Professor

Eric, GL1 fluid is appropriate for our transmissions since it does not contain sulfides or other high pressure additives that can wear / damage soft parts (bronze, brass, copper, etc.) in our transmissions. As you note, modern gear oils, including GL4 and GL5 and much better performing oils… it’s just that we cannot use them without possibly damaging our transmissions. I will stick with GL1 (mineral oil) and change it when it needs it. I bought 5 gallons of GL1 from NAPA so I will have enough for the rest of my life, I think. 🙂 Time for me to head out and start the propane heater in the garage so I can work once I have my coffee. It is 25 F here this morning; a bit to cold to work comfortably in the garage. Joe

Here is a description of the overdrive lubrication from the maintenance manual. The overdrive shares fluid with the main transmission; some overdrives have a side fill plug and some do not. In the case of a single fill plug, the overdrive can be filled from the top plug and the excess fluid will drain into the main transmission and out the transmission fill plug. I will check this tomorrow, but I expect as soon as I add fluid to the overdrive fill plug, it will immediately run out the main transmission fill hole. Never hurts to be safe. 🙂 Joe

Today’s update: Connected and adjusted the clutch linkage and the overdrive cable, installed and adjusted the emergency brake linkage, connected the driveshaft, filled the transmission with mineral oil. Interestingly, the overdrive has what looks to be a fill plug on it, but the maintenance manual does not indicate that the overdrive should be filled separately. I assume that fluid moves freely between the transmission and the overdrive unit, but I will verify this before I button things up. The fill plug (if it is a fill plug) for the overdrive is not accessible once the floor panels are on, so I need to get this figured out tonight so I can install the floor panels and interior tomorrow. If you know whether or not the overdrive unit shares fluid with the transmission, please let me know. I will continue looking tonight. After filling the transmission and making sure everything was buttoned up properly, I tested all the gears and the clutch with the engine off. The transmission shifted smoothly. After running the electric fuel pump for ten seconds or so, I pumped the gas pedal and fired up the engine. It started right up and idled smoothly… not bad after sitting since November. The rear wheels are off the ground so they can turn freely, so I tested reverse, first, second, and third gear with the overdrive disengaged and again with the overdrive engaged, everything works fine and there are no odd sounds from the transmission, clutch, or throw out bearing. Once I figure out the overdrive fluid question, I will install the flooring and interior tomorrow, and with any luck, should be able to go on a test drive. I have some cleaning and touch up painting to do on the flooring and flooring area before I install the interior, so I may not finish everything tomorrow, but I should finish by Sunday barring any unforeseen issues. Joe

Hi Eric, Here are some pictures of the springs associated with the clutch and brake. I don’t know if these are correct, but this is how my car was when I received it. Joe

Eric, Ron Lyons in Texas may have the chrome/stainless/aluminum strips you need. I don't know if his prices qualify as reasonable in your estimation, but he is definitely less expensive than some of the folks. If you need his phone number, shoot me a PM and I will send you his contact information. Joe

Eric, Which pieces are you trying to hold on? Do you have an image of the clips you need? Joe

Nice work! I remember watching my seat being recovered and the upholsterer wrapped every spring individually… talk about patience! By the way, I had my upholstery guy use high density memory foam underneath the leather. I don’t know how long the high density memory foam will hold up, but boy is it comfortable now. Joe

I too had a near accident when a jack stand collapsed sideways while my dad and I were installing an engine in my Corvair back in the early 1980s. One rear Jack stand collapsed, the car dropped, and as stupid luck would have it, fell on a metal car ramp positioned to the side of the Corvair in the direction it fell. The brake drum hit the ramp and the ramp held, but the car was so close to the ground that my chest was compressed so that I could not breathe. I remember my father sticking a scissor jack under the car near my head and I remember my hair being pulled into the jack and hearing / feeling the ripping sound (I did not feel a thing) as a large chunk of my hair was pulled out. I passed out and came to with the paramedics leaning over me. To this day, I do not get under any car without jack stands and a jack, both protecting me. To this day, I also do not get under a car without a feeling of great unease… almost a brief sense of rising panic. I am removing and installing a transmission in my 1936 chrysler and I have ramps on all four corners and jack stands under the rear axle with the rear ramps positioned under the tires in case both rear jack stands fail. My heart is racing simply recounting this story. One cheap, accidentally placed Western Auto metal car ramp was between me and death or serious injury. Joe

