Just got my first TC

[Reaper1]

Well, I finally pulled the trigger. It's not a 16V car, but it's a nice, straight, rust free '89 8V. I drove it home on the highway and in traffic with no problems. It needs some TLC, but the overall condition is fair. It will make a nice driver. The interior (ginger) isn't too beat up. The leather needs a GOOD cleaning and conditioning. The driver's seat has one small hole, but other than that just typical dry cracking that softened right up with conditioner. Same for the center console.

The porthole windows are some of the best I have ever seen. The hard top headliner needs to be re-stuck and the leather on the dash needs to be put back in place, but I have seen WAY worse be brought back.

She ran smooth, like a couch on wheels!

Anyway, I am looking for a few parts. I need the center console switch cover and ash tray lid (the fake wood looking plastic part that goes over the seat switches, etc. Somebody just put screws right through the thing instead of fixing it and the lid is just broken to the point I'm not sure if I can fix it.

I am thinking I might also need the polished trim part on the deck lid that is just behind the CHMSL that goes from side to side of the car just under where the hard top seals. I haven't taken the hard top off yet, but something is telling me this part is broken because of the way it looks.

BTW, some may recognize my handle from a few years ago when I started building a 16V Masi engine when I was still living in Florida. That project is still goung, but the engine part is on hold as the rest of the car is being built to handle it! Lol. Rest assured, though that it WILL be completed!

[Hemi Dude]

Hello Reaper. Welcome back or whatever... Frankly, in my opinion the 8V TC is the best to own, with a little upgrading.

I had a 16V which I rebuilt. It ran STRONG, but in my opinion it is not the car for most people. I see you are building a 16V engine for another car. I suspect you are somehow connected with Rick. That sounds like it will be a special car, but not a daily driver type and likely not a TC.

If you know of me, you'll know I am down to one old 89 8V engine TC. The best part being the swap to a 5 speed. The other is taking out the Teves ABS. Now with a bunch of miles on this car, it is still a great car both on the road and in city traffic. At 75 cruising on the freeways, it's like piloting a plane, just so smooth.

Good luck fixing up your new purchase.

[89TC-16V]

That was my 90 16v White black black Cali emissions car Motor he's building

[Guest mark_andrews]

Congratulations on your first TC. I just purchased my first TC last weekend (October 24th)! I say that tongue in cheek, because I'm not sure if I'll get another one. I mean, this one is the ONLY one that I've ever seen in real life! No lie. These babies are rare... at least in my neck of the woods. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your TC as much as I enjoy mine!

Nice meeting you!

Mark

[Reaper1]

Well, it's taken some time to get an update, but I finally have something noteworthy. I replaced the valve stem seals (I HATE that job in the car!! HATE IT!!) and it looks as though I was able to reduce the smoke to just a little tinge in the smell of the exhaust and a puff on initial throttle tip in. Because it had the wrong valve stem seals in it before I don't know if the shop replaced any of the original ones etc., so it's "good enough". The engine runs very smooth and quiet and since I re-timed the cam and ignition it no longer has the hesitation it had before.

 

So, with all that it just needs to have a power steering line replaced and mechanically I believe it's good to go. I got the tags and registration yesterday, so I'm going to get insurance today. I hope to be able to cruise by X-mas!! YAY!!!

 

Oh, and this is on the 8V engine. I will start the process of the 16V swap as soon as this car is officially on the road.

[Reaper1]

I was FINALLY able to take my '89 8V TC on its maiden voyage! For the last few days I've been troubleshooting and electrical issue. I found it, I fixed it, and I prevented it from happening again. I'm blaming a past mechanic being careless with the harness and it rubbed on the power steering pulley. The low beam, high beam and a violet/white wire (I know it has something to do with the MAP) were all affected. It caused a no-start/no-run condition when the low beam headlights would be turned on.

 

Anyway...the important part...I drove it 10 miles....top down...freezing, but enjoying every second! The right front caliper is still sticking, so I suppose I need to get a rebuilt one, or rebuild this one. Other than that and I took the power steering belt off for now to prevent the high pressure leak, I have to fix the tag light, the front license plate holder, and the adjustment of the headlights. I also have to get the rear window for the soft top fixed. The bolts that hold the hinges to the 3rd bow somehow got stripped and replaced with wood screws and a bunch of nuts as spacers! Classy. Obviously that didn't hold and nether did the hack job of adhering the hinges to the glass. I'm still also fixing up the interior little by little. The leather needs a LOT of work. It takes hours just to get one part back up to snuff. It's coming along, though.

