NavyCPO

P.S. Please call me Dale. Thanks!

Hmmm. Well what do you do about the A6 Compressor pulling the engine idle down so far when the AC is turned on and the compressor engages? I thought that was the purpose of that solenoid. I can adjust the car so that it will idle at a reasonable idle speed with the solenoid engaged I guess, but then when I turn on the A/C it will bog the motor down and then when I put it in drive idle drops even more. If I adjust the idle to compensate for the A/C and in gear, then when I stop and park the idle is way too high. What am I missing here? Is there supposed to be another solenoid for A/C operation somewhere else? Or do I just have to live with it. I know on later models, (maybe not Monte's but other cars I've owned) the solenoid is only energized when you turn on the ac to give a little boost to compensate for the extra load. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, I'm just trying to get my head around it, and figure out a way to have a happy medium. I mean the spec I think is what like 600 or 700 in drive and when you turn on the A/C it'll drop like a rock from there.

Just thought I'd check in with you guys and let you know I'm still alive! Just got real busy with lots of other stuff lately. I've got the Monte Road worthy and finished my initial projects with her, although I still need to find the right wire for the Fast Idle Solenoid. The one I have connected to it now (which is the one that was connected to the bad solenoid when I got the car) is hot anytime the ignition is on and I need the wire that is only HOT when the AC is turned on. I looked at some schematics and I think I'm looking for a purple one. Haven't gotten back on it as I have had other priorities lately, but I'm gonna get back on it pretty soon. Haven't even driven her since I got the speedometer issue fixed to see it actually work, but I know it will because the speedometer checked good on hand power! Still got a slight oil leak on the passengers side valve cover I believe. I think the tin might be bent or something because I've changed the gasket twice now, and pounded the holes flat the second time, (I didn't the first time) but it's still getting some oil out under the lip and down the head on the exhaust manifold. So I'm not driving her till I get that sealed up good. I may try a cork gasket since it's a little thicker than the rubber gasket. I've also got a set of Edelbrock aluminum valve covers that I may clean up and put on there but I'm not sure if they will fit underneath the A/C Bracket or not. They're not the Tall ones but I think they're still taller than the stock tins. Anyway, life is good and the weather is cooling off finally and getting tolerable to work outdoors some. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you in the Funny Papers!

Man, how do you keep your shop so clean!!!!! That is a nice SHOP!

Welcome Aboard! Nice looking Monte you have there. Great group of folks here, eager to help if you need it. Glad I joined the club.

Well I have been absent from here lately and delinquent on working on the Monte too as I've been busy with other things and plus it has gotten extremely hot, and too hot for me to work in the garage for a while. Sometimes I can go in there at night, but the sun sets West and it bears down right on my garage door and side of the garage and it get HOT in there. The little A/C I have in the Window ain't cuttin it. A bigger A/C is on my wish list...LOL However, I did go ahead and use the fast idle solenoid off of the old quadrajet I had in the shop and got it to fit pretty good. It's not original but it's almost the same I just had to bend the contact 90'. Works good lasts a long time I hope. I will probably change it out when I do the motor swap later with the correct one. Still have not driven the car since I got the speedometer fixed as I've gotten busy lately with other things. But still making progress on getting things straightened out with the ol' girl. Hope everyone is staying cool, and enjoying this hobby of ours. Fall is almost here and we'll have some cooler weather soon. Can't wait! Use to like Summers, but not now, Spring and Fall for me now baby!!!!

Got the seal changed out with no problem. Easy Peasy! One of the easiest things I've done on the car yet. LOL

Wow! They sure are proud of these aren't they! I used the one off of an old quadrajet that I had laying around for now. I will probably order one of these at a later time and put a new one on when I do the motor swap. Hopefully this Winter. Thank you for locating this for me! Much appreciated!

Well yesterday I got my speedometer issue fixed finally!!!! Pulled the tail shaft housing off the tranny and low and behold there was the retaining clip laying there all lonely and stuff. Gave it a little bend outwards to rejuvenate the spring tension and slapped her back under the tail shaft speedometer gear and seems to be holding securely, so should be fixed. YAY!!!! Moved on to the Fast Idle Solenoid issue that is not kicking on when I turn on the A/C and found voltage to be getting there but solenoid is dead. Went online to find a replacement, and they are nowhere to be found. I found an old post from 2006 or 2008 (can't remember which) that said Borg Warner ECS49 but couldn't find that anywhere either. Holley, Demon and Quickfuel make an aftermarket one but they want a fortune for them. Can't find it on Rock Auto, Year One, MuscleCar.com, checked several other sites with no joy. I may see if I can repair mine (after all it's just a coil with a plunger in it) or I may use a known good one that I pulled off of an old quadrajet that I had sitting around, but then I'm making that quadrajet incomplete. I may be able to repair this original part. We shall see..... Pinion Seal tomorrow to shore up that leak. Film at 11:00.................

That line goes to the Vacuum Modulator on the rear of the transmission. Agree with the other 2 fella's above, should not be a problem. If you lose vacuum in that line it will be a problem and you'll run around in first gear because it will not UP SHIFT. The Modulator controls the shift points. There is also a tiny straight slot screw head inside the port on the modulator that you can adjust in or out to adjust when your car upshifts. If you feel it is shifting too soon and you want it to wind out a little bit longer, or shifting too late and you want it to shift sooner, that is where you can adjust that.

