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1971 Chevrolet C-10 Shortbed Fleetside Pick-up TruckJohn Harlowe's Moonlight Engineering |
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1971 Chevrolet C-10 Shortbed Fleetside Pick-up TruckJohn Harlowe's Moonlight Engineering |
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ASE's mission is to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service through the testing and certification of repair and service professionals. Until the early 1970s, consumers had no way to distinguish between incompetent and competent mechanics. In response to this need, the independent, non-profit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) was established in 1972. |
| 1971 INDEX | 1971 BODY / PAINT | 1971 INTERIOR | 1971 MECHANICAL | 1971 PHOTO PAGE |
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High Performance Turbo Hydramatic 350 Automatic Transmission
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 PHOTO M12 : Photo shows the high performance TCI components for the 350 Turbo Hydramatic automatic transmission now installed in the 1971 Chevy C-10 pickup. |
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The Trans-Scat components contained in the TCI Pro Super Kit vastly improves the 2nd and 3rd gear shift, improves performance, improves fuel economy and helps extend clutch and band life.
The TCI Pro Super Kit contains the same parts and pieces used to build the TCI StreetFighter transmission.
What I like about this valve body is that it has the option of either full automatic or full manual control of the C-10's Turbo 350 trans.
For the full automatic option when the shift selector is placed in Drive ( D ) the valve body allows the transmission to shift automatically at the OEM predetermined RPM shift points, albeit the TCI valve body automatic shifts are much more positive ( firmer ) than the stock transmission valve body.
Conversely for full manual operation, the transmission can be placed into the lower gears ( 2 ) and or ( 1 ) and will hold that selection until it is manually shifted out of that position regardless of what the RPM is.
This series of torque converters reduces engine RPM at highway speeds and thus enables transmissions to run cooler by as much as 20 degrees F.
The TCI deep sump pan is designed with exterior cooling fins which dissipates the transmission fluid heat faster than the OEM designed transmission pan and the TCI cast aluminum pan provides additional strength and rigidity to the transmission case over the stamped steel OEM pan.
No modifications were necessary to the stock dip stick as the TCI pan includes a fluid pickup extension along with a magnetic drain plug.
) PHOTO M13 : CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
That being said, I believe that a critical aspect of any professional custom vehicle build is knowing when it is best to delegate certain build tasks to other professionals who do possess the proper tools and equipment in order to ensure that a build task is completed correctly.
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PHOTO M13 A : In addition to the high performance TCI transmission parts I've already listed, the 1971 C-10's Turbo Hydramatic 350 transmission required the following stock items when it was overhauled :
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 PHOTO M13 B |
) PHOTO M13 C |
After the transmission overhaul was completed, I applied a couple of coats of POR 15 high temperature Chevy Orange engine enamel to the exterior transmission case.
) PHOTO M13 D |
 PHOTO M13 E |
All that is left to do now is to install the TCI torque converter in the transmission and re-install the transmission in the truck.
) PHOTO M13 F CLICK FOR ENLARGEMENT PHOTO M13 F shows the The High Performance 350 Turbo-Hrdramatic automatic transmission installed in the 1971 Chevrolet C-10 pickup. Note that the the Design Engineering, Inc. exhaust wrap has been installed on the exhaust pipes along with Thermo-Tec thermal barrier material within the transmission hump of the floorboard of the truck. |
Even though it could be a daily driver, the C10 is really a weekend fun machine and being that the build of this truck was not a frame-off, one can plainly see that this C10 is fairly clean underneath for being a weekend driver. The main reason for this of course is that there are no oil / fluid leaks with the mechanicals and, as I said, the truck is not driven in foul weather.
 PHOTO M13 G |
 PHOTO M13 H |
When I took the truck out for a road test after installing the transmission, the speedometer was reading 25 MPH too fast and, of course, this is a condition that required correction and it was not going to be an easy task.
However, thanks to the people at PATC Transmissions in Bossier, LA, this arduous task was made just a little easier.
In the case of this truck, the new Drive Gear and the Driven Gear I purchased from PATC equaled 10 and 22 teeth respectively.
