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Took care of a few small projects today. One was replacing the oil drain pan plugs with nice stainless-steel ones. I had to use a 3/4" pipe tap and cut down almost to the end of the tap. Then I used a 3/4" "straight" pipe tap to finish out the hole threads. The new plugs had a "Straight" thread...

Funny that you posted this today. This morning, I just recovered four gaskets in almost perfect condition from my other reduction unit and made a template of the large gasket using craft paper and some roll-on ink. That "BB" gasket is for the rear pump unit. There are three gaskets on the...

I spent too much time cleaning and painting parts to rebuild the rear servo, which was my planned component rebuild for today. So instead, I decided to replace the bushing in the "oil delivery sleeve" . Now in most HydraMatic rebuild manuals they say to buy a whole new sleeve assembly and forget...

Yes. They still make brand new seals and gaskets and friction plates. I believe the steels and thrustwashers and bushings are all NOS parts. So if your desperate you can buy parts, just remember it will cost you.

For those who are wondering how much a rebuild kit would cost. I called Fatsco two weeks a go and asked about a "Master Rebuild Kit". This kit would include all the clutches (steel and friction) all seal rings and thrustwashers and bushings. All rubber lip seals and "O" rings and gaskets. Now...

I still have a lot of cleaning to do, but I'll start on rebuilding the individual components. Today is the front pump. The front pump is really quite simple and hardly needs a write up on rebuilding it except for a few little things. One, the vanes need to be replaced if they show any wear in...

Well according to GM the only fluid "they" ever recommended was and is ATF . I'm pretty sure the reason the military used regular motor oil was to simplify using the G749 . Since it was the only truck in the military at the time to need ATF. Remember, all military vehicles at this time used...

Sorry, no new pictures or build information today. The machinist has my pistons and soon will have my clutch housings to modify. I'm turning all my 3 rod housings into 6 rod units. I mean if you're going to rebuild it, you should rebuild it right from the start.

Thanks Toby. Too bad about your Allison 1545 though. They're a good transmission in the right application, and that would be in a smaller truck. Have you thought about using an Allison 1000/2000 series transmission ? With that nice overdrive they have you should be able to fly down the road. My...

Thanks "Bulldogger" .

I have noticed that previous people who have rebuilt these 303M HydraMatics did not use the correct tools when disassembling this transmission. Case in point, the oil pan cooler nuts. I used my "spanner" wrench but you can see where others used a "chisel" to remove these nuts. The thing is, the...

Since I was in a cleaning mood today, I thought I would tear down and clean the oil pan cooler from my other 303M transmission. You can see all the crud that was in the bottom of the cooler. The crud reached the cooler itself. No coolant was flowing around this cooler. I'll clean this mess up...

You can see how burnt the bronze friction on the right is. The left one is NOS . The middle and last pictures show how the bronze friction will not go on the hub, even after I tried to straighten the lugs out.

I tore down a mid fifties HydraMatic that someone had installed "bronze friction" clutches in the front drum assembly. Sadly they messed it up so bad it killed the transmission ! Sometimes the "bronze" frictions do not fit the hub as well as they should, and they need a little file work. This...

Hey Dave. Yes, the parts arrived today. Sadly, they are for a 301MG transmission so no reduction parts. The seals seem to be Ok, a little stiff but I'll soak them in some rubber conditioner and they should be fine. The gasket for this unit would be really nice to have, also the seal ring that...

Spent the day cleaning parts. Thought this would be a good time to show another "trick" in rebuilding a HydraMatic. The clutch pistons in the two main housings were made of cast iron until 1950 (give or take a year) . After that they were made out of "aluminum" . The only reason I can see is...

Tomorrow I'm taking a bunch of parts to the machine shop to get modified. Hopefully some gaskets and seals will start coming in and I can get going on rebuilding this transmission. If no parts come in, I still have 4 more HydraMatics to tear down. I'm running out of space to put stuff in though !

Well look on the bright side. The engine runs now ! The other stuff like leaking oil and fuel and such, is just a minor inconvenience. Remember, don't sweat the small stuff.

I thought I would share this little "tid bit" of information for those who are trying to justify using an old HydraMatic in their truck. This was not only the "first" automatic transmission, but it was also the first to have total lock-up in fourth gear. You ask how could that be with a "fluid...

It was the 265 cid . Used from 1955 to 1956 . So this bell housing is pretty rare since 1956 was the last year of the "original" HydraMatic transmission in a Chevy truck. After that they went to the stupid "RotoHydro" or "Slim Jim" transmission. I have heard though; certain later models of...