What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

1974 Jimmy

Overview Gallery Discussion
To be clear, I didn’t mention anything about what parts would cost. he and I talked parts and he said there is no way to know until he opens it up. I’m fully expecting a grandish for parts. My comment to him is parts cost what they cost. I will want quality parts. He agreed.

The labor surprised me. I thought that would be a few hundred minimum.
 
So I decided to break down the transmission on my own. I bought the Ron Sessions book and decided I’d give it a go.

Found why the transmission wasn’t working as designed:

IMG_7933.jpeg

Broken output ring gear. There were also a few roller bearings floating around from the roller clutch assembly.

Not sure if one caused the other or if unrelated.
 
Last edited:
Got the new output ring gear from Greg Ducato. Thanks to sweetk30 for the direction!

Got the housing cleaned up and all parts are now here.

IMG_7962.jpeg

IMG_7963.jpegIMG_7961.jpeg

I am currently cleaning all the inner parts and replacing bushings. So far everything has been pretty straight forward. The Sessions book and YouTube have made this much easier.

I’ll throw some more pictures up once I get further along.
 
Small update...

I have the transfer case (np203) fully restored and the transmission (th350) has been fully rebuilt. I rebuild the transmission on my own but when I put the pump in and bolted it down the thing would freeze up. So, I ended up taking to a transmission shop and they dialed it in. I needed a new forward drum as the input shaft was worn. Someone above mentioned right off the bat that I should take it to a shop as they will make sure everything is within spec. Good advice. But, I saved a little money I guess doing the cleaning and preliminary rebuilding myself. Okay, probably not.

Question: I have the old torque converter but I either need to replace it or have it rebuilt. Anyone have an opinion on that (new vs rebuild)? I guess the first question is can those things be cleaned out? The Service Manual talks about drilling a hole, draining and then using a pop rivet and RTV to seal the hole. Based on the condition of the transmission I fear there is crap in it that a simple draining wont resolve. I realize it may be silly but I'm asking these questions as I'm trying to retain as many original "GM" parts as I can.

I'll be moving onto the Engine next (350).

After that I'll only have the body and interior left to resolve. As a guy who is doing this for the first time, I get hives every time I look at the work to be done on the body.

Last, I did find original 1974 Jimmy rims and hub caps. That was the last of what I needed to at least recreate the look of a factory 1974 Jimmy.
 
I don't think I know of anyone ever rebuilding a torque converter. My dad and I have went through several th350s over the years and had them rebuilt by the shop in town. I would go aftermarket and never think twice on a part like that. I mean is every other part used to rebuild the transmission GM? I'd be amazed if they were. You gotta draw the line somewhere. Also, ask yourself this question... do I wanna pull the transmission again once the truck is running because the torque converter failed? Another thing to think about is that if you rebuild that 350ci engine to have more power than factory (which wont' be hard to do) you may want a stronger than factory torque converter and a stall.
 
Last edited:
jimmyleetn said:
I don't think I know of anyone ever rebuilding a torque converter. My dad and I have went through several th350s over the years and had them rebuilt by the shop in town. I would go aftermarket and never think twice on a part like that. I mean is every other part used to rebuild the transmission GM? I'd be amazed if they were. You gotta draw the line somewhere. Also, ask yourself this question... do I wanna pull the transmission again once the truck is running because the torque converter failed? Another thing to think about is that if you rebuild that 350 to have more power than factory (which wont' be hard to do) you may want a stronger than factory torque converter and a stall.
Click to expand...
There are several cost effective converters in the aftermarket that are way better than what GM used - keep that in mind throughout your project build.
 
I know some converters can be cut open and have the stall speed changed so I'd imagine it could be cut open and flushed out but for the cost you could go with a decent aftermarket converter.
 
The rtv and rivet sound hokey to me. I have seen many converters with an 1/8" pipe plug, flex plate side near the outer edge.
Always use a nice clean new or rebuilt torque converter. Any trash in that old converter will end up in your new rebuilt trans.
 
texarback said:
Small update...

I have the transfer case (np203) fully restored and the transmission (th350) has been fully rebuilt. I rebuild the transmission on my own but when I put the pump in and bolted it down the thing would freeze up. So, I ended up taking to a transmission shop and they dialed it in. I needed a new forward drum as the input shaft was worn. Someone above mentioned right off the bat that I should take it to a shop as they will make sure everything is within spec. Good advice. But, I saved a little money I guess doing the cleaning and preliminary rebuilding myself. Okay, probably not.

Question: I have the old torque converter but I either need to replace it or have it rebuilt. Anyone have an opinion on that (new vs rebuild)? I guess the first question is can those things be cleaned out? The Service Manual talks about drilling a hole, draining and then using a pop rivet and RTV to seal the hole. Based on the condition of the transmission I fear there is crap in it that a simple draining wont resolve. I realize it may be silly but I'm asking these questions as I'm trying to retain as many original "GM" parts as I can.

I'll be moving onto the Engine next (350).

After that I'll only have the body and interior left to resolve. As a guy who is doing this for the first time, I get hives every time I look at the work to be done on the body.

Last, I did find original 1974 Jimmy rims and hub caps. That was the last of what I needed to at least recreate the look of a factory 1974 Jimmy.
Click to expand...
I always had my transmission shop rebuild mine.
Yes they cut them open clean them change bearings weld them back and balance them
 
texarback said:
Small update...

