Re: Who rebuilds Ultramatics?

Posted by Mike On 2010/12/6 22:34:57

If i was paying that kind of cash, i'd want an ultramatic specialist to do it. Or i'd be dropping a 700r4 in. I think Ross does it? He's from MI i believe, but i may be wrong. He always knows all the details. Putting in the tranny shouldn't be done by them either if they don't know anything about them, the linkages have to be installed and adjusted just right. There's someone in CA who does them and had an ad on craigslist, but i can't find them at the moment. Anyways, i recall when i was getting prices that it was always about the $2500 mark, but that was usually all inclusive like adjustments and pressure testing, etc. Not just slapping parts in and saying good luck.

Before you contemplate swapping to a GM tranny, it's $1000 for the kit to do it and you'll need 12v because you'll be swapping to a Chevy starter too. Things to think about.


What year is your car and what type ultramatic? (Regular, gear start, twin, etc.)

I found that my local tranny guy had done a few over the years and was willing to do mine if i bought the parts including bushings from Kanter and dropped them off. $400 for a rebuild kit, $200 for relined bands, and $150 for a relined direct drive disc. Labor will probably be around $400 because i needed some machine work done. He's in Boardman (near Youngstown) Ohio and i'm sure he would work with you on shipping. If he doesn't, and he'll work on another when done with mine, then maybe i could do the shipping end for a fellow Packard enthusiast.

I would much rather have an ultramatic specialist like Ross, et al. do mine but i couldn't afford it with the rest of the project i had going, and i figured that having someone who at least knew SOMETHING about trannys doing it would be better than me. Of course, at first i was just changing some seals and gaskets too. :o) Problem is, except for this guy, no one wants to touch them or they want tons of cash.

If you can afford a specialist, do it. If not, PM me and i'll give you his name and number. He's understood or anticipated all of the advice and cautions that I've gotten from the good people helping on here, and as always known exactly what i'm talking about. He caught a few pitfalls i was going to make before i made them, so even though he doesn't do a ton of ultramatics, i have to place him above the average transmission guy. I don't expect to have any trouble with mine when i get it back to install it, save for the bent linkage that i did myself.