The car i'm talking about has a super six, 225, 904 (no special mods on the 904, just stock)

Car is my daily driver and has been running great, but suddenly almost 2 weeks ago the car lost reverse when I was backing out of the parking garage. Forward gears worked so I dropped the car off at a mechanic to have the transmission looked at. [I live in an apartment right now, no room to do major work myself currently]. The tranny had been working fine, firm shifts from 1-2 and 2-3 but it was old, so I wasn't too surprised that finally something broke on it. He said the reverse band broke and the front band was worn, both were replaced.

Now that I have the car back it's acting different, mainly the shift from 1-2 is softer/lighter I noticed. If i'm cruising at light/steady throttle it will shift from 1-2 and be a little softer than it used to be, but not super soft, nothing to be too concerned about. The problem comes if I'm accelerating, have it floored, or under load going up hill, the shift from 1-2 is soft, even feels like a little bit of a delay! The shift from 2-3 is perfectly fine however no matter what throttle position.

Right away I checked the fluid [idling in N, hot] and the level was fine. Next thought was the kickdown adjustment. Regardless of where I adjusted the kickdown linkage, when it came time to shift from 2-3, it was firm at any throttle position. The kickdown is working because it was changing the shifting pattern when I made various adjustments, it's just 1-2 was still soft no matter what.

What could cause only the shift from 1-2 to act that way regardless of the kickdown? I assume something internal? Is that as simple as 1 of the bands out of adjustment, or needs to be tightened down a little? I'd like to get an idea of what's wrong before I call up the mechanic to take another look at it.

Thanks guys!

You are on the right track... re-adjust the bands to be sure they are set to the specified clearances.
As an FYI... it sounds like the 2nd gear band is a little to tight, not too loose.
DD

*EDIT*
I was able to find the band adjustment specs in the FAQ and I was also able to get the FSM. I see the adjustment now.

When you mean 2nd gear band, do you mean the front band? If so it looks like that one is adjusted externally. I might be able to do that one myself as it won't require dropping the pan. Is that what you meant Doc?

Yes... the front band is the "2nd gear" band and yes... you can adjust that one with-out dropping the pan.
DD

I took the car back and we verified both bands are adjusted correctly.

The mechanic said the material of replacement bands is different. Harder material probably changed things which is what causes this. Has anyone experienced that? I saw the material of the old band vs the new band and it is totally different.

Sort of at a loss now, might just drive the car as-is and see how it goes. Thoughts?