Bought a 73 all original convertible in July. This winter I removed all Aarms, coil springs, tie rods, ball joints etc. sent all parts out for powder coating and am putting back together with new bushings ball joints control arm etc. I am capable of this type of work but strictly a garage geek. Bought the car after 2 years searching for a clean complete and rust free frame. I found it but the original bushings etc. we're dry and cracked. Otherwise not just me but other vette owners I have talked to that have inspected my purchase at cruise nights in and around Naperville IL say I got a gem. It has original paint in excellent shape minus a couple of blemishes, but they all say don't touch it.
I have one issue I got myself into. The speed cable adapter on the manual transmission for 90deg. cable connection separated. I got a new one and when I removed the old one I screwed up and let the plastic speed gear fall inside the tranny. My question is I know it is plastic but any ideas how to fish it out without dropping the tranny which I don't want to do. It is tight and my hands make it hard to get at. Car is on stands in my garage and will be until I get the front end back together. I am super excited to keep this car original and stick for the next 10 years and would appreciate any suggestions. Live in Naperville IL and hope to connect with other clsssic corvette owners as I enter into retirement and enjoy my days tinkering on my car.

 

*****, if you can get your hands on a bore-scope you can try taking a look inside and if you can see it, it may be easier to formulate a plan to retrieve it. It may also be in a location where it isn't going anywhere and likely won't interfere with anything until such time as you have reason to disassemble the transmission.


Even Harbor Freight has cheap ones that may suffice to take a look.

Good luck... GUSTO

 

Hi *****,
Welcome to the forum and great to know another proud 73 owner. I'm sorry I can't help you with your current delemma, but I'll be glad to help you with other 73 questions you may have if I can. Please post some pictures of your car when you get the chance. Or tell us more about it. The 73 is a very unique one year only car, that deserves way more respect than it gets in the early C3 collector car market. JMO!
Regards,
Tooch

 

 

 

We had the same discussion on the c-2 forum. The advice was -if you can't easily get it out then leave it. It's in the tailshaft housing and really can't hurt anything. You can try to fish it out with a piece of wire but ... good luck.

 

Thanks. If the gear in the tail shaft eats it up won't it mix in the gear oil and find pieces into the main gear box and cause issues. I am going to try fishing but I don't feel too optimistic. I am looking around for an illustration to see how the internals relate from the main gearbox to the tail section. If I can just leave it if I can't fish it out that would be great. Also do you know if the tail section can be removed with the tranny still in the car bolted to the engine. I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks very much.

 

Hi W73,
I'll say welcome too!
73 Convertible! VERY nice!
Tooch can be a big help to you since he knows his 73 pretty well!
Here's a transmission cut-away from the Chassis Overhaul Manual.
I don't know if it shows what you're looking for or not.
Regards,
Alan

 

Thank you very much. I appreciate the feed back, and it helps me a lot. Looking at the illustration the plastic gear could easily find its way to the rest of the gears if it gets chewed up which would not be good. I think when I get the front end together I am going to send it to a tranny shop in the spring and do it right. Get them to pull the tranny break the casing and remove the speedo gear and install it while it's on the bench. I will I guess have the clutch checked and replace if it makes sense while they are in there. I drove the car for about 1200 miles last summer and the clutch was good but it did shutter a bit on takeoff so it may be a good time. I don't plan on pulling the motor for a couple of years as it's solid but if I go clutch I may just replace the rear seal to get rid of a very small leak. I am looking forward to enjoying this car for a long time and am prepared to spend a bit to keep it up.

 

Hi W,
There's a lot to like about a 73 convertible so if you're getting pleasure from it it's not so bad to have to spend some $ on occasion to take care of it!
Regards,
Alan

 

Welcome aboard to the 73 club! There are many knowledgeable people on the forum (that have answered you already) that are friendly and willing to share their experiences and know-how. Ask questions and enjoy the ride!
Fran

 

If that gear had been dropped into an auto tranny, I would agree that it probably wouldn't do any harm inside. Any pieces would get filtered out of the oil as it was suctioned into the charging pump.

But, with a manual unit, that gear would surely get chewed up (unless it stayed in the rear housing...which I doubt would happen); it would get mooshed-up with the lube and reduce effectiveness of lube in bearings/bushings and wear surfaces.

It's not a terribly big deal to pull the rear housing off the back of the trans to get at it. But, I would certainly try capturing it "as is" before doing any disassembly. You might be able to use a small inspection mirror and penlight to see where the gear is resting; but you will need one of those multi-fingered cable/retriever gizmos to grab it. If you can grab the small end, you would have a chance at pulling it out.

Wish you luck!

I think the '73 is one of the nicer looking C3's, also. Enjoy it and ignore any 'snipes' you might hear.

 

Thanks very much. I am happy to have the 73 with chrome back bumpers and plastic front. I also have the factory hardtop that came with the car and it is painted the same as the car. The owner I bought the car from had it for 28 years and never put the hardtop on and kept it wrapped in his basement all those years. It is literally brand new.

 

*****,
Having that hard top will certainly help the car's value. What color?
Tooch

 

Welcome to the '73 club, lots of owners here with valuable information on these cars. Post some pics when you get a chance.

 

I have used something similar to this tool to get small parts out of placed my hand cannot reach.

http://www.harborfreight.com/24-inch...ool-94162.html

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new toy!

 

I uploaded a few today.
Thanks for the welcome.

 

Elcart green the same color as the car. Both the car and the top are original paint. I posted a few pics.

 

Great looking 73' *****! Thanks for posting some pictures. Elkhart Green paint looks nice in the pictures. Share some engine pics when you get the chance.
What's the red pull tab looking thing in the AC vent ?
Tooch

 

It's just a key chain. Doesn't need to be there. The old owner that had it for the past 28 years made it so if the lighter is pushed in it stops the engine from starting and when pulled up car starts perfect. Never heard this before but I like it.