It Ain't Rocket Science: I Learn About Power-Glides
and So Can You!
1/9/05
et’s see, I have been racing for about 30 years and
only using the venerable Chevrolet-based Power-Glide for
five years. So I am definitely a “rookie” on
Power-Glides. For some unknown reason I thought there was
a “secret code” or something when it came to
Power-Glides. I guess it was more the venturing into the
unknown that had me ordering them from reputable builders.
With two cars and engines in the 950 and 750 horsepower range
we needed to be able to do our own repairs and maintenance
to our transmissions.
I started to look into rebuilding my own transmissions,
and what I discovered is they are engineered so they are
durable and easy to work on. Almost no special tools are
required to rebuild them, and parts and technical advice
are easy to come by. Sorting through all the advice is probably
the hardest thing, and I think you will find the experience
I have had very easy to follow and duplicate. I have to thank
Carl Munroe and TSR Racing Transmissions for his “Power-Glide
Transmission Handbook”. The other thing that resulted
from this research is my son and I opened a transmission
shop to rebuild race Power-Glides and to supply racers with
great parts at discount prices if they want to do their own
work. The company we formed is called Midwest Performance
Transmission, and our website is http://www.midwestperformancetransmission.com.
We invite you to take a look at our site after you read DRO
this month. We are constantly updating prices and hopefully
we will have a complete list of our small parts for rebuilders
listed soon.
There is an endless list of different modifications that
certain transmission builders use and believe in. The modifications
detailed in the next couple months in this column will cover
basic inspection, modifications and the “freshening-up” of
a current working race Power-Glide. If you are taking a junkyard
transmission apart there is a lot of closer inspection of
the hard parts to see if they are useable. I will not be
going through the entire operation and history of the Power-Glide
and what makes it work. To be honest, that doesn’t
interest me. I’ll leave that to the engineers and detail
freaks who are interested. What I am interested in is helping
those of you who want to tear into your Power-Glide and keep
the hard-earned cash you pay to your friendly trans builder
in your pocket.
Here we go: What to look for and what to do when rebuilding
your Power-Glide.
- General
inspection and initial measurements are critical and
shouldn’t
be overlooked. I recommend cleaning everything up the
best you can to make it easier. The more time you spend
on disassembly and closely inspecting parts, the better
the rebuild will go. Look for small cracks in the pistons,
bushings that are worn out, and grooves or gouges on machined
surfaces.
- Get a strong
bench to do your work on, preferably metal or covered with
metal. The one thing I have learned about transmission
fluid…”It
gets in, and on, everything”. Make sure you have
enough room to spread things out to keep things organized,
or get several small plastic containers for things like
front pump bolts, linkage parts, clutches, etc.
- You will need a few special tools but nothing major
when you consider the money you can save doing your own
transmissions. A good dial indicator with magnetic base,
a good set of dial calipers, a set of feeler gauges and
a small slide hammer you put a 3/8 NC bolt on. Removing
the reverse piston spring retainer and high gear drum spring
retainer requires a special spring compressor OR some patience
and ingenuity with a couple five or 6 inch C-clamps. TSR
has some special tools available in the Power-Glide Handbook
that are priced fair and work great.
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