Hi,

I recently inherited a 1973 THM400 auto transmission which was included in a batch of parts that belonged to an avid racing enthusiast. He is no longer alive and this transmission looks pretty good (from the outside). It *may* have been something that was being kept around for later possible use, but there's no way of knowing now what the history of it was. It's pretty clean and has been painted black... so there's a good likelihood that it had been redone at some point. It doesn't have any grease or grime on it, and based on my past experience doesn't show any telltale signs of having been re-installed since having been (I'm assuming) rebuilt.

Automatic transmissions are the one thing (after 30 some years) which I've never developed any first-hand knowledge about... so I'm wondering:

Q?: Is there any way to evaluate (or make any meaningful assessments) about the condition of a tranny with it out of the vehicle? -- Or, might a qualified transmission specialist be able to make a meaningful assessment (without necessarily tearing the entire unit down)??

Thanks for any feedback on this.

Cheers,
dave