The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk I'm talkin' Transmission Cover Gaskets here

This taint no big thing, just another one of those little things that kind of gnaws at me and that I wish someone had causally mentioned before I added it to my order. I’m working on a 1950, 3604 with a 4speed, and I needed the transmission cover gasket. The one that was originally on the bottom of the cover was a full sheet with a 7 1/2” x 11” window cut out for the transmission and it was .100” thick.

I knew that I would not be getting a full sheet like the original, since a sheet of gasket material that size from McMaster runs about ninty bucks! But I thought for my $3.99 I would at least be getting gasket strips, made from gasket material, instead I was sent a 1” x 67” piece of 15# roofing paper cut into four pieces.

So the next day I went to Manard’s and for $14 bought a 216 sq.ft., or 3’ x 72’ roll of 30# , Asphalt Saturated Organic Felt, roofing paper. That makes up a LOT of 1” x 67” strips and their twice as thick as the vendor's junk!!
And now I can also make up the full sheet, as was originally under the cover.
Just in case ya all don’t think the gaskets from the vendor are really roofing paper, take a look at the pictures. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2109254650098611668lLxhmQ
Comparing the two side by side you can even see the reference lines for lining up the shingle rows on two of the strips from the vendor.

I know I sound like a cheapskate but, once again, that $3.99 almost buys the new floor shifter boot, or a new battery cover gasket, why waste it! If I added up all the little things that I feel I could have spun-up my self in the home-shop from common materials, as a famous person once said, "before you know it, your talking about some real money".
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

You seem surprised !? 'Special interest' vendors have been ripping off people for a looong time. A hobby shop one mile from a Wal-Mart sells common items at sometimes 400% above Wal-marts price. Some say it is because of lower volume, some say let the buyer beware----

unless you're a real 'phobic , why not a $3 tube of gasket maker, then you'll have some the next time you need a gasket. You spent more on gas than the whole deal should have cost.

Yep, you got it scs, I'm a real phobic. I even went to the trouble of replacing the old clutch head screws with, you guessed it, clutch head screws. There doesn’t seem to be much interest in this type of detail, but it is the way it came from the factory and it was what was on the truck when delivered to the dealer.
But for anyone that is interested, I finished up vacuum forming and trimming the transmission cover gasket, looks pretty original; http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2821129010098611668qQdDit
Anyone else ever run into this type of a full gasket when they took off the trans cover?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Cool trick with the vacuum bag Denny, I wouldn't have thought of that. I pulled the clutch in my 53 about a month ago and the trans cover gasket looked to be just a single strip, which I assumed was the original (and may have been, I just don't know). I was getting ready to order a replacement, but I might go your route instead. Might provide a bit more insulation as well. Anyway, I'd be interested in knowing what setup you have for the vacuum bagging.
-Chris.

Denny, Denny, Denny, dont be so surprized. If you ordered a entire kit for the fenders and cab, you will find a whole lot more of that roofing felt. We replaced ours with a product call ice and water guard. It like felt, but thicker and has a lite glue on the back, that helped to hold the part in place. It comes in a roll that about 3'x66' long, so it should last us several trucks. We found that several gaskets or seals were very lacking when we bought into this kit idea from Chevy duty. We shall use a differnt method on the next truck. We have started a list of the thing that dont fit, that were sold to us as "like the orginal". Its getting larger and a little costly, but that part of the learning curve of trucks.

Chris, that was the whole object of this exercise, Don’t waste your mula on “gaskets” from the jobbers, just stop by next time you see a roofer at work and ask him for a few feet of paper if you want to go the full sheet route. Other wise, like scs replied, pick up a roll of gasket material at War-Mart, Farm & Fleet, Autozone, etc., for three or four bucks.

To vacuum form the part, I used an actual vacuum bagging material, breather, sealer and pumpout from Airtech. The vacuum pump that I used is for evacuating AC systems. I suppose you could use polyethylene and double face tape and the Shop-vac. It HAS got to be vacuum tight to get the full 15psi on the bag other wise you will be disappointed. Getting it vacuum tight can be a real challenge, so be fore warned. There is a lot on the net about vacuum bagging so I’m not gonna go into it any deeper here.

As far as the original being simply 1” strips or full size, I’m sure that mine came with a full piece because of the way it was formed around the stiffening ribs and contours at the hump. It was .100” thick and that needs to be formed under pressure, the average mechanic or garage is not going to go through what I did to form it! Mind you, that my 30# replacement was only around half the thickness of the original, but I might add, twice the thickness of the vendors.

Jeff, Jeff, Jeffff, thanks for the heads up on the other gaskets/welting etc., used elsewhere. I did get this from CP of Am (AKA CD). Let me say this in all fairness, that I have been very pleased with their service and pricing, the quality of a lot of the products I have bought is another matter. I don’t have similar items from the other jobbers to compare them to, but I would be willing to bet that a lot of this stuff comes from the same source. It sure looks the same when you compare the pictures and descriptions in the catalogs.

I’d like to see more consumer reports of the products that we are using for our restorations, it could save some poor sap a buck or two down the road and it would prompt the vendors to improve on the quality of the product.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,
On my '50 with a 3 speed, the cover did have a "full" gasket like the one in your picture, only without the shifter cutout. On my '51 with a 4 speed, it only had the strips like Chris said his '53 had. Maybe Chevy switched to the strip gaskets around that time as a cost cutter. Another mystery we may never know the answer to.

Bob

Good Point Bob, ah those little details. It sure would be nice to have one of those Truck Factory Assembly Manuals for the specific model year, in this case, our ‘50 trucks. The one that they used for the manual reprints is for a ‘53, which of course is similar in many ways, but a lot of little details aren’t. I thought there would be more attention to the small details going on over with the VCCA bunch, but there isn’t much activity at all over there.

I’m finishing up with the ‘battery cover linkages’, that p.j. and the guys supplied pictures for and have found that the length is pretty critical. If they aren’t right it doesn’t lock correctly, I had them a little to long the first time.

I’ve also got the drawings made up for the window regulator studs and rollers and am making the parts when ever I get a break between other things.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Been there,done that. I got mine from LMC, a company I have had good success with. But, truthfully, after messing with the cheapo gasket I tossed it. It needed trimming and holes were mislocated.Sorta one size fits all. I'm not familiar with vacuum forming gaskets. Is there a tech line on Stovebolt explaining it?

Denny,
I'm afraid a lot of those "little" details may be lost to time. I've been working on this resto of my 51 for close to 7 years now, down to the correct markings on the bolt heads, and there sometimes appears to be many subtle differences in the many trucks I've scrounged parts off of. In my mind, in some cases there really isn't a 100% correct way, although others may differ. What may of been done in Kansas City in 50 could of been done differently in Flint in 51. Bolt markings and other clips and fasteners differ between my 50 and 51. The interior color is darker on my 50, but that could be because it spent most of its time in a machine shed in Neb. as opposed to my 51 which spent 35 years in Phoenix and Tucson. Although the general consensus is the trannies were left unpainted, the 4 speed in my 51 was definitely painted black, it had inspection marks on top of black paint. In a lot of cases, I just resort to the way my particular truck was built, and not what others tell me. I'm doing this for myself, not someone else.
Chev Nut over at the VCCA site has been very helpful, he worked for a dealer for a long time, starting I believe in the late 40's. He was a parts manager and has an extremely good memory. The old boy near me who was a mechanic at the local smalltown Chevy dealer from 1946-81 passed away a few years ago. I'm still kicking myself for not "quizzing' him more.

Bob