Fixing a Borg-Warner M8 / M12 Tranny

Editor's Note: Brian Yarrison is in the process of redoing his 1966 Checker and has found a couple of good shops that understand the B-W automatic transmission that was custom built for Checker Motors. Here is his experience:

I just rebuilt the Warner automatic and the 283 v8 is at the machine shop now. I had a real win on the auto trans and wanted to share it with the club. FATSCO ( which stands for the Ford Automatic Trans Service Co.) was flawless in helping me get every part in the Warner built automatic my car has.

Most people don't have a clue what those transmissions are but this place not only knew but stocked parts! The Warner built trans M8 or M12 is similar to the Ford Cruise-O-Matic but has subtle difference in the throttle valve cable, not vacuum, that make that trans sort of a Orphan to get parts for.

I also got a company in Iowa called Precision of New Hampton to cut open the torque converter and rebuild a broken stator. Not only were both of these companies quick to get quotes out but service was phenomenal. The Warner trans, if you had V8, had different widths for bands depending on the original engine torque rating. They helped me get the 2" wide bands whereas most companies only had the 1 7/8" bands. The 2" bands were used for cars that had higher rated engines like the 327.

Editors Note 2: A lot of people don’t really understand this B-W transmission. It is a 3 speed automatic, but you have to select the proper location on the shift column to use all three gears. We are used to the P-R-N-D-2-1 arrangement, but not the Checker sequence (unless you have an old Ford or Mercury). Since most of us are guys (and we don’t read Owner’s Manuals), here is a reminder. L is 1st gear like you would expect. D2 starts out in 2nd gear and you are expected to manually shift to D1. D1 starts out in 1st, shifts to 2nd, and then 3rd.