in a month when i have the money saved up , im buying a 1979 camaro project car off a person i know for 850.00 . he had a v8 in it which seized on him due to sitting, the transmission which is a 400 turbo transmission has been rebuilt, but hasnt been installed for a while he said ( didnt exactly say how long). my question is: How long can a rebuilt transmission sit without being installed and ran before it needs rebuilt again?

 

depends on where and how it's been sitting. if it has been exposed to extreme temperature changes for an extended period of time, condensation could have formed inside the tranny. any water at all will mess a tranny up. if it hasn't condensated it may be ok. the valves in a hydraulic tranny tend to get sticky after prolonged sitting but, will loosen up gradually when operated. if it doesn't shift at first you need to put it in reverse drive in reverse as fast as you can then stop put it in drive. go forward in first til it sounds like it needs to shift then stop put it in reverse and do it again. doing this several times will help loosen the sticky valves. if there is fluid in the tranny you need to empty it and the torque converter. refill it and change the filter before you attempt to use it. as for the engine you can pour a little oil in all the spark plug holes and work it back and forth with a breaker bar and you may can get it to turn over. if it does work, it will definately need cylinder work soon. i had a motor that sat up for three years with an open hood scoop and no carb and was full to the top with leaves and crud. got a big basin and tore it completely apart soaking all the parts in diesel fuel. all i bought was a gasket set and carb used all the original bearings, lifters and such. put it all back together and it ran perfect til i sold it. Good luck with your project. Sick

 

cool, thanks i will watch out for that, next question, i noticed under your avatar you have " contributor" whats that mean? ive noticed a few people have that. next question as well, i wanted to put a built 400 small block in it, but i heard a 383 stroker is a good motor for camaros, whats your oppinion on that.

 

in the top right corner you'll see make a donation. once you have donated some cash to keep camaro forums operating you can wear the contributor avatar. go with the 400. alot cheaper to use a 400 block and get the same amount of horsepower you would by stroking a 350. which is what a 383 is. a 350 with a 400 crankshaft. sick