Re: [AMC-list] '64 American Q

[tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

I've never had a problem finding trans shops to work on it. It's a
fine, long-lived beast. V8-ers complain of it's weakness, but in my
experience it's pretty rugged and long-lasting. I put 300K+ miles on
one, 23 years, two full rebuilds in that time. Behind a 232 in a 63
Classic wagon. Air cooled only -- no wet cooler lines! Towed trailers
(took it easy), desert driving, etc. Never a problem. Rebuild kits are
plentiful still as the core guts got used by a lot of European cars.
Case is of course uniquely AMC/Rambler but cases don't often go bad.
Last rebuld, the torque converter had to get sent out for cuz "new"
replacement not available. It is getting old...!

The shift pattern is odd, P R N D2 D1 L and for three speeds, you want
"D1" which is in the middle. (The unequal space between P and R means
you can't use aftermarket shifters like B&M or the AMC stock
Torqueflite shifter with it. Ask me how I know :-)

AMC generally chose transmissions well, the aluminum trans is no
reason at all to avoid a car. The only bum job is the T-96, really,
and even that is quite livable.

Of course all of the T-35's are 40 years old and waaaaay past end of
life! It's not "bad" just worn out, probably. $1200 fixes that. Crazy
stories about 'don't change the oil' persist... If you find yourself
complaining about 40 year old transmissions having problems you need a
perspective adjustment :-)



> " It's a BorgWarner T-35 transmission.
>
> just to be clear - it's the aluminum warner, used in variations behind
> i6s and 2bbl 290s and 304s up to '71.  often thought to be a 2sp as it
> has d2 and d1 detents [p-r-n-d2-d1-l; d2 starts in 2nd], but it has 3
> speeds.
>
> " Parts are available from Northwest Transmisson parts.
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