Re: 1971 AMC Hornet SST 2 door, assistance please

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 farna@xxxxxxx wrote:

> I forgot about that Andrew! But there is a slight problem. The
> M35/37 air cooled trans was only used behind 199 and smaller sixes
> in big cars, 232 in the light weight postal Jeeps and early
> Hornet/Gremlin. They weren't used behind the V-8 at all.

I have a 1970 232, bolted to a 1965 air-cooled M42.

> The air
> cooled bell is very different from the radiator cooled models.

Are you sure about this?

> There may be bosses that can be drilled out for converting the
> M35 to radiator cooling. I know there are external pressure test
> points.

I had my transmission Brain Surgeon (Bill Burrage at B & E Trans,
San Francisco) look at this when I had my current unit rebuilt
back in 1989, he didn't think it was a good idea. It would affect
pressures inside.

The air-cooled transmissions are FINE. Racing or hauling is
probably a bad idea. They are light-duty but that is not the same
as "junk".

It is CRITICAL to keep the throttle-position cable adjusted right,
ALL OF THE TIME. It directly determines pressure on some band or
clutch. It's not simply "kickdown" though it does that also. This
the Brain Surgeon told me and said it's why people badmouth this
trans -- they don't know to keep it adjusted right.

I get annual or biannual "tuneups", costs $100 or less, worth
every dime.

Mine is starting to seep at the seals now, 16 years after last
rebuild.  Works fine still. Believe me, I use the hell out of this
car, for a while commuting to Irvine from LA (2500 mi/mo),
southwest desert driving, over 100 degrees, 200K miles of use on
it in a Classic wagon. 300K on the car.

I wish people would stop worrying things that don't need worryin' :-)