I can't find words good enough to express how thankful I am for the knowledge, experience, and generosity that fellow hotrodders, H.A.M.B.ers, and Rusty Nuts members shared with us on Saturday. We were on our way to Glen Burnie, MD from Lancaster, PA on a beautiful fall morning. The Model A was running great, and we were making good time. Around 9 a.m., and about three blocks from the show site, the car started running rough and was about to shutdown, so I pulled into a parking lot. I couldn't keep it running. At the same time, the 350TH would not go into any gear. I checked the shift linkage and it hadn't come loose. It appeared to be turning the input shaft, but would not stay in Park or any other gear. I couldn't feel any detents. I manually put it into Park, but had to hold it into position while trying to start the engine. I checked the carb and it was totally flooded, and gas was running out. I wracked my brain trying to figure out how these two problems could be related. I tried unsucessfully to get the float unstuck, then somehow managed to find a forward gear, and kept it running long enough to get to the show in Low range. As we limped onto the show grounds it didn't take long to be surrounded by helpful well-wishers, and even an enterprising dude who made us an offer to buy the car on the spot, so we wouldn't have to worry about fixing it. After walking around for awhile, just to get away from the problem, clear our heads and de-stress, we headed back to the car to get busy. I pulled the trans linkage and it was in fact turning the input shaft. As I re-installed and tightened the neutral safety switch, Gary Manley, from West VA, joined me under the car. We agreed on the diagnosis, but he enlisted local transmission guru Carl Schinner for his expert opinion. Carl immediately took over. He told me I'd have to drop the pan so he could be sure of the problem, but he was pretty sure the detents were worn, and he had parts at home. Until Carl appeared, I envisioned making the long trip home in a tow truck, or staying over in MD until I could contact a transmission shop. Carl would have none of this nonsense! While I headed out searching for a drip pan in the flea market, someone else had the Rusty nuts crew looking for one. Finding none in the flea area, I headed inside to the kitchen, hoping for some kind of container. Just as I got there, two guys were heading toward the car with a pan, absorbent pads, and a trash bag. Someone else came up with a funnel to refill the fluid. By the time I got back to the car, Carl had started to pull the pan. I had tools along, but Gary seemed to have everything else we could possibly need in the well-stocked trunk of his '40 coupe. He already had his jack under one side, and even had several kinds of silicone to re-seal the pan. The audience grew as Carl worked his magic. Everyone at the show seemed to know Carl, and the consensus is that he's a great guy as well as a "piece of work". He's 68 now, and told us he'd done nothing but work on cars, and especially transmissions, since he was 16. What he found was that a nut holding the shaft and detents in place had come loose, and everything was about ready to fall apart. With all the jarring driving on our infamous PA roads, it's amazing that the whole tranny never fell out. No new parts were needed and everything was tightened and buttoned up by 1:30. We then went to the engine, and of course there were 3-4 different opinions. Gary even had a timing light along, so one argument was eliminated. We kept the engine running and were able to bang on the carb long enough to unstick the float. The idle smoothed out while the trans fluid I'd spilled on the manifold burned off. We were up and running and all was well. After cleaning the area and returning borrowed equipment, we were able to enjoy the rest of the day, and our eneventful trip home. Thanks to our many new friends we had a memorable adventure and won't soon forget Jalopyrama IV.......................Woody P.S.......... The adventure continued when I somehow lost my 187 photos on Saturday night. Luckily Sandy's were safe, so I'll post them.
Carl is a super guy. He's helped me on a number of occasions and I'm sure countless others over the years. His spirit and wisdom are what makes this hobby so great.Glad this story turned out good.
Not enough can be said about Carl Schinner here......Those of you who DO know this gentelman, aquainted with his work, and are his friend....I'm sure can say he is "THE MAN".....To me he will always be the "Transmission Magician". Carl literally jumped into our situation with no thought other than to "FIX IT". Gary Manley, who found Carl for us and who also assisted Gary was just fantastic....grabbing tools and nuts and bolts for Carl just like a surgeon helping the doctor do his operation. Thank you so very much. Gary your the best when it comes to being there too for us. It is great to know you both, and we hope to cross paths again with you both. Not to forget to mention also, all the great car guys that stopped by to offer a hand, loan us their transmission funnel, or anything to assist in getting the car up and running again. I am sorry I did not get all your names......Thanks to you all....I wish I could do the same for you sometime!!!! To the members of the club, for a fantastic show in Glen Burnie....Thank you all!!!! To our new friend, Hot Rod Man 2000, a great big Thanks for your concern and immediate friendship....hope to see you again!!!! Thank you,ThankYou, ThankYou, ThankYou, ThankYou!!!!!!! Sandy
Woody got some good news from the camera shop...All the pics he took, 184 to be exxzact....will all be saved. Thanks to modern technology, and the camera wiz guy, his digitals will be ready by the end of the week.... Hopefully he can post them then Sandy
Hey Man , what a good story all round , from the car to the photos , there are some mighty fine people out there , all around the world , that Carl sounds like a good man
Here it is. I may have other shots of this car when I get my memory card back.....................Woody
Woody, I'm going to post it here instead of sending you a PM so others can learn as well. When you use PhotoBucket to host your photos make sure you chose the size "Message Board 640x480" so the images fit nicely on the screen and you don't have to scroll back and forth to see the image. This option can be found right above the word "Browse" (the first one). Chose this option once and all your photos from now on will post the perfect size. If you need more help, PM me. Looks like a fun show, thanks for posting the photos and hats off to Carl and the rest of the crew for helping out!
Thanks a lot for the photos. I really want to make it to that show someday. Glad you were able to get your problems fixed and enjoy the show.
Anyone who knows Carl is not at all suprised at this story. He is truly a legend and the only one who would disagree is Carl.
The Jalopy Journal