Due to the tire size on the truck, this was the most we could go as far as internal speedometer gearing in the Turbo 350 because of the limited availability of Drive and Driven gears available.
This new combination of gears now put the speedometer 13 MPH too fast.
The folks at PATC recommended that I install a Ratio Adapter with a slow down rate of 17.6% to solve the problem, and this is what I did and the adapter is shown in PHOTO M 13 H.
Parts alone for this aspect cost just a little over $100.00 but it is money well spent to have an accurate speedometer reading.
If you are purchasing a high performance vehicle with a significant tire size change from OEM, be sure to ask the seller what he / she did to correct the speedometer inaccuracy. Their answer should be along the lines described here.
 PHOTO M14 : Photo shows the FRAM high performance fuel filter and the TransDapt additional remote transmission fluid filter installed on the passenger side frame rail of 1971 Chevy C-10 pickup. Also seen in the photo is the TCI deep sump transmission pan. Note that at the time this photo was taken the exhaust wrap had not yet been installed on the 1971 Chevy C-10. |
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The TransDapt set-up adds an additional half quart to the total transmission fluid system capacity in the C-10.
The inlet and outlet fluid lines of the additional remote transmission filter are connected to the transmission by # 6 ( 3/8 I.D. ) Russell braided steel lines and AN fittings.
The Fram high performance fuel filters can trap particles as small as 10 microns.
The inlet line to the Fram high performance fuel filter is # 6 braided steel line and the outlet fuel line from the filter to the Carter high volume fuel pump is a 3/8 inch double flare steel line wrapped in 1200 degree F firebraid casing ( the red colored line seen in the photo ). The firebraid is part of the entire process to keep the fuel in the 1971 Chevy C-10 as cool as possible as it makes its way from the fuel tank to the Holley carburetor. REF: INTERIOR 1
 PHOTO M15 : shows the Derale Performance dual circuit engine oil and transmission fluid cooler installed on the 1971 Chevy C-10 pickup. |
Note that this photo ( M15 ) was taken at the time the C-10 was undergoing preparation for the body and paint work ( circa 2003 ) when the front grill assembly was removed from the truck.
 PHOTO M16 TAKEN MARCH 2011 : Once all the sheet metal and grill had been re-installed on the 1971 Chevy C-10, the dual circuit oil cooler is not seen unless one is just a few inches from the grill. Like everything else on this C-10, it is a very clean installation. |
The fluid lines of the cooler are also connected to the engine and automatic transmission of the C-10 by # 6 braided steel lines and AN fittings.
 PHOTO M17 : Shown in this photo is the Derale Performance engine oil thermostat that is connected between the engine and dual circuit cooler installed on the 1971 C-10 pickup. |
Fluid enters the thermostat ( at the lower left of the photo ) and if the fluid temperature is 180 degrees F or less, the thermostat bypasses the fluid back to the engine or transmission. When the fluid temperature is over 180 degrees F, the thermostat opens to allow the fluid to go to the cooler.
In the case of the transmission fluid, it exits the transmission and goes to the remote filter first. From there the fluid is routed to the oil cooler in the radiator. Upon the fluid exiting the radiator cooler, it is routed to the Derale Performance thermostat. At this point if the transmission fluid is 180 degrees F or less it will be bypassed by the thermostat back to the transmission or if the fluid is over 180 degrees F the thermostat will open and let the fluid enter the Derale Performance cooler.
This Derale Performance high-efficiency fluid cooler also has a 400 cfm fan which I have set-up to be manually activated from inside the cab of the 1971 Chevy C-10. However, if you notice in the lower left of PHOTO M17, I have installed a fan switch that can be connected for automatic fan operation.
The temperature switches for the AutoMeter engine oil and transmission fluid temperature gauges are located on the OUT side of the Derale Performance oil thermostat.
 PHOTO M18 : The Hurst Pro-Matic 2 Ratchet Action Shifter installed in the 1971 Chevy C-10 pickup. |
This shifter is specifically designed for trucks, in that, it incorporates an extended shifter stick for ease of operation.
Full forward and reverse ratchet action can be used with either standard or reverse pattern valve bodies.
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