[Reaper1]

So, I have been able to drive the car here and there and today I drove it to work. I haven't gotten the soft top fixed yet, so I had to put the hard top back on it. The good news is that it runs and drives pretty darn well!

 

I also drove the 16V car into the canopy and started the engine swap process. Unfortunately the more I take this car apart, the more I see how bad it really is and would simply basically require an entire donor car to bring back, so this chassis is going to be crushed/destroyed. I will have some parts for sale as I get it apart.

 

I now understand what Hemi was talking about regarding the wiring harness, the 16V cars have a completely unique engine bay harness. It uses different plugs, wire grouping, etc. Also, taking the radiator fan out SUCKS!! You have to take the radiator/intercooler out FIRST, then wiggle the fan out. I will be installing a V6 fan when I do the engine swap as it uses the flat fan and gives a LOT more room.

 

Does anyone have a place that they send A/C lines to be rebuilt? I plan to keep the A/C, but of course the lines are for R12 and while R134 does work, the lines are old and also more porous to the R134 molecules, so they WILL leak. I need to get these lines remade to hold R134.

 

Tonight, I am going to get the car in the air, get the fenders off and start taking the suspension apart. I hope by the weekend I can have the engine out of the car.

[Hemi Dude]

Does anyone have a place that they send A/C lines to be rebuilt? I have sent you a PM.

[Reaper1]

Thank you, Hemi!

[TwinCamFan]

I found a PERFECT black soft top recently in a J Yard and I'm gonna swap it onto my white car(has a brown top as factory issue). The brown top is leak free and in pretty good shape.  Come get it, you can have it.

 

Reaper, I thought you said you got that 16V motor from Cindy, Tom K. (XtremePU) says it was his?

[Reaper1]

I have 2, plus the 16V car from Rick. So, the first one I got was from Tom K. The second one I got was from Cindy. Then I was able to buy the car from Rick with a running engine that I'm swapping into my 8V TC because the chassis is so much nicer (like brackets aren't rusted to dust! LOL)

 

I might just have to take a road trip to SoCal! I have a few friends I can visit, too!

[Reaper1]

I didn't quite meet my goal of having the engine out this weekend, but that was because timing just didn't line up to borrow an engine lift. That will happen this afternoon. I did get the entire front of the car apart. What a pain! You have to take the front bumper off to take the fenders off, but you can't do that until you take the trim piece that goes under the headlights off that is screwed to the bottom of both fenders! LOL It didn't help that there were quite a few rusty screws I had to drill out. The rest came apart fairly easily. I was surprised to see the anti-corrosion that was sprayed on the chassis under the fenders (cosmoline sp?). I am also impressed by the amount of body shims there are from the factory...meaning they actually tried to get the body panels to line up! LOL Overall, taking this car apart has shown me how much nicer these cars are put together compared to any other K-based car I've ever messed with. I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan as I'm working on it...even though there are some major pains to get over.

[ghostymosty]

Just try to remember that these are NOT a K-based car. These are based on the Daytona platform and if you need to know the difference then just read the auto magazine articles of the time (1984 models) commenting on how much the Daytona chassis was improved over the K cars. Some people have gotten into the habit of referring to any Chrysler Corp front wheel drive car as a K-car. Didn't help that the LeBaron was made as a K-car  as a 4door in '87 while the 2 door and convertible moved to the Daytona platform that year and then the 5door liftback LeBaron GTS was on the Daytona platform as well.  Now that I have confused even myself, try to remember that the Chrysler Laser was a rebadged Daytona  and was replaced with the '87 2dr LeBaron.

 

Kind of like the Barracuda was a version of the A-body Valiant/Dart line before being made as an E-body Plymouth version of the Challenger in 1970-74 with a very different suspension setup than the previous years.

[Reaper1]

Oh, I do understand and know all of that. I refer to them as "K-based" because they are, at the core, based on the K platform (plus it makes it easier to describe the car to laymen). However it is very clear working on them that they are FAR removed from that original design. I've owned several Daytona's, a '84 Laser, '89 LeBaron...the list goes on. I've also stripped and cut up quite a few as well, so I have a pretty good feel for how they are made. I will say again that based on my experiences the TC is a MUCH nicer vehicle!

