I picked up my 1963 Thunderbird this morning after a week at the transmission shop. I took her for a spin and everything seemed to be fine. I was nervous since the last time I went out for a ride I was stranded on the freeway next to the sound abatement wall structure.

The gears are shifting as it should using D1. I’m not sure if the green dot drive is gear is shifting through the gears properly. Very hard to tell. I’ll need to get a second opinion on that aspect of the rebuild.

All the clutch plates were replaced along with the torque converter.

So my 63′ Thunderbird has been leaking since the day I got it. I’ve tried tightening down the tranny pan and vacuum modulator but it still leaked oil.

I decided to take it to a local transmission for leakage repair and vacuum modulator replacement. I already purchased the “green stripe” modulator and brought everything over to High Speed Transmission located in Stockton, CA.

The gasket replacement and valve replacement went well but when I took it off for the ride home it started slipping after 5 miles or so. When I was entering the freeway entrance the motor and transmission completely lost engagement and I was forced to coast next to the sound abatement wall. Not a good spot, no shoulder and right next to a wall to get smashed.

I’m still don’t understand why after getting service this all happened. A part of me is saying it’s not  a coincidence and that the mechanic Mike made an error in some process. I will make sure I get a warranty and have him test drive before receiving the car back. This definitely sucked.