I was doing a lot of grunting for you here in New Zealand. A little tip that I found useful when installing gear boxes back in my younger days, I cut the heads off 2 long bolts, the same thread as the bell housing bolts, and screwed these in on each side that were easily accessable. The gear box can now sit on these and all you have to do is align the splines and push. Ifound it took a bit of the cursing out of the job. Cheers Ian
You’re triggering my PTSD guys. Flashback to 1962 under the 53 Chrysler in my mother in law’s yard. I HAD To get it back in no matter what. Im under the car. The tranny was on my chest. I’d never done it before.. it was do or die. I’m still here. I have no idea how I did it. To be fair that model was a hybrid auto manual with a converter and a clutch so the actual gearbox was more like a manual. Great fun watching you manoeuvre that thing to where you could begin to gut the bolts in using the lift as a jack.
As my late wife used to say: "Fish and company stink after 3 days!" So you were only one day into the stink my friend. Those guys were really a good bunch, anyway you look at it.
When I was a kid, we loved pitching and helping each other out. We swapped parts with each other, etc. I lost more tools that way, but it was worth it.
Somebody with a big enough magnet could probably retrieve a couple full sets of Craftsman tools where Dad's front yard used to be. Sandy land farm in West Texas
North east this morning! Yeah the videos have been a problem due to the super slow WiFi at the motels not allowing me to download and upload the video footage😡
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Well, keep safe and hope all the problems are behind you! Didn't get to witness you drive by here in central New Mexico but your live streams let me know you were passing through!
Kiwi, that 59 is awesome and how you're bringing it back by driving it reminds ne of simpler times when we got out on the American road and just drove. My dad's 66 Coronet made 5 round trips from NY to FL back in the day. Its been up Mt Washington and on Daytona Beach. The great American road in great American cars. The best!
Glad you got the transmission back in kiwi. When I was a young guy I worked on cars with my dad. He said always wear a hat when you're under a vehicle as it gives you just a split-second morning when you're about to hit your head. (He was right as usual. Lol)
The incredible one of a kind man fighting his way trough the desert in his old Rig.. having no fear to fight coyotes... while rebuilding the transmission on the side of the road yeah yeah yeah go Kiwi
Appreciate you keeping the footage and posting these pre no wiper drives. lol. Like I said you’ve gotta love other gear heads showing up at a moments notice !! That’s the real beauty of it all ! I’ve done so many engines, trans, 3rd assemblies ( hows that for old school terms lol ) brakes etc with my younger brother that it’s only ever grunts n groans and yup yup yup YUP ‘s that I totally appreciate that it’s not your shop, tools or normal “ help “ !! And so far from your destination ! I SO appreciate it all and you sharing it ! You’re good people my friend ! Take care 🍺😎
Large Marge was the truck driver in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. She turned out to be a ghost. Pee Wee' Big Adventure, Kiwi's Big Adventure.... ya get it ? 😁👍😎
I had a similar adventure when I drove an old '68 Newport from Florida to Ohio. I bought a case of trany fluid, but ended up not using any. The leak turned out to be the dip stick tube O ring. In use it swelled back up and didn't leak.
I'm sorry that you are having trouble but I'm glad you are putting this video up. This is more like my experience with trying to drive away old cars rather than what is normally shown on you tube.
Enjoyed the sped up footage and Mike Cotten in the background! Even after working on one all day Kiwi watches other car guys! Awesome! Good luck on the trip home to Nashville
The pain is real, Kiwi. It's also kinda nice to see when an adventure like this doesn't work out, unlike you generally see on youtube. I suspect this is the more common result of one of these roadtrips, but we don't get to see the 99% of the time that they turn out a but of a nightmare. On ya, mate. 👍
Man I've been trying to post videos on the daily but last night was first time in 3-4 nights the motel has had good enough WiFi to allow me to upload 😡
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 No worries... We're just following the Adventures as they come.. We'll wait and watch ... So far it's been unbelievable how well the Car has behaved... She wanted to be free!!
