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Technical Powerglide or TH350?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by hotrod54chevy, Apr 10, 2017.

  1. hotrod54chevy
    Joined: Nov 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,590

    hotrod54chevy
    Member
    from Ohio

    '54 Chevy 2 door with a 283 and a posi rear. I've a 350 trans in it now and it leaks fluid when sitting. I was thinking about checking the seal and remembered my dad has a powerglide sitting in his garage. Which would you guys prefer?

    I've slowly been reverse updating this car. Had bucket seats and a floor shifter, I put a bench back in it and a newer floor shifter. I'm going from throttle cable to linkage, and I've always liked the kick down linkage better on the powerglide than a 350, cosmetically, anyway. I wanted to put the shifter back on the column if I could find a complete one. I've seen tech articles on here where they modified the standard ones for auto. What do you guys think? Worth it or am I just giving myself a headache?

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  2. choptop40
    Joined: Dec 23, 2009
    Posts: 5,113

    choptop40
    Member

    Replace seals....
     
  3. ^^^^^^^^ What Choptop said. It could be leaking at the Speedometer output. Seals are about $7.
     
  4. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    search for threads about TH350 transmissions leaking when sitting, there is a list of about a dozen places they are known to leak from.....

    I'd rather have a TH350 than a PG, but maybe you like the lazy way a powerglide equipped car with a small engine gets moving.
     

  5. We used to call Powerglides, Peanut Butter Drive
     
    norms30a likes this.
  6. Why not just fix the leak???
     
  7. plym49
    Joined: Aug 9, 2008
    Posts: 2,802

    plym49
    Member
    from Earth

    Damn, PowerGlide for the win. They are awesome behind a 283. (Seriously! I am not joking.) And everyone and their brother has a 350.

    I have abused the heck out of both cast-iron and aluminum PowerGlides over the years. They do not disappoint and are great in a street or strip car.

    Definitely the PG.
     
  8. The leak could be from the pan, the speedo drive, the shift shaft seal, the dipstick tube..All relatively easy fixes.
    Front pump O- ring is a bit less common.
    Should be an easy one.
     
  9. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    or the kickdown cable or seal, accumulator O ring, governor cover O ring, tailhousing O ring or seal, etc.

    But the others listed are more common.
     
  10. 61Cruiser
    Joined: Dec 5, 2013
    Posts: 190

    61Cruiser
    Member

    I'll add my two cents. Fix the leaks and keep the 350. If you swap in the PG you'll think you've lost 50hp especially with the 283 in front.


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  11. miker98038
    Joined: Jan 24, 2011
    Posts: 1,143

    miker98038
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The saying up here, in the day. "Slip and slide with powerglide"

    That was before they built race versions. Fix the 350.
     
    bchctybob likes this.
  12. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,263

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Fix leaks.

    Powerglides are only good fully prepped for drag race, with a trans brake.

    More gears are always more better.
     
  13. 56sedandelivery
    Joined: Nov 21, 2006
    Posts: 6,695

    56sedandelivery
    Member Emeritus

    3 speeds vs 2 speeds; more is ALWAYS better. If you're restoring a car with a Powerglide, or going to be drag racing it, then the Glide is the way to go; on the street a Glide is just boring however. Fix the leaks before you have to fix the complete transmission. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
     
  14. hotrod54chevy
    Joined: Nov 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,590

    hotrod54chevy
    Member
    from Ohio

    Why not just fix the leak? Because I'm not sure where it's leaking from yet and I figured I'd weigh my options before I spend a weekend on it. I don't believe it's from the speedo. My dad thinks it's the rear seal, but I have to get under it to be sure. Feeling like losing 50hp would suck, but I already feel like that having to go from a 327 with a 4 barrel to a 283 with a 2, but that helps me keep my foot out of it. I'll have to get on it this weekend and see what's going on.

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  15. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    If a Powerglide isn't leaking, just wait a while it will. I'd go with a 350th .
     
  16. d2_willys
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 4,285

    d2_willys
    Member
    from Kansas

    You don't know what Powerglide you have. You could have a pre-53 that does not have automatic shift. Never described the case, whether it is cast iron or aluminum. My opinion: drop the 350 and seal it up good. Make sure you do the accumulator o-ring, otherwise it will soon leak when driving.
     