 

Last night I got the K-frame out. I had to break the driver's side captured nut because it sheared off and was locked on the bolt, even with copious amounts of PB Blaster. I found rust working its way up from the floor pan next to the frame rail up the fire wall to the brake booster area.

 

I was able to get the outside exhaust bolt off with little issue, but the inside one...ugghh. I can't get a wrench on the nut to hold it, so, I'm cutting that thing tonight!

 

Shift cables, fuel lines, and mounts...the engine/tranny can drop out!

[Hemi Dude]

Oh, I do understand and know all of that. I refer to them as "K-based" because they are, at the core, based on the K platform (plus it makes it easier to describe the car to laymen). However it is very clear working on them that they are FAR removed from that original design. I've owned several Daytona's, a '84 Laser, '89 LeBaron...the list goes on. I've also stripped and cut up quite a few as well, so I have a pretty good feel for how they are made. I will say again that based on my experiences the TC is a MUCH nicer vehicle!

 

Last night I got the K-frame out. I had to break the driver's side captured nut because it sheared off and was locked on the bolt, even with copious amounts of PB Blaster. I found rust working its way up from the floor pan next to the frame rail up the fire wall to the brake booster area.

 

I was able to get the outside exhaust bolt off with little issue, but the inside one...ugghh. I can't get a wrench on the nut to hold it, so, I'm cutting that thing tonight!

 

Shift cables, fuel lines, and mounts...the engine/tranny can drop out!

I have had K cars and I currently have a G body 85 Laser and an 89 Q body TC. The only one that is vastly different from the bottom side is the Q body TC, which still uses K car front and rear suspension pieces.

Yet I have installed vast amounts of Q body parts on the G body car as well as on my former 81 Aries 2 door. The long and the short of it is this, " If you want to swap parts, have at it. Going into the 90s can get a little sticky but if you stick with swapping parts from any K, E, G or Q body from the 80s, you will find that it all mixes. The Uni-Body of the TC is much better reinforced structurally. That is also why it weighs considerably more than any of the other K derivative platforms even though it is shorter than any of them.

[Reaper1]

I was FINALLY able to drop the engine out of the 16V car last night. I had to cut that exhaust bolt off (that took longer than expected), but after that, it was just making sure I covered all my bases. Figuring out where to pick it up from on the engine side was "interesting". I finally decided on removing the car side of the engine mount and using chains and bolts through the engine side of the mount where the 18mm bolt goes.

[Reaper1]

Nothing really new to report. Just been doing lots of cleaning of stuff. I did pick up an '89 double pivot K-frame and stamped A-arms to put under it because both have the old sub-strut style and the 16V one was all rusty and while the bushings were probably replaced a long time ago they were all dry rotted and cracked. So, I just need to cut the bobble strut bracket off that one and weld it to the new one. I'm going to use polyurethane bushings from Johnny in it.

[Reaper1]

Went to the junk yard yesterday and got a nice score. I found an '89 LeBaron Premium car that had the entire digital dash package. This also contains the digital automatic climate controls. Having heard that this system is basically a stand alone thing that can be easily adapted into other cars (the Vector super car from the '80's/'90's used it!), I figured "why not!".

 

So, in under 2 hours with only hand tools I took the entire dash, steering column, under dash harness and heater box out of that car! I only broke 1 thing, and that was the driver's side sill cover because the phillips screw heads were too rusty to get out.

 

As long as the electrics are basic to get it to work (I think it really just needs power and ground) I am going to put it in the TC! I don't know how many people have done this to their TC, but I figured that since it's a luxury car, and that is a pretty standard luxury car item...it is a natural fit. It's a shame the display is going to be green, but there's nothing that can be done about that.

 

I am also tossing around the idea of putting the digital dash in it. I've always been back and forth on them (I loved it in my '84 Laser XE), especially the '87-'89 G/J-body style because they only show 2 of the peripheral gauges at once instead of all 4. Plus, again, the display is green. Not really that big a deal, but hey. The other thing I don't like is that the tach is a little "laggy" and it only goes to 7000rpm (I know stock rev limiter, blah blah...this won't be THAT stock!), plus in direct sunlight the display tends to "wash out", as is typical with almost ALL digital dashes. 

