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55 Century 66R Project


Mudbone

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, after an overnight stay in the hospital for tests and three weeks of not feeling well, I finally was able to move the chassis under the body. I now have room to work on the daily transportation. After that I think I will tackle the dynaflow. Mud

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Mud, I hope you are feeling better! What an accomplishment, when the body mates to the chassis..The finished project is that much closer when this happens. Stay warm and well my friend.

I hear chicken soup and Spam sandwiches work wonders:)

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Dynaflow disassembly has started. When I removed the pan I was very disappointed in the gunk I found. I then discovered that this was no virgin. Some one had been in the trans before. Several screw heads were stripped out on the valve body plate. I was starting to see $$$. But when I removed the pump, shaft, band and clutch plates it all looks good with little or no wear. The clutch band still has the printing on it. The drive plates look new. I do not have the back half apart yet but I hope it is as good as the front. Mud

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have been very busy with work and home inspections so time for the 55 has been slim. I managed to get a few parts cleaned and painted and was starting to assemble a few sub components. I assembled the main clutch pack with new seals and tonight I was going to install the clutch plates. I pulled the washer kit out and discovered only a few of the thrust washers are correct. I checked my invoice and it reads 1956-1960. I would assume they gave me the wrong kit. I sent them an e-mail so we will see. Mud

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Looks like fun...?

I'm curious, is this something that you have done before? I only ask as I would love the challenge of doing mine as well but I have never touched a transmission before.

I am leaning to farming mine out but I sure love to experience new challenges and learn new skills. The book is so explicit and thorough...surely if I follow that exactly I should be good? Any pit falls or things to consider that the book doesn't cover?

Other than getting the wrong kit it looks like a whole lotta fun!

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I did a 55 dynaflow when I was in high school (1971) I backed out of the driveway and pulled back in and that was it. Something came loose in the planetary and locked it up. My dad felt sorry for me with all the work I put into it and we took it to a shop that repaired it. He said a needle bearing came out of place. I have rebuilt several other transmissions over the years including Ag power shift transmissions. I am a mechanic by trade but mostly gas & diesel engines. I am on a limited budget so I have to do all my own work if possible. After that first failure I am more determined than ever to get, er done. Mud

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I did a 55 dynaflow when I was in high school (1971) I backed out of the driveway and pulled back in and that was it. Something came loose in the planetary and locked it up. My dad felt sorry for me with all the work I put into it and we took it to a shop that repaired it. He said a needle bearing came out of place. I have rebuilt several other transmissions over the years including Ag power shift transmissions. I am a mechanic by trade but mostly gas & diesel engines. I am on a limited budget so I have to do all my own work if possible. After that first failure I am more determined than ever to get, er done. Mud

You like many of us are on the "Limited Budget" train! I am also a mechanic by trade. I worked on farm equipment and cars/trucks for years. Then on to Large presses and 22 years later am still doing all of the above...........You are doing very well and are to be commended on your car and the work you do. Matt

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Yea you certainly are doing nice work and I think I will go with my gut and farm out the Dynaflow rebuild. Maybe one day get a used core and play with that. I consider myself very adept mechanically but like I said about my engine rebuild...this may not be the best time to "Practice" on a rebuild.

I continue to keep tabs on your project, thanks for sharing what you are doing.

...now to go shake the money tree a little harder. :(

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I remember helping my dad pull the heads off our 56 when I was in junior high. He was a self-taught mechanic by necessity. We took them up town to have the valves ground and the next night we were putting them back on. I thought everybody did this. I didn't know that most people take their cars in to have them fixed. That is just the way I grew up. Mud

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Its funny you remember that because it was my dad that helped rebuild the heads off my Grandfathers 1954 Roadmaster. He remembers it like it was yesterday....he later owned the car and has always revered it.

I want to try rebuilding the trans but the last thing I want to happen is to have a break down the first day on the road....or worse the 10th day when I have traveled all the way to Buick Gardens in Georgia. :eek:

I will do it one day but maybe not for this project....its very special to me.

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I want to try rebuilding the trans but the last thing I want to happen is to have a break down the first day on the road....or worse the 10th day when I have traveled all the way to Buick Gardens in Georgia.

