Intermezzo

Sylvia is with a mechanic this week for various maintenance work to be done, while the body shop continues work on doors, trunk and hood.

Hood/bonnet
Hood/bonnet
Rear passenger side door
Rear passenger side door

Some things for the mechanic to do:

  • rear wheel bearings (yes again, I forgot to install the locking rings & washers last time)
  • fuel pump filters clean & check
  • change all belts
  • compression & vacuum test
  • oil & filter change

While the mechanical work is being done and the bodywork, I’ve been getting some repairs done to the interior.

The A727 transmission

Maserati has always been a small company. They didn’t have the resources to design and build tooling for the entire car and like many other small auto manufacturers utilized many off the shelf or OEM components.

The transmission in the Automatic versions of the QP3 is the (dare I say legendary) Chrysler Torqueflite A727. Designed by very talented engineers in the late 50’s and refined for decades. The standard choice for any heavy duty or high power application throughout the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s (although Chrysler had changed the naming convention by that time). Also the MOPAR standard for race cars, still loved and still out there winning.

Built to be bulletproof, simple, and reliable. Aside from a few minor details, it is.

As the vibrations in 3rd gear were really getting bad and winter was imminent with all it’s icy force, I decided to rent a spot in a workshop and overhaul my first transmission. Check back for pics outlining the gory details. It’s not yet back in the car, but that day isn’t far off (famous last words).

Image

For those of you looking to work on one of these, regardless of what kind of vehicle it’s in, here are some excellent links for info:

The legendary torqueflite automatic transmission

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/transmis…-tom-hand.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzJhCBZ1wMY

Amazon.com: Torqueflite A-727 Transmission Handbook HP1399: How to Rebuild or Modify Chrysler’s A-727 Torqueflite for All Applications (9781557883995): Carl Munroe: Books

A-727 Torqueflite Diagnosis Dial

We did actually get the tranny back in the car, and my son learned a lot, among other things how to use a torque wrench, how to organize work in stages, keep things clean (despite what the picture might indicate…it’s a rented garage!) and follow directions.

Torquing down the bolts
Torquing down the bolts

When I get some time I’ll put together a list with pictures outlining the entire process. All in all it was pretty simple.

Has anyone else overhauled their transmission? How did it go?