 

Today I am aiming for '91+ front spindles mainly. These help raise the roll center of the front suspension which helps handling and overall ride. I might also see about some speakers as the original ones in this car are SHOT! LOL

[Reaper1]

Well, I made more progress with the 16V chassis this weekend. I've got just over half of the interior out of it, so it's getting close to the time to try and decide what the fate of the chassis is going to be...chopped or crushed. It depends on how much I might get for the chassis versus what scrap steel is going for. Part of the rust issue was caused by the stainless kick strip as I'm sure it rubbed away some paint on its retaining rail which started the chain reaction of rust cancer that is consuming this car.

 

I am going to start the wiring process of putting the PDC in the main engine harness this week.

 

I ordered new bushings fro the new K-frame and the anti-roll bar as well.

[Reaper1]

Well...I ordered an EVO 8 16g turbo with the 10.5cm^2 turbine housing last night. That *should* be able to meet my goal of 300-350whp fairly easily and still keep good response. This is the first time I've ever gone outside the stock realm for turbos, so this should prove to be interesting. I don't know of anyone else that has tried this, even on the 8V engines, so...I suppose we'll see!!

[Reaper1]

Due to the running issue the 8V has been giving me (it like to fall on its face above 3500-4000rpm randomly like it hits a soft limiter, and it was liking it run a little warmer than I like to see on the highway) I decided to try taking the cat off. Now, keep in mind that car was burning oil from leaking valve stem seals when I got it, so I was suspecting it being plugged (it wasn't rattling, so I didn't think the bricks were bad). Well, after fighting me and every cutting tool I had available I got the thing off...and immediately was kinda mad at myself because it wasn't plugged (actually looked new!) Of course I had to start the car with no exhaust...sounded AWESOME (just like I knew it would)! I also found out the TC's have 2 resonators that are 2.75" OD. One is directly after the cat and goes all the way to the first 90* turn, the other is in between the 90* turns and is about 4" long. I need to measure, but the over the axle pipe looks like it's about 2.25"OD instead of the typical 1.875".

 

Well, I can hear the turbo easier now, and I noticed the engine seemed to keep a more constant temp when driving to work this morning. I haven't been able to do an acceleration test yet, but I have a feeling it didn't solve my issue. If my welder would have had gas, I probably would have put the thing back on. The car will be getting 3" exhaust in the near future anyway, so no biggie.

[Guest EmmettTC]

That issue can often be a bad hall effect sensor. You can test it with an oscilloscope or just replace it (good idea with how frequently they die) it is a cheap part and 15 min installation, at the bottom of the distributor. 

[Reaper1]

I've never had one affect only higher rpm operation. I've had one die on me during regular driving and I've had a few friends that has also happened to. Plus, a good part of the time the car will typically just die and not want to restart. This TC doesn't do that...just feels like it's missing pretty badly or like a soft rev limiter. I do have a few good HEP's I can swap.

 

My next move is that I'm going to swap my good cap/rotor/wires onto it and replace the plugs (all looked good in my previous inspections, but that doesn't mean anything). I just replaced all of the soft fuel lines and the fuel filter, but the PO replaced at least the pump hanger and I'm wondering if it has the wrong pump on it. The thing is, the problem doesn't happen all the time. Most of the time, yes, but not all, so I'm hesitant to think it's the pump.

 

I know that all this diagnosing seems strange considering I'm swapping the driveline, but I want to know that this one is OK before pulling it out in case I sell it or put it in another car, etc.

[Hemi Dude]

8 hours ago, Reaper1 said:

I've never had one affect only higher rpm operation. I've had one die on me during regular driving and I've had a few friends that has also happened to. Plus, a good part of the time the car will typically just die and not want to restart. This TC doesn't do that...just feels like it's missing pretty badly or like a soft rev limiter. I do have a few good HEP's I can swap.

 

My next move is that I'm going to swap my good cap/rotor/wires onto it and replace the plugs (all looked good in my previous inspections, but that doesn't mean anything). I just replaced all of the soft fuel lines and the fuel filter, but the PO replaced at least the pump hanger and I'm wondering if it has the wrong pump on it. The thing is, the problem doesn't happen all the time. Most of the time, yes, but not all, so I'm hesitant to think it's the pump.

 

I know that all this diagnosing seems strange considering I'm swapping the driveline, but I want to know that this one is OK before pulling it out in case I sell it or put it in another car, etc.

EmmettTC has a good idea though. I have experienced the Hall Plate/HEP failure to begin with what would feel like very slight, intermittent engine miss. This develops into more frequent miss or just plain failure if you continue driving with the bad plate. I am A FIRM BELIEVER in purchasing a Chrysler ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT plate, however expensive.