  17. hotrod54chevy
    Joined: Nov 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,590

    hotrod54chevy
    Member
    from Ohio

    The PG is bolted to a 350 sitting in my dad's garage on the floor. I'm not there right now so I have no idea what kind it is. Like I said, I'll crawl under the car eventually and see what's going on now that it's finally warm enough to do anything in my garage

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  18. DIYGUY
    Joined: Sep 8, 2015
    Posts: 883

    DIYGUY
    Member
    from West, TX

    Fix the leaks, you don't need the kick down cable. 52 Chevy pickup with shift kit never had kick down cable hooked up. Just replaced shift shaft and seal, $50. Shaft was scored and replaced seal about twice before.
     
  19. dan c
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,520

    dan c
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    i'm 68 years old. us gearheads cried for years having to use a powerglide. when the 350 came about, it was a celebration! keep the pg for a drag car...
     
  20. We called them a Power Slip or a town over from where I lived they called them a Power Slide

    if you are building a full on barn stormer there are lots of parts available these days to make a power glide into a pure race transmission. That's probably not the direction you are going with this car.

    let me tell you a story I once traded a car because the radiator cap was no good. You know where this is going right? if all you need is a seal or a gasket why change the entire transmission for a less efficient transmission?
     
  21. hotrod54chevy
    Joined: Nov 7, 2003
    Posts: 1,590

    hotrod54chevy
    Member
    from Ohio

    Thanks for the info, everyone! Never drove a car with a PG in it so I just thought I'd ask.

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  22. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    The reason the PG works so well in race cars, is because they invented the high stall torque converter. Get the engine up to 5000 rpm, it'll launch just fine!
     
    olscrounger and porknbeaner like this.
  23. 327Eric
    Joined: May 9, 2008
    Posts: 2,116

    327Eric
    Member

    2 gears suck. Also Powerslides have a diferent yoke, and length.
     
  24. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    The yoke and length depends what year it is...early ones are coarse spline short transmissions, later ones are fine spline, longer transmissions.
     
  25. There you go.after having a 350 tranny and driving a car with a power glide you keep checking to make sure it's not in low and waiting for that third gear. HRP
     
  26. Blues4U
    Joined: Oct 1, 2015
    Posts: 7,589

    Blues4U
    Member
    from So Cal

    Haha, no love for the old Powerslide, oops, I mean Powerglide.

    That's what I'm running in my A pickup and it works just fine in a light weight car like that. The engine/trans were a package deal out of an old Impala, and as such it is a reliable, easy to drive package. But I am working on plans to replace the engine, and when I do I expect the PG will be going down the road as well, and a TH350 will probably be what I replace it with. As everyone has noted, the extra gear provides a lower ratio to get you moving much easier. Though if I was planning on sticking with the current engine I'd probably just opt for a higher stall speed convertor and that would also work well, as long as I kept the stall speed below say 2500 rpm so it doesn't generate so much heat running down the highway.
     
  27. PG Vs TH350?
    Kind of like reminiscing about that old cell phone bolted to your dash with the big curly cord connecting the hand set...It was the best at the time-today you know there is a better way..
     
  28. samurai mike
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 547

    samurai mike
    Member

    WHAT! no traditional police! isn't the th350 too new?
     
  29. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    TH400 would be better, but a manual trans would be best.
     
  30. 56sedandelivery
    Joined: Nov 21, 2006
    Posts: 6,695

    56sedandelivery
    Member Emeritus

    Let me throw this out there. When my nephew and I built our "Street Gasser" 51 Chevrolet Business Coupe, V-8 swap ALUMINUM POWERGLIDE I built, and 56 rear end/4.88 Positraction, we did the usual modification to the stock crossmember so there would be a removable center section to pull the transmission if needed. The modulator on the Powerglide would not clear the center piece/crossmember, so I deleted it with a kir sold by Sonnax. 49-54 Chevrolet are the same frames except for the engine mount change that came in 52. you'd probably have the same issue. Now, the ONLY reason we used a Powerglide is because that's what the nephew wanted. We used ALL my parts and $$$ to build the car. 2500 RPM stall converter, 5 pack direct clutch, all wavy steels deleted, shift kit, and the modulator delete. It would shift "automatically 1 to 2/low to drive at a very low MPH, and shift fairly soft. WOT, and manual shifting, and it would loosen the fillings in your teeth. The whole car would literally "jump". I don't know why I did't mention the issue with the modulator before. Same as before however, Powerglides are boring on the street, unless you've worked one over. I'd use a TH350, although I'm not a big fan of them due to the shift timing lag 2-3, and the incidence of sprag failure. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

    That transmission also had a RARE Hurst Auto Stick 1 for the Powerglide I bought as just the tower assembly.
     

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