Well I may have found the answer to the question about TQ Converter. 47012 comes up as a Boss Hog Night Stalker 2200-2800 Stall Converter on Summit Racing page. But the one pictured does not show the extended ears, but there may be different variations of the 47012???? The Boss Hog 47012 says it is a 12" Core though???? It says only for TH350 but it was in my TH400 and besides I thought that TH350 and TH400 use the same TQ Converter, because there are a ton of them listed that show they will fit both! Continuing to research this Pn..........

OK, so my car has a TH 350 short tail shaft in it and it is working fine. But I have on my shop floor what I believe to be a good TH 400 with short tail shaft. Does anyone know what the difference is in the length of these two transmissions or the difference in the length of the driveshaft for a TH 350 vs TH 400 car? I'm wondering if I'm going to have to get another driveshaft or if I can get away with just using a 1350 conversion U-joint on the front? I know one of you have done this conversion before, what are the challenges? Also, this transmission also has a TQ Converter in it and I think it may be a Stall Converter. The motor and transmission came out of an old chevy truck and my friend bought it for his C50 Dump truck. He ran the motor for a little while, (this is where the story part comes in, I told you, I almost always have a story! lol) but the motor blew up and obliterated the block and he obviously never used the TH400 in the C50. He sold me the dump truck, and he gave me the blown motor and the transmission, the TQ converter and rear yolk for the tranny, a spare flywheel, and 2 Edelbrock carburetors (an 850 and a 600) and an Edelbrock Intake. I salvaged a lot of good parts from the motor, 7 good pistons and rods, fuel pump, oil pump (melling M55), and the heads had the 2.02/1.6 valves I'm going to use in my new heads, guide plates, screw in studs, etc. This TQ Converter is a 10 inch and the ears are sticking out from the main section of the converter. I'm thinking that indicates it is a stall converter because most factory stock converters are 11-12 inches and the flywheel mounting ears are on the main body. My experience has been that TQ Converters usually don't have any markings on them and if they do they don't tell you important data like this is a 2500 RPM stall converter etc. This one does have what looks like an Item# 47012 on it, but who knows what that means? Does anybody have any knowledge on how I can tell if this is a stall converter or not and if so what stall speed it most likely would be? Can a transmission shop tell you? My Cam wants a 3000RPM stall and gears and I'm wondering if I can save the cost of a new converter if this one is already a stall converter. Any insight would be appreciated

Well I didn't do a damn thing to my Monte today!!!! LOL I had to take a break from it for a while because it was consuming all of my time. Last thing I did do though was get the A/C serviced up and she didn't leak, and she IS blowing cold. I need to look at the HVAC Box under the dash though and the controls as I may have to replace some of the foam on the doors or vacuum lines etc as it isn't blowing as hard as it should be for the amount the blower is working. May have the heater door slightly open or leaky ducts or something. But at least I have some cold air now coming out. IT HAS BEEN HOT HOT HOT here and lately the humidity has been terrible. I've been working indoors on other projects (guitars, amps and stuff). But I think tomorrow I'll have to go out in the garage and bear the heat a bit while I put her back up on Jacks and pull the driveshaft and the tail housing off of the Transmission and see why my speedometer still won't work after checking everything else the only thing left is in the tail housing. I'm hoping the the gear clip is still there and just slipped off or something because the cruise control unit started getting stiff from lack of lubricant and age causing excessive binding on the speedometer gears. The white gear on the cable side looks good and the red gear in the tail shaft looks good but I need to pull the housing off to see where it's sitting on the shaft, because I think it's been pushed forward and isn't meshing with the white gear. Hopefully I can fix it and be done with that problem and have speedometer back. Then I need to see why my AC Fast Idle Solenoid is not working when I turn on the A/C. I haven't checked yet to see if I'm getting voltage there and it's just a bad solenoid or if I'll be chasing wires again. Need to look in the service manual wiring diagrams and see where it gets power from the Compressor side or the AC Control side, or somewhere else. Right now, I have to have the car idled way up high so it doesn't die when I kick on the A/C. And Also need to remove my windshield washer pump and see if I just need to replace the $3 diaphram kit in the pump or the pump motor itself. I did check the voltage there earlier and it was getting voltage so this problem I know is somewhere in the Pump Assy. I started on the replacement motor I am planning on putting in her, a 383 that I had in a '71 Nova I used to have. It needed cam bearings so I put the 355 back in the Nova and have had this 383 stored for several years now (6 or 7). Got me some cheap aluminum heads 200cc and gonna put the 2.02 Valves in them, and a flat tappet cam from a racing buddy of mine in the old Nova club He made a few passes on it and sent it to me as a gift and I've been holding it for a good project and think I'll use it on this one. Edelbrock single plane intake and Edelbrock 850 carb. Desktop Dyno says it should make about 450HP and I think my 8.2" rear end can handle that since it will probably only be about 360HP at the rear wheels and somewhere I read the 8.2" were good to about 400HP, I guess I'll find out. But it's still just a one legged rear end for now anyway. I will need a stall converter and gears for the cam, so I'll probably need to get a posi unit and some gears too. Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching!!! LOL Still needs Headers, dual exhaust, etc. I have a PLAN!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!

Welcome Seth! WOW! What a beautiful job you did on your Monte! That is a beautiful car and very nice upgrades and attention to detail! I especially like your hood hinges. Where on earth did you find those? They look Wicked! Is that an LS in there? Which one did you use? (cid?) Great folks here, but after rebuilding this car to the level you have you probably already figured out what you need to know about your car and can probably contribute a great deal here. There are some great folks here with a wealth of knowledge.