Still leaking...

Got down there and gave it a look it looks straight and you guys are right. It's pretty thick and won't bend easily. Think Saturday were gonna get this bad boy on the road :D

I just got the whole transmission rebuilt with all new internals. The works. Same with the torque converter. They better not leak or I'm taking that right back.

i'd like to emphasize the crack thing. the cracks aren't always easily visible, and the cracked parts are often snapped into the correct position, visually. sometimes you can just get all Zen and sit in a chair with a bright light and go over it with a magnifier for 30+ minutes and see it. sometimes it's hard to find. it's hard metal, and cracks are *not* rare.

 a nice fresh, clean, non-leaking transmission is a great thing. maintained well it'll last 10 - 20 years even in hard use. i changed fluid+filter on mine ever 2 - 5 years, i dont care about advice otherwise. fluid's cheaper than transmissions, and the care involved in dropping the pan, inspecting and cleaning the screen, whether you do it or a shop, is a great confidence builder before a summer of road trips.

my old air cooled M35 i had a shop do it, at some point say "running out of adjustment range, consider rebuild in a year or two". thats how i want my expensive antique stuff to run.

I usually add about one quart to the torque converter right before I install it on the engine. That four quarts specified in the manual is just to lubricate the pump, seals, etc while you are adding the remainder of the fluid in accordance with the instructions in the manual.  Usually you are adding a quart at a time and rechecking the level either while the transmission is in neutral or in gear with the parking brake on while the engine is running.  Go by the instructions in the TSM.   An extra quart to start in the converter just protects the mechanical parts from a dry start.  Joe

Do you have a 199 or 232 engine? While it won't be a power house, it should have "adequate" power. Should be a good cruiser, will have to push it a bit hard to keep up in modern traffic though. There are ways to remedy that without going to a V-8 -- a better cam and carb will work wonders. Look for a 81+ 258 intake and exhaust manifold, and an Autolite or Motorcraft 2100 carb... a small one from a 300/302 Ford or 304 AMC. You're looking for a "1.08" in a circle on the bowl, or a 1.01, 1.02, 1.14, 1.21 or 1.23. These are the diameter of the venturi, and range from 240-356 cfm (see https://fordsix.com/viewtopic.php?t=41010). The 1.08 is most commonly used on the AMC sixes and is 287 cfm. The Carter BBD used by AMC is around 200 cfm, my Jeep TSM says it's 196 cfm, other sources list as high as 230 cfm. If you have a factory 2V you can use an adapter for the Autolite carb. You can get 2 to 1 adapters, but lose a lot of efficiency. A 2V intake is really a must.

350 cfm is about as big as I'd go on a mostly stock six, you can go up to 500 cfm with a better cam, but you will lose a little low end with a really big carb -- it will have better throttle response with a 240-350 cfm 2V.  The Weber 32/36 is best for economy and power (it's a progressive 2V -- only one barrel works at idle/low speed, second starts coming in about 1/3 throttle), and the 38/38 is good for performance (both operate at once like other 2Vs). The 32/36 is rated 325-350 cfm, the 38/38 380-400 cfm. Weber doesn't apparently publish the flow rating, these numbers are the most found on the Internet though and should be accurate. Best help with Webers: http://www.trailquest.com/Weber_Carburetor.shtml. Oh, and get a tuning kit! Takes a bit of time, but Webers are very tunable and it's worth it! TomJ on here can offer tuning advice.

Combine the better carb with a better cam. I'd use an Isky 256 Supercam or 256/262 Hydraulic (great split cam),  Comp 252H or 260H, or Crane H-260-2. Stay away from the Comp Xtreme 4x4 cams. They have high fast lift and require stiff springs -- so you'd have to use a special oil or additive all the time. One of the cams mentioned will work fine with stock valve springs, or you can use Mopar Performance P4529215 4.0L springs, Mopar Performance p5249464 (210-220# open) or Crane 99838-1 (336# open). The Crane spring is the max you can use and still use regular oil with no additives (except for break-in). -- and I prefer the Mopar Performance spring for street use for that reason. You want to stay at NO MORE THAN 0.500" max lift with stock springs. More will cause binding and may require machine work to the head. The difference between the MP 215 and 464 is the max lift -- under 0.500 for the 215,  up to 0.525 for the 264 (which has an inner damper).