I rebuilt my engine and trans on my 47 one spring.. put maybe 100 miles on it before leaving Houston for the meet in Batavia. 1st day, put a new water pump on. 2nd day we push started it any time we stopped. Replaced the starter in the hotel parking lot. 3rd day a 15 cent rivet broke in the clutch hub and left me stranded in Elizabethtown Kentucky. We rented a car and went to Batavia and got the car home later.

Fun times with old cars....

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Guest Rob McDonald

AH DADS... what wonderful creatures of legend, particularly if they're not around to defend themselves.

My father usually took his cars to the local ESSO garage for infrequent bouts of service. His motto was, don't fix it until after it breaks. He also claimed that the top half of the tank costs more than the bottom half, so don't fill up until you're running on fumes or, even better, walk to the station after you run out. That's a tradition which I've been faithful to keep.

Every once in a while, Dad would determine to fix his car himself. There was the time when he used one of the tips of a multi-ended screwdriver to wedge open the butterfly valve on the carburator of his hard-starting '66 Valiant. It fired up all right and he let the engine warm up for a bit. Out of habit, he then rev'd it to kick down the fast idle, which caused the metal tool to fall into the carb, through the intake manifold, and jam itself into an intake valve, just as a piston came up to give it a good whack. Oh dear.

My favourite memory of Dad's mechanical misadventures is the time I watched him change the light bulb in the radio dial of his '61 Fury. Without removing the unit from the dash (why take off any more pieces than you need to?), he somehow managed to get the old bulb out.

However, while he was wheedling the new one into place, it slipped out of his fingers. It fell deep into the innards of the radio, apparently somewhere before the on/off switch circuit. A crackling sound ensued, then thick grey smoke began to spew out of the dashboard, quickly filling the poor car so that we had to retreat. We stood back, mouths agape, as the entire body wiring harness incinerated itself. Oh dear.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Transmission update: I have been very busy with home inspections but I have found a few hours here and there to work on the trans. I have the new bushings in and sub assembles completed and I started to assemble the trans yesterday.

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Checked shaft endplay on Saturday. I am .001” over max spec. I will need to pull it back apart and change the trust washer. Unfortunately the kit did not come with a large selection of trust washers for this location, so I will have to call them and see if they have the size I need. The trans is on hold anyway as our 26 Model T Ford needs some engine work so it will be a while until I get back to the Trans. Mud

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Rob McDonald

KIDS, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Such beautiful specimens of the machinist's master work - that lovely big gear with teeth like knuckles, those mirror-finished flats with shaped ports and channels... It'll be almost a shame to put it all back together, to be buried in a grimy old car. Which won't be grimy of course, at least not at first.

Please tell us that building this Dynaflow is like everything else with cars (and life): take it one step at a time, do the best work you can, get it right, then go on to the next step. If only the danged service manual was better written, this job would not be so intimidating.

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  • 2 months later...
All I did was tap into my supply vent from the basement and added a booster fan. It helps a lot. Oh by the way this is a code violation. (I am a Home inspector) Psst don't tell anyone. I write these up all the time.

Absolutely. You are basically venting your garage into the house, allowing the fumes to penetrate. I've seen this on "Holmes Inspection" a LOT. I know my garage isn't as tight as they say to make it.

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Since the supply side is pressurized I really don't see why it's a code violation.

Gotta agree with the others Mud, you do great work and remember to take good photos. Seems when I get involved with a job I hate to touch the camera with greasy hands so I don't take as many photos as I should.

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The supply blows a positive pressure into the garage...where a door and other small allowances allows drafts to come in.

Look if you have a man cave garage like I do it is of no consequence until you try to sell...keep the petrochemicals out in a shed and your fine.

Also I am using your project as one of my templates for my own so I concur with John..keep it up!

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  • 3 weeks later...
Actually it is kind of nice. When I’m in the bathroom (Reading the Bugle with the vent fan on) I can smell my Buick in the garage. Now what could possibly be wrong with that? Mud

We run our furnace fan continuously. So earlier I did not think of the consequences of having the furnace fan cycle and thereby allowing garage fumes to penetrate the air duct system. Guess it's a good thing my system is separate from the garage.

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  • 2 months later...

Well, I finally got back to the Trans assembly on the 55. The Model T’s are in storage and the outside work is done. It feels good to get back to the project. It took about two nights to get back in the groove. The shaft endplay is set and the valve body has been installed and adjusted.

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