Hi, I have a '69 Electra with a 455 which have finally been rebuild and is running pretty good but then came the moment for my first test drive.
After filling the tranny to the correct level nothing really happend, only reverse was working as it should, when I selected drive I could hear the engine rpm going down a bit and the car rolled slowly forward but didn't accelerate when I pushed the accelerator.

This is the case.
After all this I found out that the vacuum line from the modulator wasn't connected to the intake manifold but to the carburetor.
When I wanted to drive and checked the oil level I had to pour 5 litres (about 9 pints or something) of ATF in it, somebody told me that the clutch plates could be completely dried out because of the low oil level but when the engine was out of the car (and later before starting the engine for the first time) I checked the oil level and it was just above the add mark so the oil level was high enough to prevent the clutch packs from drying out, I think that the convertor was empty and filled itself when I started the engine causing a low oil level which needed filling.

There's also an (possible very) old filter in the tranny so I will change that one first and refill it with new oil and hope that it will work as it is supposed to do, or does somebody have an other idea about what could be wrong with it or have experienced something like this before?
Thanks in advance.

Koos Ockeloen

I forgot to mention that the car hasn't been driven for at least 3 years, that's why that person told me that the clutch packs could be dried out becausse of a low oil level, I forgot to tell him that I had checked the ATF level before the engine had ran and it was just above the add mark so that's why I think that there was enough ATF in it to prevent the clutch packs from drying out.

Did you drain the transmission fully before you removed it from the vehicle?
If so, then yes, the clutches will be dried out. If you didn't then up to half of the clutches will still be dried out because half of them won't be sitting in fluid.
The most likely scenario is that there just isn't enough fluid in the transmission.
What you should do is start the engine, check the fluid, add what is necessary then let the engine warm up to operating temperature. Once you've reached operating temp. put the transmission into every gear for a couple seconds to allow all the passages in the valve body to fill up. Then check the fluid again.
If the tranny is full, and it still won't move, I would say that you need a rebuild.
The modulator only controls shift points and regulates transmission pressure. If that isn't attached, you should still have 1st gear and reverse.


Good luck

Ben

I have never removed the tranny, only the engine.
I have done that, the fluid level was after filling up about 0.5 inch above the full mark.(I will recheck this again to make sure it's 100% correct)
I drove around in reverse to let the tranny fluid warm up but then the pressure line from the power steering burst so I had to stop.
But aren't the clutches covered completely in atf when the fluid is at its correct level?
Thanks for your reply

Koos