I agree with the vast majority of your post, but for what it is worth, if you follow the correct procedures, heat entire part, use the proper welding gas and wire, anyone can reliably weld cast iron. You know how I know? Because I am almost completely talentless with a welder, and I did it successfully with many hundreds of heat-cool cycles on my repaired exhaust manifold. Honestly, the myth that cast iron cannot be welded reliably is simply that, a myth. Is there a great deal of anecdotal evidence of failed cast iron welds? Absolutely… all this means is that there are many welders who know how NOT to weld cast iron. Check out my thread here: and search for cast iron welding. I go over the entire process step by step. I agree with the rest of your post. $250 for a complete 8 cylinder chrysler is a great deal assuming that the engine and accessories are not total junk. Also, just as you stated, the manifolds are worth the price alone, even if the goal is simply to sell them. Also, just as you state, rebuilding one is expensive as all get-out, even if you do the work yourself. I rebuilt the top end on mine and still ended up close to three grand down because of valves and valve spring costs, head work, gaskets, etc.

Eric, I will take more detailed images once I get all of the clutch linkage connected. I am glad you are finding parts of this thread useful. Were it not for the help of people on this forum, I honestly do not think I would have been able to do this. These cars make you up your game. 🙂. Joe

All done for the day. This weekend was productive from a Chrysler standpoint. I did not complete as much today as I thought I would; the clutch fork took much longer than I expected. I installed the shifter and tested the shifting, everything appears to be working perfectly. I still need to install the drive shaft, emergency brake cables, clutch linkages, floorboards, and interior. I don’t expect any of the remaining tasks to be difficult, so I am guessing the Chrysler will be back on the road next weekend. A few final images from today.

I finally got it. I ended up having to devise a way to get some leverage on the end of the clutch fork and then pry it over towards the passenger side of the car. The throw out bearing carrier and bearing need to be as flush as you can get them against the pressure plate, and the clutch fork needs to be as far forward against the bell housing as possible. For the record, I actually had to remove the leather boot so that the rivet holding it to the clutch fork could retract the thickness of the leather. I would have removed the rivet next to allow the clutch fork to get as close to the bell housing (touching it) as much as possible. A couple of hits against a large crescent wrench that was pushing against the tip of the clutch fork and it finally popped in. This took WAY more force than I would have expected, but the fork is resting against the ball just as it should be. Here are a few images of the installed clutch fork:

Good morning all, I have run into a bit of a problem and I am hoping that I am simply missing something obvious. I am trying to get the clutch fork on to the ball that it pivots on inside the transmission, but for some reason, I cannot push the clutch fork towards the passenger side of the car to get it to pop on to the pivot ball. I have attached a few images that may help. I would appreciate any suggestions.. I cannot imagine that this should be this difficult. Thanks so much, Joe

HI Eric, Yes, i will take detailed images of all the linages that connect to the transmission to show how they connect and operate. You should see then here today. Joe

