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The Continuing Saga of the Commodore's Cruiser

Front Suspension and Drive Rebuild

Courtesy of Richard "Arch" Archer


Richard Archer("Arch") is in the process of rebuilding a 1976 Glenbrook with 128,000 miles that he purchased for $5,000. This is another installment in the continuing saga of one man's adventure with a "bargain" GMC.
One drawback to the GMC motorhome was its use of an "off-the-shelf" drivetrain. Shift points originally designed for the Toronado coupe are not optimal for the 12,000 pound motorhome. In Arch's Glenbrook, the Caspro shift kit raises the 2-3 shift up to around 43 mph.
The first step after removing the transmission pan and valve body is to clean all the parts as thoroughly as possible.
 
Any dirt or other contaminants left in at this point will drastically reduce transmission life.
Working inside the transmission can be a little scary, but attention to detail and following the instructions to the letter can make this an easy job. The Caspro shift kit is well laid out with good instructions.
A tidy and well organized work area helps too. Lots of little parts in here to keep track of.
Here's the scary part. Installing the kit requires drilling the valve body metering plate. Once again, careful attention to detail and the instructions will make this simple.
Lot's of little balls and springs go back into the valve body. Each gets a coating of synthetic grease to hold them in place for installation.
Once the valve body is reinstalled in the transmission, the job gets finished of with a Ragusa Pattern Shop aluminum transmission pan.

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