The HEP that began failing on a trip to TC America convention in Santa Fe, NM, that was around 1996 or 97, that dude is still in the car. I do not see the OE plates fail but RARELY.

[Reaper1]

I will certainly give it a go this afternoon if I get time. I'm not trying to say it's not possible at all, as those dumb things do some strange stuff sometimes. I also believe the OEM part is the best option. I have used aftermarket ones, but they are hit/miss (and can make you engine run like a hit/miss). I do have a good aftermarket one that has been flawless for over 10 years.

[Guest EmmettTC]

My HEP only affected rpms past 3k making speeds past 60 impossible and any full throttle runs but it was fine and acted normal at rpms under that so anything is possible.

[Reaper1]

Well...that does sound like my condition. I'm not throwing out the idea and I WILL try it. I promise. I messed my back up last weekend (not working on the car...go figure) and I didn't even go back in the garage last night due to the pain! I REALLY want this thing running 100% before I pull it.

[Reaper1]

Well, I replaced the HEP and the plugs, but I haven't driven the car yet for various excuses. LOL I HAVE been working on the engine swap stuff, though. Right now I'm doing the engine bay harness. I am inspecting/cleaning the entire thing, replacing damaged wires as I go and will rewrap it with the non-adhesive electrical tape (I FINALLY found some locally at a hot rod shop!) and I got all new convoluted sheathing. I am also getting rid of the stupid fusible links! I'm replacing them with a PDC fuse box out of a later model LeBaron. I've done this to a couple of other harnesses in the past, but I unfortunately grabbed a REALLY late version and it is wired all differently. So, I'm bouncing between 3 factory service manuals finding the wiring so I get it right. Uggghh. I *had* a notebook with schematics in it that I drew up for this exact conversion, but I can't find the dumb thing.

[TwinCamFan]

Reap,   I did get your PM pics.  Here's the issue (you don't have BTW)  Twice now I've seen 16V TC's with the WRONG pressure plate.  See how the correct one(that you have) has that little raised area where the TOB rides?  Without that (like a standard strait fingered  diaphragm) the 'wings' or ears on the 16V specific TOB will drag against the fingers.  I have even seen one TOB cut it's way thru the fingers and end up INSIDE the PP laying next to the flywheel!!  That was a mess.  Not too sure why yours is contacting the inside of the case tho, are there any signs of damage or modifications to the bellhouse mating area?

[Reaper1]

None that I can tell. I'm 99.99% sure that the engine tranny have never been apart until now. I will definitely check the replacement clutch to make sure it has the raised area. I have looked at it twice and I think it does, but it's in the trunk of the other car right now and the trunk is acting as a shelf for the front fascia, etc. LOL Thank you for the information. BTW, I am in need of some new PP bolts because for some dumb reason the socket I was using decided to jump off and round a couple. Grrrrr.....

[Reaper1]

Oh, I guess I should update on the running issue. So I finally got to drive it the other day and the problem persists. I yanked the plugs and I didn't like what I saw at all...looked like it was running lean. So, I checked the fuel pressure. Static is 55psi (normal), dynamic at idle is about 45psi (again, about normal), but when I clamped off the return line it only went to 60psi (NOT normal...should shoot to ~80-90psi)!! I'm betting the PO installed a TBI pump. Good thing the other car has a brand new tank in it with the right pump...so I guess I'll be doing that swap this weekend (if weather holds).

[Reaper1]

Well, this weekend saw some more forward progress! Saturday I did wiring all day. I fired up the digital dash I have and saw that it works great and even the millage is SUPER close to what my TC actually has, so maybe this was meant to be!? LOL Anyway, once I saw that it worked I went to town integrating the plugs and such. I got 1 plug totally integrated and the other mostly done and the electronic climate control mostly done. By the time I am finished a person will be hard pressed to be able to tell the factory wasn't responsible for both sets of plugs being in the car (I am leaving the stock connectors in place in case I decide I want to go back to the stock gauges and such). I still have to get to the engine bay harness and finishing the fuse box install, but that might be later this week.

 

I also got the fuel tank out of the parts TC. I ran out of jack stands so I couldn't do the swap, but I will get it done. I put the Chrysler scan tool on it and the fuel adaptive is reading a constant +9%, so I'm 99% sure the pump is the culprit. I will check the injectors, too just to make sure.

