65 starfire transmission

[phantom.10]

I am looking to purchase a 1965 starfire with the 425ci engine,would like to know what transmission is correct for the car and also what rear end was available...thank you...ken

[Oldsmaniac]

The automatic trans in the 65 Sfire would be a Turbo 400....this is the first year for this trans. The shift indicator woujld read PRNDSL. As for the rear it would be a 10 bolt rear made by Pontiac....I believe the standard ratio to be a 3:23 on non AC cars and positraction was available.

[phantom.10]

Thanks for the info,this an AC car...I'm a new player into Oldsmobile and will appreciate any and all info...phantom.10

[Oldsmaniac]

My Ac Sfire has a 3:08 rear gear....Its easy to check....jack up one wheel off the ground if its not a posi and turn the rear wheel one complete turn while counting the number of driveshaft turns and that will be the ratio....also if ya have the factory shop manual there is a code stamped on the passenger axle tube just to the side of the pumpkin. If ya find that and can read it you can determine the ratio with the manual.

[Oldsguy]

I heard another way was to jack up the whole rear and turn the axle and count the wheel rotations. Just takes one extra jackstand and 5 extra minutes is all, but don't know if it is any better or not................

[PetChemMan]

Checking axle ratios can be a bit tricky. For instance, if one rear wheel is on the ground, and the other wheel turning freely, then the free wheel will turn twice as fast as it normally does for each revolution of the driveshaft. That phenomenon is courtesy of the spider gears. Thusly, a 4.0 axle ratio will appear to be a 2.0 ratio. Remember that fact if you are running the car in gear with one wheel off of the ground. If your speedometer reads 60 miles per hour, the free wheel will actually be turning 120 miles per hour ( assuming the speedo runs off the transmission tailshaft.) Also, if both wheels are free to turn, they may both turn in the correct direction, or one wheel may turn backwards, depending on whether the spider gears are turning or stationary. A little more brake drag on one side than the other can mess up your wheel revolution counts, and the difference between a 3.08 and a 3.23 may not be evident.
If you're careful, the following will work for an open, non-posi rear end; jack up only one drive wheel, and mark it at exactly the top or bottom with tape or chalk.
Then carefully mark and turn the driveshaft several revolutions , say 10, and measure the corresponding wheel revolutions. Remember that the wheel would normally only turn half that many revolutions with both wheels turning, so divide the driveshaft revolutions by one half the wheel revolutions to get the true axle ratio. Determining the exact wheel revolutions accurately is still not easy, but the more turns of the driveshaft, the better chance you have of coming up with a reliable number.

[phantom.10]

thanks to all for the info...

[J'ville]

The standard rear axle for the 65 Starfire was 3:23 to one.
The 61 Starfire was 3:23 (I think ) while the 62-64 Starfire (and Jetstar 1) sported a 3:42.

[phantom.10]

thanks for the info 57 olds

[schlitzguzzler]

go to http://442.com/oldsfaq/oldsfaq.htm and at the bottom of the page click on "diffs". There is a listing of each model year and ratio by the code that is stamped on the (usually) right axle tube.
My 1965 Starfire is a 4 speed with a QA (273:1) open rear, must have been a "turmpike cruiser"

[TECH9TWISTA]

out trying to fire up the 65 starfire today and wondering if anyone knows where i can find a complete 65 hydramatic transmission diagram ,,,, my 65 starfire's transmission wont go into gear , the guy i bought it from says theres a valve that needs to be messed with (check valve) and hes wont ever try to come fix it.... think hes a little jealous i have the car now and its my baby but i dont have the money to take it to a trans shop for full rebuild just wondering if anyone has any info thanx Robert

[66starfire]

just wondering, if the 65 starfire had the first year turbo400 trans, does then 66 starfire then ahve a TH-400 trans? I just bought a 66 starfire and the trans was rebuilt with a shift it and such, just wondering if it was the 400 or 350.

heard that 350 were on small blocks and 400s on big blocks.

is this true?

so would my 66 starfire then have the th400?

[schlitzguzzler]

your Starfire would have come with a TH400, Olds did not use TH 350 until about 1970