When I was a young man. I had a Powerglide transmission I had removed from my hot rod, and a fellow gearhead needed one as his had broken. So, we had never fooled with automatic transmissions that much and had no transmission jack. So, to save weight and such we removed the transmission leaving the torque converter bolted to the engine (we of course were swimming in transmission fluid, did not have a drain pan). After much fighting and the help of a third person to bump the starter (ignition disabled) we finally got the transmission in. I went home. A few days later the fellow came over and the transmission was working but slipping really bad and we just could not get enough fluid in it (remember the torque converter was drained out. So, the fellow went home and a few days later he came over and what he found was the filter in my Powerglide was full of sludge (due to the fact that it had sat out in the back yard and rainwater had gotten into the transmission). What he did was to rob the filter out of his transmission and put it in my (now his) transmission and it worked (actually it worked better than when I had it in operation). The only other challenge was that there was a difference in the shift linkage hookup and would have required going into the transmission and us his original linkage setup, so the fellow had to get up under the car to put it in reverse, and then get up under the car to put it in drive. Of course, this is what young men do because we are stupid, and we are invincible. But sometimes you have to learn things the hard way. Of course, it is a good thing that you have the use of the facilities and hopefully you will not endure any hardships on your journey. Try pulling that transmission while laying on your back and putting it back in. What an experience.
My question now is why didn't these two guys, the previous owners, do this to get the car going during all the years it has been sitting? The have the lift, shop and know how.
Lee didn't own it long he just decided it was more than he wanted or had time to do. He stuck it up FB market place just to see if he got any interest and he did😬. He did tell me he thought it was bad idea to try and drive it home ....... let's hope he was wrong .......
I thought he had it for a long time. Did the car have any plates on it and if not what was the plate number in the title? From that I can see if it was an original plate or close to it. I am curious.@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160
We did and yes it was wrong. Cast iron Torqueflites Do share some parts with the later one so we ended up using one seal out of it and one we had to overnight from Amazon.
Loved your transmission cradle blocks of wood, installed a transmission with no jack years ago with the help of a friend, we used wood blocks & logs, worked surprisingly well 😂
Heck yeah man, that's what's really great about the hot rodding community. Even when you're with them in competition at the race track, they'll always help out a fellow brother.
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Agreed! Having done a clutch job on the street with a couple of stands and a $10 jack, I know the feeling. Lucky the trans was a bit lighter....
TARS: "It's not possible." Kiwi: "No. It's necessary." TARS: "Kiwi.......we.......are..................lined up!" Kiwi: "Initiate transmission....." (this is Kiwi's version of Interstellar)
According to folklore, those old cast iron t-flights could be slammed into reverse at 75 mph without damaging the trans. I’d slow down a bit to allow for age. Also having an additional rear oil pump allowed one to pop-er in neutral and coast down hills.
I knew a bigger guy that was roughly 6 foot 4 250 pounds and he would just jack the car up as high as his floor jack would go, put the transmission on his chest, roll under the car and man handle it in place. Definitely not possible to do for most regular guys but man is that impressive.
I give you alot of credit attempting repair to drive home, But 20 cars ago I decided to get Transporter to ship home, and work in my own shop and no deadline.Cheers!
I think I might have just pieced together a possible background on how this car made its last run in 1979. Most likely a family station wagon. Suddenly the transmission gets a seal leak from the transmission and it wasn't affordable to fix it on a 20 year old vehicle. Other than the obvious "Dad blew a seal and got kicked out of the San Diego zoo!" 😂😂😂😂
Joe maybe selling a cherry green Corvette convertible soon to help support legal fees. It would require a trip to Wilmington Delaware, the adventure back to Tennessee could garner 74,000,000 views.
Anybody else crack up when Kiwi emphasized the importance of a clean workspace during the transmission rebuild? 🤣
I'm sure there were old trans guys rolling in their grave at what we were doing...😎👍
If it works it works shacklife customs for life
COULDN'T SEE ANY DIRT FROMK LANCASTER, PA.
I was doing a lot of grunting for you here in New Zealand. A little tip that I found useful when installing gear boxes back in my younger days, I cut the heads off 2 long bolts, the same thread as the bell housing bolts, and screwed these in on each side that were easily accessable. The gear box can now sit on these and all you have to do is align the splines and push. Ifound it took a bit of the cursing out of the job. Cheers Ian
Now that is good idea. Really good. Thanks man👍😎
Might steal that idea and use it in a video if that's ok?
Man, that sounds so obvious now that you say it! 👍
American and New Zealand ingenuity at its best. Good work Kev.
Plymouth on one side of the shed, 'Cuda on the other. Talk about an idea work environment!
Donny has an ultra cool set up there!!!!
My back started hurting just watching you guys crouched under that lift
It'll be fun they said.......my back would beg to differ😁
Transmission jack made of Legos would have been cooler yet!😂
LOL yes it would.
Transmission stand by Jenga😄
Great work...and great help
LOL. It really did look like a Jenga stack!! But it worked pretty well !!
