Time to Fix the Small Bits

I finally drove my 242 home last night, after struggling to get it running for a food while. I decided to start a new thread to try and sort through some of the other issues I've noticed.

I did notice how awfully slow the car is... I know the automatic trans was swapped in to replace the faulty manual many years ago. I'm thinking the rear end is the stock ratio, but I will check. And the engine is the lower comp ratio used for the manual trans cars. Would a proper automatic rear end gear help the car move a bit better? I doubt raising the comp is really worth the money and time, unless it makes a huge difference.

I have an A cam and an adjustable gear for that, but I'd like to first make sure I can get everything in the car working as it should before the fun bits.

Some of the other issues I've noticed:

-My gauge cluster back lights don't work. All the indicator lights are working, though. The half circle and full circle connectors are plugged in. Was there another connector that powers the back lights?

-is there a light in the shift plate to indicate gear? Mine is always dark.

-Would there happen to be an O/D indicator light in the 83 guage cluster? It would be helpful to have.

-The brights are always on a little bit. Very dim lit, but power is still going to them all the time. Because of this, the dash always has the brights indicator dimly lit.

-The wipers are always on the lowest setting. I know the wiper wash pump's wiring is rotten, bare and touching. Would this cause that issue?

Thanks so much for the tips, tricks and knowledge. It's very helpful!

I am pretty sure the Autos got a higher numerically rated axle. Will make the car feel slower for sure.

Since The auto was swapped in, I bet the shift light was not hooked up
There was an OD light in the cluster, once again dark due to having an auto swapped in
Bright lights being on could be in switch or wiring harness, just basic troubleshooting with a trouble light and some time
Fix the wiper wiring and see what happens

Thank you for the information! I'll start looking at the electrical stuff when I have time.

I'm stumped on the rear axle ratio... I decided to look for the tag. I saw sources say it was on the left axle tube, close to the pumpkin. Seems to be gone. So I tried spinning the wheel and counting turns of the drive shaft. Get this: I consistently counted 2 turns of the shaft to one of the wheel. This is a 1031 axle, it has it stamped on the front. The passenger wheel doesn't spin with the driver. And it doesn't spin from the drive shaft turning, either. Do I just have a blown up LSD? A 2:1 ratio is incredibly low, but it makes sense for how wrong the car feels speed wise. I had to punch the throttle most the way home yesterday...

Edit: I'm dumb. I forgot that open diff means you have to do two two turns of the wheel.

Okay, so it's a 3.91:1, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, the trans is leaking trans fluid a bunch. I worked on this 242 for friends of mine when they owned it. It had a problem where you would give it gas, it would take a second... then slam into gear. It was quite low on fluid when this was happening. After filling it up, it shifted better, but still felt slippery, I think. I'm thinking what I was feeling was slipping yesterday. I think this confirms the trans is toast.

That rear gear works well with Auto, so not the issue. Start with basics. Compression test, ignition timing, dirty air cleaner, etc. Stage zero stuff. These cars are not speed demons. Do a rough 0-60 check, should be around 11-12 seconds I think.

Does the trans cable on the throttle need to be adjusted? If it doesn't downshift as soon as it should, it can make the car feel slow as molasses. The cable hopped off the spool on my daughter's dear departed 244 once, it was almost comical how slow it was. It' would shift all the way into top gear by about 20 mph and just *barely* accelerate.

The transmission has been a problem since I owned the car for the first time about 7 years ago. Back then, it was not this bad. On a tiny "up and down" bit of the road that goes under the freeway near my place, it got to the "up" part and just seemed to slip real bad. Took a fair bit of RPM to compensate. I'd hate to see how it fares against any sort of hill or real grade.

I definitely need to do a comp test among other things.

Would it be worth it trying to find and fix the leak on the trans, fill and flush it? Maybe see if that helps it. I'm looking at just swapping in another good used unit at this point.