chuckaroo

Pulled my 66 Vette into the garage the other day and when I went to back out later I could feel a strain on the car and as I continued the resistance increased to the point that the car torqued upward. I tried to go forward and the same thing happened. Could it be a brake shoe binding, parking brake acting up, something amiss in the differential? I should mention that the parking braking brake has not worked long before I got the car. Had to put the car on dollies to get it back in the garage. Any suggestions??? Thanks

MrTrim

Well, it sounds like your transmission is stuck in 2 gears. Probably stuck in first and reverse at the same time. The shift linkage is the real culprit. Jack up the car and check the linkage. My 70 used to do this every once in a while and I got good at the quick fix. Sometimes I could put the shifter into reverse and slowly pull the shifter into neutral and then into first gear and would be good to go.....until the next time...hope this helps.
Chris

TCracingCA

Yes does the shifter move and engage the gears sitting still! Does the ebrake have tension when engaging and does it kind of rebound when released. There is a spring that helps with that!

Redbird

If the mid years have a rubber brake line going to the calipers, they should be replaced if original. I'm a C-1 guy so this may not be applicable.

kingwoodvette

I would side with the shift linkage diagnosis and the transmission stuck in two gears. . Traced mine to a worn, oversized hole in the reverse lever where the shift rod fits. If all the shift rods are properly adjusted, look at the condition of the holes in the shift levers.

65GGvert

You don't have brake shoes, so you can rule that out. First step is what they said, get under the car and make sure all three levers are in neutral when the stick is in neutral. We're all assuming you have a 4 speed, since you didn't say in your question.

67vetteal

I do not think its a Gear situation. Jack the car up and make sure the wheels are free. One or two will not be. Diagnosis can proceed from that point. I suspect a Brake issue. Al W.

65GGvert

Make sure you post back what you find. I'd place a large bet on the gears. (if you have a manual transmission). It's happened many, many times. One time a few years ago, I was driving down a highway and turned into a crossover lane and when I stopped and tried to put the car in gear, it did exactly what you say. When you let the clutch out, it acts like you're holding the brake full on and the car will either die or groan and try to move, but no go.

Frankie the Fink

This will help diagnosis. When I bought my split window coupe that had been stored on a lift for 4 years - the clutch had sort of bonded to the pressure plate and required some vigorous back-n-forth action to ****** it free again. Brakes, clutch or tranny - no matter -- you need to get the wheels off the ground to diagnose.

These things are usually pretty simple though and not a major mechanical repair.

wombvette

Common for the rear parking brake shoes to stick, especially on a car that has not been driven much in a while.

hedgehead

If you have Power brakes, you may want to check that the booster is functioning properly.

Frankie the Fink

The parking brake on this car doesn't work as mentioned in original post - so my guess is its not in the equation -- as for being in 'two gears at once'; I've driven straight-sticks for 50 years and never had that happen but not impossible I guess - wouldn't be my primary call on this problem though. If that is a complex way of saying the shift linkage is jammed up then yes, that is a distinct possibility.

Jhemp3

My '62, BW T10 (4spd.) does this occasionally and I have just assumed it was sloppy shifter linkage (Hurst). The "lockup" just doesn't seem to be brake related and relieves itself with continued movement of the shifter. I had a '50 Chevy pick-up that did the same thing; had to jiggle the linkage to correct.
Jim

Canuck62

Had same problem with my C1,, 62
I asked a few questions on the forum and it turned out to be the master brake cylinder
I would never had diagnosed it because the master was new
I was instructed by a member here to remove cap and slip a thin paper clip in the tiny hole inside the master,,,, soon as i did it i could see the piston release and it freed up immediately
Of course my car is a 62 and i haven't got clue if your master is the same

Vet65te

If you find that one of the parking brake return springs is snapped and needs to be replaced, it's definitely not easy to do but the caliper and rotor will obviously have to be removed and you can fish in a new one with long nosed forceps/pliers.
Mike T.

MikeM

This is my guess also.

Put the transmission in neutral position and let the clutch out. If the engine doesn't stall, you can rule out the transmission/shift linkage.

If the car rises in the rear when you back up and squats when you try to go forward, you can believe you have stuck brakes shoes in the rear.

vettsplit 63

I used to wash underneath the car and the engine, etc a lot back in the day when I used a power car wash. Sometime if I didn't drive the car for awhile, it would act exactly as Frankie describes. Guess water could get in there and 'bond' it.

Bluestripe67

He stated he could move the car enough for the rear to torque up and the same action happened trying to go forward. My money is on a brake problem. Dennis

Frankie the Fink

The car hasn't sat for a while -- the problem occurred shortly after he had pulled the car into the garage - so the typical rust-up in the rear wheel cylinder bores that cause this problem shouldn't have occurred IMO. But I guess we'll see...

Jimbo64

my guess is the shift linkage- we had a worn shifter and replaced with a hurst- never done it since and prior was a reg occurance