You should of had UT with to tell you how many times he’s done that job while you struggled! 😂
LOL. 😎
You’re triggering my PTSD guys. Flashback to 1962 under the 53 Chrysler in my mother in law’s yard. I HAD To get it back in no matter what. Im under the car. The tranny was on my chest. I’d never done it before.. it was do or die. I’m still here. I have no idea how I did it. To be fair that model was a hybrid auto manual with a converter and a clutch so the actual gearbox was more like a manual. Great fun watching you manoeuvre that thing to where you could begin to gut the bolts in using the lift as a jack.
The things we do🤦 😁😎 great memories though. I'll be reliving this one in my rocking chair😎🍻
As my late wife used to say: "Fish and company stink after 3 days!" So you were only one day into the stink my friend. Those guys were really a good bunch, anyway you look at it.
Yes they were/ are!! True Hot Rodders!!
The rain always makes an emergency repair better.
Yeah I don't know about that.....😎👍
It helps to wash away some of the oil that leaks out. Win Win
And that my friends, is why the aluminum TorqueFlite was made. 60lb lighter too.
Sounds right!👍😎
Great videos Kiwi. Real deal car guy stuff going on
Thanks Frank, yeah no boxes of billet being opened on this trip😎👍
When I was a kid, we loved pitching and helping each other out. We swapped parts with each other, etc. I lost more tools that way, but it was worth it.
Yes it was! Mistakes were made but lessons were learned at the school of life....
Somebody with a big enough magnet could probably retrieve a couple full sets of Craftsman tools where Dad's front yard used to be. Sandy land farm in West Texas
When Kiwi started watching the headbangers ball, toughest part of the day.
This is so much cooler than anything Uncle tony has ever done!
🤡
Well done Steve ,Lee & Donny .True motor people 👍
You are 100% correct !! Thanks for watching.!!!
Got me worried there for a minute. Going back in history for this vid. Glad you're on your way and still East bound!!
North east this morning! Yeah the videos have been a problem due to the super slow WiFi at the motels not allowing me to download and upload the video footage😡
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Well, keep safe and hope all the problems are behind you! Didn't get to witness you drive by here in central New Mexico but your live streams let me know you were passing through!
Growing up here also every body gives a helping hand. Still live here close to Imperial Beach.
Kiwi, that 59 is awesome and how you're bringing it back by driving it reminds ne of simpler times when we got out on the American road and just drove. My dad's 66 Coronet made 5 round trips from NY to FL back in the day. Its been up Mt Washington and on Daytona Beach. The great American road in great American cars. The best!
Memories make us! Glad we brought some back for you, thanks for watching!!
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Thank you Kiwi. I'm subbed!
Glad you got the transmission back in kiwi. When I was a young guy I worked on cars with my dad. He said always wear a hat when you're under a vehicle as it gives you just a split-second morning when you're about to hit your head. (He was right as usual. Lol)
The incredible one of a kind man fighting his way trough the desert in his old Rig.. having no fear to fight coyotes... while rebuilding the transmission on the side of the road yeah yeah yeah go Kiwi
Uncle Tony gave him a rebuild Trans kit before he left
And as it runs out it was the wrong one.@@DougAtkins-w9h
Good Video 👍
the transmission parts are in the basement of the Alamo :)
Stay Classy San Siego. 👍
Appreciate you keeping the footage and posting these pre no wiper drives. lol. Like I said you’ve gotta love other gear heads showing up at a moments notice !! That’s the real beauty of it all ! I’ve done so many engines, trans, 3rd assemblies ( hows that for old school terms lol ) brakes etc with my younger brother that it’s only ever grunts n groans and yup yup yup YUP ‘s that I totally appreciate that it’s not your shop, tools or normal “ help “ !! And so far from your destination ! I SO appreciate it all and you sharing it ! You’re good people my friend ! Take care 🍺😎
I love the jenga trans jack.
the name for the car. The Reason how about that best luck Uncle Kiwi and steve e
Large Marge was the truck driver in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. She turned out to be a ghost. Pee Wee' Big Adventure, Kiwi's Big Adventure.... ya get it ? 😁👍😎
I had a similar adventure when I drove an old '68 Newport from Florida to Ohio. I bought a case of trany fluid, but ended up not using any. The leak turned out to be the dip stick tube O ring. In use it swelled back up and didn't leak.
I'm sorry that you are having trouble but I'm glad you are putting this video up. This is more like my experience with trying to drive away old cars rather than what is normally shown on you tube.
Thanks man. It is what it is, success is far from guaranteed
Giving where you started from with this car I think it's going fairly decent. Parts are more difficult to find and some other cars.