 

I also stripped the trunk of the parts TC and found some more historical paperwork! The car was sold in Hazelhurst, Ga in 1991 at a used car lot for ~$24k on trade for a Mercuri Capri XR2! LOL I tried to get the rear bumper off, but in the process of double wrenching trying to get the bumper bracket bolts loose, I whacked my lip with the second wrench when it slipped off the "joint". I was even using gloves and had both hands on the set-up including the joint, so that was a bit unexpected! I've used that method who knows how many times...first time I've ever had that happen.

[TwinCamFan]

PP bolts?  Throw those stock ones right in the trash and never think about  them again.  I'll bet you have lots of oil pan bolts laying around which fit perfectly and are a high quality faster.  Locktite for sure tho...

[Reaper1]

Alrighty! Thanks for that! I learned the Loctite thing the hard way on my Shelby Z when I had a few back out and it caused damage to the clutch. Thankfully TU is AWESOME and got me squared away with little fuss, even though it was MY fault!

[Guest EmmettTC]

On 4/15/2016 at 2:41 PM, Reaper1 said:

Oh, I guess I should update on the running issue. So I finally got to drive it the other day and the problem persists. I yanked the plugs and I didn't like what I saw at all...looked like it was running lean. So, I checked the fuel pressure. Static is 55psi (normal), dynamic at idle is about 45psi (again, about normal), but when I clamped off the return line it only went to 60psi (NOT normal...should shoot to ~80-90psi)!! I'm betting the PO installed a TBI pump. Good thing the other car has a brand new tank in it with the right pump...so I guess I'll be doing that swap this weekend (if weather holds).

Where did you tie in to the fuel system to read the pressure? is there an easy fitting like a schrader valve on the rail to hook a gauge up?

[Reaper1]

Yup, exactly. The car I'm currently driving and troubleshooting is an 8V car. The fuel rail has a Schrader valve on the top of it between #2 and #3 injectors (just under the IAT sensor). I have a fuel pressure gauge that has an adapter that screws right onto it.

[Guest EmmettTC]

1 minute ago, Reaper1 said:

Yup, exactly. The car I'm currently driving and troubleshooting is an 8V car. The fuel rail has a Schrader valve on the top of it between #2 and #3 injectors (just under the IAT sensor). I have a fuel pressure gauge that has an adapter that screws right onto it.

Awesome thank you. I'm picking a gauge kit up tonight. Something decided to take a crap and now I'm stalling out within 2 minutes of running. 

[Reaper1]

So I was able to finally drop the tank out of the 8V car last night. Dumb thing fought me the entire way for whatever reason. I was forced to take the shocks loose and take the panhard bar off and slide the tank over the rear axle. I've never had to do that before, not even on the 16V car that I *just* dropped the tank out of this past weekend!

 

I was able to finally verify that the pump the previous person installed is NOT the right pump! Carter only rates it at 20GPH (less than 100lph) and it dead heads at ~60psi. So, thankfully the new tank that came out of the 16V car has the correct pump in it.

 

Also, I found out that the panhard bar on this car has a kink in it! Some people have disputed the strength of the stock bar...I can tell you for fact and experience that the stock part is a wet noodle! I intend to reinforce it once I straighten it and then I will replace the bushing ends with Heim joints which also will make it adjustable and allow better lateral control of the rear axle. I now have a good excuse for getting another bottle of argon!!

 

[Reaper1]

Well, I got the new tank in and I even installed the Walboro 225 pump from my Daytona (it's now running REALLY rich...but I expected that). I am pretty sure I fixed the running issue, but the frigging tranny decided to give me some crap. The kick-down/throttle pressure valve rod that goes through the shift selector on the top of the transmission decided to get REALLY sticky...so it started only shifting at high rpm or WOT. SMH! So, I dropped the tranny pan last night and took the valve body out so I can work on it a bit easier. I also found evidence of water in the fluid (it was slightly milky) and other strange debris. The filter looked ok and the rest of the fluid looked/smelled ok, too...so I'm suspecting the dip stick o-ring isn't sealing. If I can't get it going after this...I will concentrate ALL of my energy on the engine swap...I'm running out of time!

[Reaper1]

Alrighty...I got the shift selector shaft and the TV shaft separated last night. There's some corrosion, but not a lot. I did get it pretty freed up. but I know I can make it better, so I will! Hopefully tonight I can get it back together and see what happens!