxf.jpg
 
The fluid was plumbed through the original radiator cooler and a good sized aftermarket trans cooler. I decided to not use the radiator cooler.
 
After:
u4ybrsmx.voq.jpg

 

I blew out the cooler and lines again to make sure there was no metal in them. Put a new filter on the trans and some new fluid. 

She runs like a champ. Seems smoother than the old one. The light throttle shift points are a bit higher. I may adjust the vacuum modulator after some more test driving.

So I am stoked that it is all sorted now.   

 

HAWKES BOES OR BUST!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I took the wag for a drive into Wellington on the weekend. Went sweet.

Decided to take it to work today, got 5 mins down the road and the trans started slipping. Pulled over and switched off the motor, made a phone call, started up and it drove again for a while, then slipped again. Managed to get to work but had to stop a couple of times.

 

I pulled the pan off tonight and found this...

 

rv0kh1po.zte.jpg
 
The filter is completely blocked by clutch material that has fallen off.
kg0pxaub.dcp.jpg
 
So the replacement trans is a dud. It lasted about 50km. I called the guy I bought it off via trade me and he doesn't want to know.
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I have pulled the trade me dud trans out of the Buick and dropped it off to the transmission shop with my old cracked trans.

The internals of the original mostly look sweet. 

The clutches in the trade me trans look like this...

gsjjjpo5.za2.jpg
 
You can see the friction material on the clutch rings has come away. There is some rust on the steel ring that has destroyed the bond.
Looks like there has been water / moisture in the trans at some stage.
 
So the guts out of my trans is going into the trade me casing. Hopefully I can get it back tomorrow and put it back in on the weekend. 
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN, AGAIN!

 

Two transmissions have become one. The guts of my original trans are now in the trade me casing. Zane the transmission man said my original internals were in pretty good nick. He had to replace the torque converter bush and the accumulator spring. He cleaned out the valve body and chucked in some new gaskets.

The torque converter that came with the TM trans also turned out to be no good because someone has ground down the pilot that goes into the back of the crankshaft. Zane flushed out my original TC and that is back in use.

I am lucky that my boss, Tony, lets me use the workshop on the weekend. A hoist and trans jack make this job so much easier.

2tafrbtn.rdw.jpg

 

Huge thanks to Zane at Automatic Transmission Repairs Ltd. Without his help I would not be able to make Hawkes Boes.

If you ever need help with an auto go see him at 4A Freshfield Place, Plimmerton.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well the mighty Sportwagon made it to Hawkes Boes and back.

 

5mmcua5o.ndg.jpg

 

 

It was great to have some company on the road trip. Cheers to Steelies, Beaver, and their lady fiends for helping slam the wag with their gear.

The rear bump stops and exhaust got a good work out.

 

qmd1brif.uoz.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

A couple of months have past since my last update because all I have done is drive it. We loaded the wag to the roof for family xmas duties and zig zagged all over the Manawatu including an off road excursion in Apiti.

All was swell until last weekend, after the hot rod picnic at Otaihanga, the tailgate window jammed half way up. I had a look inside and discovered the steel channel that supports the bottom of the glass and connects the regulator was rusted out along the bottom. I am never going to find one of these in NZ so I had to make one. With some help from Glen at Plimmerton Panel and Paint I bent up a new channel.

Old Vs New

1lvsj1w1.ueo.jpg

I then cut the guides and mounts of the old channel and welded to the new one. Lucky these weren't rusty.

251kmwcq.dgu.jpg

The glass has a slight curve so I heated the channel in a couple of spots and bent it a little. Sprayed some cold galv on the outside.

y3ecaz5g.1yv.jpg

New channel now in place, I filled it up with window urethane and inserted the glass.

hdxsg3jj.vnm.jpg

I'll leave it to cure for a couple of days, then pull it out again and put some proper paint on it.

BRING ON WAGNATS

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  • 3 weeks later...

Time for a change.

I had been thinking for a while about painting the centres of my wheels but it has taken some time to grow my balls big enough to do it. Scratching up and painting over perfectly good chrome just seems wrong, but I see so many other yank tanks with chrome steelies so it's time for something a bit different.

The wheels on the Buick are copies of Chev Rallye wheels that, when came on Corvettes and Camaros, were usually painted silver or matched the body colour with stainless steel dress rings like this...

item_41976.jpg

So that was the kind of look I was going for but leaning more towards base model cars of the 60's/70's that would have had colour coded wheels with basic hub caps.

Enough jibba jabba, here's some pics...

First I scuffed up the chrome with some 120 grit sand paper

pr054bgr.uyz.jpg

I rolled up some thin cardboard instead of masking and sprayed on some etching primer.

dflnvwuj.4ox.jpg

Then added colour. I wanted a light brown/tan similar to the interior. I got this from Supersheep Auto's range of touch up spray cans.

a2j5csto.cdi.jpg

Back on the wag with the poverty caps on.

dcy514dg.mio.jpg

Tell me I'm bonkers: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/33837-alltorques-1970-buick-sportwagon/page-6

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WAGNATS 2014

The second Wagnats for the Sportwagon was even more fun than the first. Possibly because I knew what I was in for.

I picked up the prize for epic meal prep, I think because I took some vegies this time.

Also picked up a spot prize for best table, mainly because I used the legs to get the camp fire roaring.

Cheers to all the Wagoneers for being so awesome.

Some pics of my setup...

ck3ydqux.5uo.jpg

qtdj4ccs.ukj.jpg

tdbkieab.45s.jpg

jxfbsgsl.fzr.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...
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  • 2 weeks later...

Some of you may recall when I did the upper seatbelt mounts for the back seat.

To jog your memory see here //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/33836-alltorques-1970-buick-sportwagon/?p=988314

I finally got around to finding some 3 point belts that match the original 2 point ones. They are the same colour and have the same buckle. The only difference is they don't have a GM button.

I got them from seatbelts plus in the US http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/product/CH256P.html

I had a chuckle over the flyer that came in the box. Cup holders for your yank tank. Bloody Muricans

jzeh2lks.ujs.jpg

Here's one of the new belts installed

4vnhvvzn.1tr.jpg

Compare to an original belt in the centre

2tobgth3.jvg.jpg

That should keep the little darlings tied down and looks so much better than the repco belt.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I gave the wagon a once over today, getting set for some summer cruising.

Changed the brake fluid and gave the rear shoes a tickle up, balanced the wheels, etc.

I put in a new thermostat for good luck. I assumed it had a 180°F thermostat in it, as that's where the gauge usually sat, I wanted a cooler one so got a 170°. I discovered when I pulled it out the old one is a 160° so it probably was a good move to switch it out.

wbmqj22m.nfo.jpg

While I was fiddling with the cooling system I replaced the switch for the HOT warning light. There is no factory temp gauge, just a too late light. I couldn't get a switch in NZ so got this from Rockauto. Jeepers it's huge.

frcfnvhl.x35.jpg

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