All, I made some decent progress today. I finished another cleaning/scraping of the transmission area, repaired a clutch linkage that was worn about 50% through, and got the transmission installed, by hand, no transmission jack. It turned out that the transmission jack was too wide, and was running into the cross (X) support that runs across the center of the car, with the center of the X located right where the transmission is. When I raised the transmission jack with the transmission on it, the jack hit the crossmember and did not allow the tail end of the transmission to go high enough to install. Additionally, the angle that I needed to hold the transmission at was too steep for the transmission jack. Simply put, there was no way the transmission jack would work on this install. I ended up putting the transmission on a low creeper and rolled it under the car. Then I laid on the concrete under the center of the car, moved the transmission from the creeper to the top of my leg and stomach, pulled it up to my chest, and then bench pressed it, shaft first, into the bell housing. Once the transmission shaft was sitting on the lip of the bell housing, and the rear end of the transmission was sitting on the drive shaft tunnel, I ran two standard jacks under the transmission, one at the front and one at the rear. I raised the transmission so that it was close to correct, removed the rear jack and wiggled the transmission into place, turning the output shaft as necessary to get the splines to line up. After 20-30 minutes of wiggling, lifting, jostling, and maybe a bad thought or three… the transmission slid into place and I bolted it in. With respect to the clutch linkage, when I pulled it out to clean it, I noticed that it was worn half way through. I cleaned it, put it on my welding bench, and built up the shaft. Then I ground down the weld to the correct shaft diameter and test fit it. It fit perfectly and with any luck, will outlast me. Chrysler’s design for the clutch cross shaft is not the most robust. It doesn’t use any bearings, just a steel shaft running through a steel plate with a hole in it. The hole can be greased, but the entire pressure from the pressure plate pushes on the shaft as it rides on the steel plate. The hole in the plate wears a notch in the shaft and you get what you see in the images attached. The design lasted 77 years, so I suppose I should not complain too much. I spent seven hours cleaning and installing today, but I expect things will be downhill from here. I am hopeful that the clutch fork install goes smoothly since there isn’t much clearance to monkey around with it. After the clutch fork, I’ll knock out the driveshaft, emergency brake parts, clutch linkages, overdrive cable installation and adjustment, fill the transmission, test everything, and then reinstall the flooring and interior. I am hopeful that everything goes smoothly. Here are some images from today’s work:

It might. The gray airstream I posted a link to has a similar red interior. The restoration shop thought that a blue would contrast nicely as well. I would be happy with any of the 1936 Chrysler colors that match the tan top and the red (maroon really) interior. Mrs. Taylor met with the shop today to talk about her Auburn Boattail Speedster that is being restored and they discussed the Airstream. The owner of the restoration shop is bringing by some factory 1936 Chrysler paint samples for me to look at and he will shoot a test part of the Airstream before we make a final decision. The transmission goes back in this weekend, and with any luck, I will have the Airstream back on the road within two weeks. I am taking it slow and making sure everything is clean before I put it all back together. Joe

Steve, When I called Auto Color Library, they indicated that they do not do spray out cards anymore. I ended up paying $180-ish for a quart of paint and a spray can of the color I wanted to test. I am going to spray the NOS headlight bucket I have and see what it looks like. 🙂 By the way, here is a link to an original 1936 chrysler color that Mrs. Taylor likes: https://www.proxibid.com/Collector-Cars/Antique-Cars/1936-Chrysler-Airstream-C7-Series-Convertible-Coupe/lotInformation/39247656 This car even has the red interior that my car came with. What do all y'all think? <--- southern speak. LOL. Joe

The estimate to restore the body and then paint is way beyond $10k (as you note below). The restoration shop I will use (Carolina Coach Crafters) restored Mr. Taylor's 1936 Stout Scarab which he sold a couple of years ago. I have seen several examples of their work... Here is a link to the Carolina Coach Crafters webpage: https://www.carolinacoachcrafters.com I am truly excited to take it to the next phase. I wish I had the time and skill to do the paint and body myself, but I do not want to learn paint and body work on this car... I care too much about it. LOL. Joe

I am close to needing to have some parts on my 36 Chrysler re-chromed. What did it cost to have this single piece chromed? If the price you are asking for this part reflects a significant cost of chroming... I am doomed to have a freshly painted car and original chrome. The last part I had chromed on my Corvair (about the same size as your bumper guard) cost $15 to chrome. I am almost afraid to hear what it cost to chrome your part. Joe

You raise a good point, Pierre. This said, I really do want it to be an original color; a color that matches the red interior. Assuming I do not paint this car the original black, it will be the first car I have restored that did not go back to the original color. For whatever reason, I like everything as original as I can make it… the problem is, black is a difficult choice for me. I am looking at original colors now trying to pick one that matches the interior. Joe

Eric, The widow of the original owner has offered to pay to have it painted if I leave the color as it was when I received it. When I installed the original color interior, I was going to paint it the original color, black. After going to Hershey and looking at the black 1930s cars, I decided against black, so I need to choose another original 1936 Chrysler Airstream color that matches a red interior. Like you feel, green exterior and red interior is a bit of a clash to me. Joe

