Ooops, broke my tranny.

[king combo]

Sasly, I wasn't even being that rough with it, but the four speed in the king finally had enough. I was cruising highway speed, gave the pedal a shot, and she started slipping, with a bad rattle, and it's now stuck in fourth gear. After wiggling the shifter roughly, fourth engaged, and I had to use that gear to get me back to the garage to get another car. I tried the cobra II, but I think the fuel filter is clogged from sitting. I got around the block, and gave up. Then even the Parisienne gave me some hassle at the start. Not a good car day. Now to decide what to do with the tranny in the king. Fix, replace, or upgrade. I have a spare automatic if I wanted to get it mobile fast, but not too sure what to do yet. I do like the five speed idea, but auto isn't all that bad either. A little more durable than the four speeds of those days.

 

[COBRAIIW]

Sucks that you had such a bad day, we've all been there.
If you decide to use the auto, please remember to remove the pilot bushing from the crank end, otherwise you may end up crushing into the torque convertor.

It's really not that big of a job to do, I just tied back the clutch pedal out of the way so my foot wouldn't mistake it for the brake one day.

 

[king combo]

I suppose the deciding factor will be when I pull the 4 speed out and crack it open. Of course if I find anything interesting, i'll be sure to post a few pics.

 

[Dano78]

Well even if you do rebuild it, those 4 speed are a weak link. The best thing you could do is replace it with either a T-5 or an auto just like you were saying.

I went through 3 RAD 4 speeds (the MII 4 speed) in my V6 car none the less. They are just not built of good strength.

 

[king combo]

So very true, those 4-speeds were a weak point. And of course I have 2 strikes against me. The 351, and the fact that the guy I got the 4 speed from, built it, from what I understand, a V-6 casing with V-8 internals. The input shaft is a V-6 (I have a feeling that's what let go) ,so I had to custom make pilot with both V-8 and V-6 pilots, with a bushing between the 2 to make it work.
In retrospect, that tranny has been in there for about 7 years, so it's done well. But has been showing signs of stress for a while now, so i've been nice to it.
The King was originally 4 speed, but there was an automatic in it when I when I bought it about 11 yrs ago. So that makes it tricky, i've driven the car both ways, and like aspects of both trans.
I'm sure i'll figure it all out soon once I get motivated to take the old girl apart, again.