The second gear in the Plymouth's
three-speed transmission was very low, many times Denny would shift
from first gear into high while dragging.
This was very disheartening to Denny's opponent by shifting
into high gear you were telling your opponent he was not worth the
effort to speed shift into second. We knew if the Plymouth was ever
taken to a drag strip we would need a four speed transmission so we
started looking.
"John, I have found a four speed, it's in the wrecking yard at the
bottom of Boeing hill."
"How much do they want for it, Denny?"
"Twenty bucks, if we pull it."
We walked into the office of the wrecking yard with our
toolboxes in hand. We got direction to the location of the Plymouth;
it was in the old section of the yard. "Oh man, this is gong to be a
lot of work, Denny."
The old Plymouth had no doors the roof was gone along with
floorboards and the frame and the drive train rested on the ground.
Over the years the frame and drive train had settled about 6 inches
into the ground, we had some digging to do just to get at the bell
housing bolts.
Denny was using a crow bar to dig with on one side of the
transmission and I was on the other side, using a claw hammer. The
ground was very hard and we were not making much progress when
suddenly Mother Nature intervenes on our behalf called rain. What dirt
we had piled up turned into flowing mud, the hole around the
transmission filled with water, our clothes were soaked and our hands
were getting numb.
After four hours, of the most miserable conditions, we came to the
last bolt.
"John, pull up on the end of the transmission, there's a bind on the
bolt."
"Do you have the wrench on the bolt yet? Denny."
"Yes, but I can only turn it, a ¼ of inch at a time, a couple of more
turns, I should have it out."
With these words a mystical evil zaps the 3-inch bolt and it
gains another 3 inches in length.
One hour and 15 minutes later the 6-inch bolt came out and the
transmission was free.
After Fact: The transmission would not fit, and we ended up taking the
transmission back to the wrecking yard. As Denny was collecting his
twenty dollars, I watched an employee put the transmission on the
shelf, with a 50 dollar price tag attached to it.
Go
to Rewind the Fifties Home