Brief Update: The restoration shop should be ready to start painting the Chrysler in two weeks, which lit a fire under my hind end to get the transmission back in. I have been dreading the scraping of the grease from all around the transmission area, but it has to be done so I started it today. I threw down a tarp on my garage floor and armed with a standard screwdriver, plastic scraper, and metal putty knives of various widths, I began the scraping process. Oh. My. Gosh. I spent almost four hours scraping and it seems I barely scratched the surface (pun intended). I dampened a rag with mineral spirits and began wiping all of the surfaces after I got the top layer of grime off. I also filled the transmission with 10W-30, hooked the input shaft up to my variable speed drill, and spun the transmission to loosen up any debris. I will drain the fluid before the install and fully expect it to be clean. Another day of cleaning the undercarriage around the transmission and I should be able to begin installing the transmission. I will take lots of pictures once everything is clean in order to document the linkage setup. I am waiting on a Harbor Freight transmission jack ($135 on Harbor Freight and $249 on Amazon… same exact jack) to be delivered; there is absolutely no way I am lifting the transmission into place manually. Gravity was my friend removing the transmission, it will not be my friend installing it. I decided to install the replacement Dodge overdrive and then completely rebuild the original Chrysler unit and install it once it is rebuilt. I have a few questions for the experts here: 1) What is the easiest way to remove the old throw out bearing from the carrier? I do not want to start pressing on things and end up damaging the cast iron. 2). Is there a trick to getting the clutch fork around the throughout bearing carrier? It looks pretty straightforward, but there is not much clearance; I had to wiggle it around and take it out at an angle. 3) I am replacing the throw out bearing carrier spring, but there are two possible connection points (odd in my opinion). On my original transmission, the spring was installed on the side opposite the clutch fork. I cannot tell from the service manual if it matters and I do not want to install it incorrectly just because the previous owner or mechanic did. I am looking forward to getting it back on the road and into the restoration shop for paint and body. If I paint it the same green it is now, all paint and body work is free… if I change the color, I foot the bill. I wonder if I need to have it be an original color in order to show it in the AACA as stock. I assume so. What a dilemma. 🙂 Thanks everyone! Joe

Hi Eric, I won't be selling my 1936 Chrysler Airstream, but, I will likely be without it for a 3-6 months while it is being painted. I think this huge boat of a car may be the perfect distraction while the Chrysler is gone. It's funny... I don't think that there are any cars in original condition, that I would not consider owning. I like cars. Period. This said, yes, this is a wallowing beast of a car... but I cannot THINK of a better way to go against the current grain of fuel saving mini-cars. LOL. 9mpg? You must admit, this car is a statement of the times from the mid-70s. I was a senior in high school in 1976, and I remember seeing Cadillacs like this and thinking "wow... they must be RICH". At the time, and for almost all of my childhood, my parents owned one car; a 1962 Volkswagen Beetle. You can imagine how a poor kid like me felt when my uncle visited from California in his huge Cadillac. Riding in that car was an amazing experience. I had never experienced air conditioning until that first Cadillac ride, and I'll tell you, living in Arizona without home or car air conditioning was sometimes a challenge. Anyway... let's see where this car takes us. I will treat it like a queen and get it on the road whether I keep it or not. Joe

Brief update. I have the new tires on the Cadillac and have all new fluids ready to change out. I also purchased a new fuel pump (it uses a manual pump) and will replace it prophylactically. Clean the fuel tank, replace the fuel filter, check brakes and brake lines, replace if necessary, rebuild carburetor (likely), change radiator fluid and back flush system, recharge the cooling system with R-12 (one can, just to see if it holds pressure). There are two options for this car: 1) I keep it as a show car, 2) I put it on Bring a Trailer (BaT). I honestly do not know what I will do with it. I have never had car that I took to shows, but this one might be a candidate. Really, it all depends on how this car drives. I do not care about the fuel economy (or should I say lack thereof). I will post more as I go along. Regardless of what I end up doing with it, I really feel good about getting this car back on the road. Joe

Thanks Roger. For some reason, I thought you had sold the green Cadillac. My grandfather almost always had a green Cadillac, and I became fond of them! Beautiful car! Joe