Enjoyed the sped up footage and Mike Cotten in the background! Even after working on one all day Kiwi watches other car guys! Awesome! Good luck on the trip home to Nashville
It's a sickness!😁. Thanks man and thanks for watching
The pain is real, Kiwi. It's also kinda nice to see when an adventure like this doesn't work out, unlike you generally see on youtube. I suspect this is the more common result of one of these roadtrips, but we don't get to see the 99% of the time that they turn out a but of a nightmare. On ya, mate. 👍
Job well done what a mission lots of fun these old classes part of the adventure
It was a task for sure!
Excellent backstory fill for the adventure MrKiwi!!
Nice work gentlemen!
Cheers mate
Why does that "transmission stand" remind me of Jenga???? 🤣🤣
That's what I saw too !!!
1st??? Hahaha.. you guys are in Texas as of yesterday..
Man I've been trying to post videos on the daily but last night was first time in 3-4 nights the motel has had good enough WiFi to allow me to upload 😡
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 No worries... We're just following the Adventures as they come.. We'll wait and watch ...
So far it's been unbelievable how well the Car has behaved... She wanted to be free!!
DHCC
@@NathansMoparGarage DEAD HORSES CAR CLUB
Must be a cast iron transmission! I still remember bench pressing a 904 into my 1970 Dart, had to slide it under then on top of me. Fun stuff.
Yes, cast iron. I'm too old to be bench pressing transmissions. Aluminum or otherewise
I am too old now as well! I was around 28 when I benched the 904. @@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160
Car guys are the best 👍 always willing to help 😎
It's a brotherhood man!!
Yeah, car guys and diesel guys are the best, Yeah
Holly heaka..... What a mission... You and the guys helping have done well...👌
When I was a young man. I had a Powerglide transmission I had removed from my hot rod, and a fellow gearhead needed one as his had broken. So, we had never fooled with automatic transmissions that much and had no transmission jack. So, to save weight and such we removed the transmission leaving the torque converter bolted to the engine (we of course were swimming in transmission fluid, did not have a drain pan). After much fighting and the help of a third person to bump the starter (ignition disabled) we finally got the transmission in. I went home. A few days later the fellow came over and the transmission was working but slipping really bad and we just could not get enough fluid in it (remember the torque converter was drained out. So, the fellow went home and a few days later he came over and what he found was the filter in my Powerglide was full of sludge (due to the fact that it had sat out in the back yard and rainwater had gotten into the transmission). What he did was to rob the filter out of his transmission and put it in my (now his) transmission and it worked (actually it worked better than when I had it in operation). The only other challenge was that there was a difference in the shift linkage hookup and would have required going into the transmission and us his original linkage setup, so the fellow had to get up under the car to put it in reverse, and then get up under the car to put it in drive. Of course, this is what young men do because we are stupid, and we are invincible. But sometimes you have to learn things the hard way. Of course, it is a good thing that you have the use of the facilities and hopefully you will not endure any hardships on your journey. Try pulling that transmission while laying on your back and putting it back in. What an experience.
Great story!! Thanks for sharing. In the words of Craig Morgan. "You may have a few less scars but I'll have better stories ". Great song !!
Time traveling with Kiwi and Steve!😎😎
Blast from the past !!
Good job! have a safe trip. Steve in CHC
Cheers mate!
When a guy has his hands in his pockets you know not to count on his help. I do the same thing at times.
Large Marge is a perfect name.
I think so.....
😢I did.a.Hydromatic in a 54 Olds 88 it had to be 300lbs
The cherry.picker growned
3:57 Jeez I left my torch there
And a couple of wrenches, a ph Charger and some other stuff😁😎👍
👍🏼⛽️🍻🍕
Good things happen to great people!
Thanks man and thanks for watching!!
When you speed up Kiwi's audio he turns into a Pikey.
Oh good grief really....🤣
My question now is why didn't these two guys, the previous owners, do this to get the car going during all the years it has been sitting? The have the lift, shop and know how.
Lee didn't own it long he just decided it was more than he wanted or had time to do. He stuck it up FB market place just to see if he got any interest and he did😬. He did tell me he thought it was bad idea to try and drive it home ....... let's hope he was wrong .......
I thought he had it for a long time. Did the car have any plates on it and if not what was the plate number in the title? From that I can see if it was an original plate or close to it. I am curious.@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160
Uncle Tony gave you a rebuild kit because he said it would happen 😅
We only used one seal out of it but it was a vital one!!
Hey Kiwi. What have you done with your Barracuda? I reckon the engine and four speed you had for it, would be great in this monster..!
I've got a 392 Hemi from a 58 Chrysler that's looking for a home......🤔
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Nice!
I couldn't work that way! Not enough curse words!!! How do you ever get anything done?
🤣😂. Yeah it's hard to hold your tongue some times......
You guys should have brought Tony"s rebuild kit🙂 (maybe you did & it was wrong?).
We did and yes it was wrong. Cast iron Torqueflites Do share some parts with the later one so we ended up using one seal out of it and one we had to overnight from Amazon.
Glad you guys got the car home without getting stranded. That's HUGE in my book:-)@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160
@@alrui mine too!!😎
Wait. Isn't this where you started???
Yes, the videos are a bit late as I was having a lot of trouble uploading them with the motel WiFi
727 time
This video needs more birds
while your at it, put a hemi in it,
That could well be part of Large Mage's Mommy make over....😎👍
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 You have a 392, lucky man!
is it measure pipe cracked or split
Not sure what you mean bud, measure pipe??
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 dip stick tube, I had Biden moment.
@@josephszot5545 lol a Biden moment🤣. It was the front seal, it was just gone!!
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 we are in big trouble!.
KIWI, Rent a tow vehicle (wrecker) twit home. It's business so it's a loss!
Keep watching, the fat lady hasn't sung yet😎😎
Butchery at it's finest...
Butchery??
Loved your transmission cradle blocks of wood, installed a transmission with no jack years ago with the help of a friend, we used wood blocks & logs, worked surprisingly well 😂
Heck yeah man, that's what's really great about the hot rodding community. Even when you're with them in competition at the race track, they'll always help out a fellow brother.
It's a brotherhood no doubt!!
It’s amazing how many words and expressions Kiwi can convey through a simple “Uh Yeeeah.”
I do that quite a lot don't I😏
Thanks for helpin Kiwi ppl. Ya blood's worth bottling. Luvin this trip. Still abit discombobulated timeline wise though. Cheers .
Yeah sorry about that. I'll have another video up tomorrow though😬
That transmission install made Vice Grip Garage look like a totally OSHA approved operation!
Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do😬
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Agreed! Having done a clutch job on the street with a couple of stands and a $10 jack, I know the feeling. Lucky the trans was a bit lighter....
You should have the rebuild kit uncle Tony got you 😂
We did ! It wasn't quite the right kit but we did use a vital seal out of it!!
TARS: "It's not possible."
Kiwi: "No. It's necessary."
TARS: "Kiwi.......we.......are..................lined up!"
Kiwi: "Initiate transmission....."
(this is Kiwi's version of Interstellar)
Looks like enough to drive a man to drink . So I'm suggesting "Subourbon " as a name for the car?.
According to folklore, those old cast iron t-flights could be slammed into reverse at 75 mph without damaging the trans. I’d slow down a bit to allow for age. Also having an additional rear oil pump allowed one to pop-er in neutral and coast down hills.
I knew a bigger guy that was roughly 6 foot 4 250 pounds and he would just jack the car up as high as his floor jack would go, put the transmission on his chest, roll under the car and man handle it in place. Definitely not possible to do for most regular guys but man is that impressive.
I give you alot of credit attempting repair to drive home, But 20 cars ago I decided to get Transporter to ship home, and work in my own shop and no deadline.Cheers!
That does make more sense .....
I think I might have just pieced together a possible background on how this car made its last run in 1979. Most likely a family station wagon. Suddenly the transmission gets a seal leak from the transmission and it wasn't affordable to fix it on a 20 year old vehicle. Other than the obvious "Dad blew a seal and got kicked out of the San Diego zoo!" 😂😂😂😂
LOL. Too funny!!
Mate. You were lucky those blokes had all the gear and were happy to help. Probably cost you a few beers. Looking good. 😊
You got that right!
The very obvious,,, why the hell try and drive it back. Get a trailer and carry it back.
The thrill of the chase 😀
Joe maybe selling a cherry green Corvette convertible soon to help support legal fees. It would require a trip to Wilmington Delaware, the adventure back to Tennessee could garner 74,000,000 views.
There ya go! We're in!!👍😎
What an adventure!!!
Yes indeed!!!
That looked like a whole lot of fun.
😅Crib er up boys
The channel "Obsolete Automotive" had some great content on removing and installing these particular transmissions.
I watched a bit of them while we were waiting for the front seal. It is great!!
@@kiwiclassicsandcustoms9160 Great!
If it's one, its usually more . Chasing those little bugs is what our sport,hobby keeps us going .lol. Good luck in your travels.👍🔧🔩✌🇺🇸
Ain't that the truth!!👍😎
Back on track