More underside stuff this morning. First, you can see the catalytic convertor. It looks a bit rough. The A.I.R. tube going from the A.I.R. pump to the cat was completely rusted away. The car smells funny while it's running, and I'm afraid the cat is bad. The horrible time the car has pulling past 2000 rpm is also a hint. It's coming out with the exhaust manifolds.


Here you can see the transmission pan. It's a THM350, basically the metric version of the hot-rodder favorite Turbo 350 from GM. Unlike the versions the hot rodders use, this mid-80s metric passenger car transmission has mushy shifts, shift points that are way too low, and a 1:1 3rd gear. I'm sure a good transmission guy could pull it and make it into a world beater, but I'm not spending any money on this one.














And here's why. This is a THM200-R4 four speed overdrive out of a 1986 Grand Prix. This transmission was made famous by the Buick Grand National. This example is not quite that fancy. The GN's, Monte Carlo SS's, and Olds 442s had a special valvebody with much better shift points. This one doesn't have that. However, it still has deeper 1st and 2nd gears, as well as a 0.69:1 overdrive fourth. This will get the car up to speed faster, and I'll get better gas milage once I'm up there. Readily available kits will also allow me to get the torque convertor to lock/unlock automatically, allowing me to dispense with my tacky in-car switch.














Everything is soaking in PB Blaster right now. Tomorrow, I drop the drive shaft, drain the transmission and try to pull it without crushing myself. Wish me luck.