I have the transfer case (np203) fully restored and the transmission (th350) has been fully rebuilt. I rebuild the transmission on my own but when I put the pump in and bolted it down the thing would freeze up. So, I ended up taking to a transmission shop and they dialed it in. I needed a new forward drum as the input shaft was worn. Someone above mentioned right off the bat that I should take it to a shop as they will make sure everything is within spec. Good advice. But, I saved a little money I guess doing the cleaning and preliminary rebuilding myself. Okay, probably not.

Question: I have the old torque converter but I either need to replace it or have it rebuilt. Anyone have an opinion on that (new vs rebuild)? I guess the first question is can those things be cleaned out? The Service Manual talks about drilling a hole, draining and then using a pop rivet and RTV to seal the hole. Based on the condition of the transmission I fear there is crap in it that a simple draining wont resolve. I realize it may be silly but I'm asking these questions as I'm trying to retain as many original "GM" parts as I can.

I'll be moving onto the Engine next (350).

After that I'll only have the body and interior left to resolve. As a guy who is doing this for the first time, I get hives every time I look at the work to be done on the body.

Last, I did find original 1974 Jimmy rims and hub caps. That was the last of what I needed to at least recreate the look of a factory 1974 Jimmy.
Click to expand...
And I have seen the drilling a hole and plugging it with a bolt or plug for draining at oil change time not for cleaning
 
New converter it is. I thought that would be the answer.

jimmyleetn said:
Another thing to think about is that if you rebuild that 350ci engine to have more power than factory (which wont' be hard to do) you may want a stronger than factory torque converter and a stall.
Click to expand...

Is this something the engine rebuilder will help with? Or is that something I will need to research?
 
Wes Harden said:
The rtv and rivet sound hokey to me. I have seen many converters with an 1/8" pipe plug, flex plate side near the outer edge.
Always use a nice clean new or rebuilt torque converter. Any trash in that old converter will end up in your new rebuilt trans.
Click to expand...

I'll have to go back and find it but I'm fairly certain I read that in the GM Service manual. If I find it I'll post a picture of the verbiage/page from the book.
 
I would just replace it to match your engine cam specs. I run the TCI street 2000. 10 years and no issues. Check with your trans shop.
They have gone way up in price. Jegs or summit branded are less.
 
jimmyleetn said:
I mean is every other part used to rebuild the transmission GM? I'd be amazed if they were. You gotta draw the line somewhere.
Click to expand...

So this is a great point and 100% true.

Let me ask everyone this question...

At what point in the repairing of the body would it go from an original to a tribute type of vehicle? For example, the two rear side panels, the front floors, the two front fenders, hood, tailgate and drivers door all need major repair. If I replace them all 100% with aftermarket parts, do we consider the truck now being more "tribute" or would it still be an original Jimmy?

I've been thinking a lot about this. Do I try to save as much as possible of each of those body parts to retain the originalness of the vehicle or do I take the easier path and just replace. Look, I get that this isn't going to be some museum piece and at the end of the day the vehicle retains the look and feel. I'm really just curious to know how that is viewed by people who see and judge these older vehicles. And, this is a mental defect of mine, I like the idea of original parts when working on this project or in my daily drivers.

Thoughts?
 
texarback said:
So this is a great point and 100% true.

Let me ask everyone this question...

At what point in the repairing of the body would it go from an original to a tribute type of vehicle? For example, the two rear side panels, the front floors, the two front fenders, hood, tailgate and drivers door all need major repair. If I replace them all 100% with aftermarket parts, do we consider the truck now being more "tribute" or would it still be an original Jimmy?

I've been thinking a lot about this. Do I try to save as much as possible of each of those body parts to retain the originalness of the vehicle or do I take the easier path and just replace. Look, I get that this isn't going to be some museum piece and at the end of the day the vehicle retains the look and feel. I'm really just curious to know how that is viewed by people who see and judge these older vehicles. And, this is a mental defect of mine, I like the idea of original parts when working on this project or in my daily drivers.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Build it the way that makes you the happiest within your budget.
You are the one who’s gonna drive it and everyone else’s input is just an opinion on your labor of love.

True OEM body parts will no doubt fit the best but at this point in the game finding non molested sections is gonna be difficult and definitely not cheap.

As far as other mechanical parts there are many items that the aftermarket is far better than what came as original equipment - keep doing research and get good advice on what’s worth keeping OEM and what’s not.
On so many factory parts they were designed as a compromise and/or the cheapest way to be produced instead of more effective or higher quality - camshafts and timing chains/gears are a prime example. The aftermarket is far superior in what they have to offer both in performance and quality.

Getting caught up in all of the tribute v/s clone v/s concors restored or survivor status can ruin the build/owning experience - build it the way you want it within the money and time that you are able to and spend more time enjoying it rather than spending all that time and effort chasing a dream that may never come to fruition.

HTH’s , in the end you are the one who needs to be happy with the results and all the effort and resources it took to get it completed.
 
Thanks. I'm going to build it the way I want which is whatever is easier and still looks original. I was just curious how the car collecting community views these types of restoration projects...what exactly is that line is between tribute vs original.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom