I have some older buddies (brothers in law) who ran a 57 chevy sedan delivery with a dual-quad 283 and a hydro. Pete said it ran a low 5:somethig gear and left hard, then came the 1-2 shift. They put washers under the carbs to raise them off the intake to suck more air and jetted accoringly. I loved the one in my 55 Olds. QUOTE=56sedandelivery;9186646]Every time there is a posting on the old Hydro's, I kick myself for GIVING all my Hydro's, and spare parts, away. Three complete transmissions, extra flywheels, several stock and modified torus assemblies, shifters, and TV/kickdown linkages. From time to time, I even think about giving them a go again. It's always kinda funny to talk to a modern day trans builder who can't get past the TH350/TH400 models, and they think you're crazy. Then, when you find someone who knows anything about them, they'll talk both your ears off. An early Olds motor with a Hydro IS it. The old Junior Stock Class Sedan Deliveries, that were allowed to use them for a time, are what really tugs at me to get back with the Hydro. It'll probably never happen for me, but I sure do like the threads that deal with them. There is also a Hydro Sticky (NO pun intended there!), and Hydro Group here on the HAMB, check them out. Butch/56sedandelivery. All I have left of my Hydro collection, is a 1965 edition of a Hot Rod Magazine publication, a little book called "Clutches and Transmissions", that has a couple of Shift Master Hydro's on the cover. I'm hanging onto that![/QUOTE]
The early hydros were refered to as the "R" series. I rebuilt a few in the early years as a line mechanic at the Chev dealership. Most were in Olds, Cad, and Pontiac, but also the Chev and GMC trucks. The piston seals were leather and had a brass expansion ring behind to keep the seal. It sure got better when they came in with the neopreme lip seals. Man I can still remember the fear of test drives and not shifting correctly,,,,, Those were'nt the good old days.
Sorry - The 'Stuart' tank (smaller, lighter than the Sherman) used the dual Caddy flatheads w/hydros. - I had a chance to drive one years ago. Most Shermans had R-985 radial engines with standard transmission. Some Shermans had the Ford GAA engine (behind the Caddy in the picture) or the very unusual Chrysler 'Multi-bank' (5 Chrysler straight 6 flatheads joined together)
Not sure if my memory is correct - the Hydro I put in my '58 Chev behind the 348 engine was out of a Chevy truck. I think it had 3 forward positions on the shifter - Lo would start in 2nd and stay in 2nd, the middle position would start in 1st and shift to second, then to 3rd - Drive position would shift 1, 2, 3, 4. You could start in the middle position then when it automatically shifted into 2nd shift you could move the shifter to Lo to hold it in second as long as you wanted - well, not too long since the hydraulic lifters in the 348 would 'pump-up' about 4800 rpm......
Yes, please, please come out of your stupor and post these for us! I would love to see them/have copies. Posted via telegraph.
In1958, while a high school senior, I rebuilt the Hydramatic from my 49 olds 88 ragtop. I modified it using the Hot Rod mag that was printed at the top of the cover"Hot Rod Your Hydramatic." It was a good tech article, had GM part numbers,etc. Wasn't the recomended lube for early Hydramatics 20w motor oil? Greg
Hey, Speedy. The place is: Northwest Transmission Parts 13500 U.S.Route 62 Winchester, Ohio 45697 937-442-2811 John Dobbins, owner
That's great! Thanks Von Dyck. I'll add it to the list of other known rebuilders that I have. Posted via telegraph.
My Lincoln hydros have both dipsticks, so you might want to check that out. All are dual range types. 1952-54. My Hudson Superjet does not have the dipstick pan, only the case dipstick. Guess some do and some don't.
56 delivery, I had the good fortune to speak to Joe Dougherty out of Philly, he owned " Docs Delivery national record holder back in the day. He's in his 70's now. WhenI brought up the hydros it was amazing how much his memory could pull up about the Stocker days and the Hydros. He told me not to trim the torus as it didn't need to be trimmed and still the car would leave etc etc. he asked if I had one which I told him I did and I have that special book but not the smarts to rebuild it. They must've been something else In a Junior Stocker....
A friend ran a hydramatic transmission in his Chevrolet I6 powered B/SR. His racing handle was 'Action Joe' and he was a hydramatic transmission GURU. His real name was Joe Cunningham and he has since passed away. Of all of the noted negative aspects of the hydramatic transmission no one has mentioned the terrible ratio gap between 2nd and 3rd gear. Joe's B/SR would scream off of the line, hit second gear and continue to scream until shifting into third gear. The 2nd to 3rd gear change would everything but kill the I6 engine, but I6 torque enabled the engine to get back on top. Joe was stuck in old school and he would not change to a modern transmission. It would have been interesting to see how much gain could have been achieved with a TH350 transmission. McGurk
Nope, back in the day when I worked on the transmission line we used the recommended "type A" transmission fluid in the Hydros and almost all automatic transmissions...Ford came along with some "type F" a little later.
The '50 Shop Manual says you can use 20 wt motor oil in an emergency but need to drain it out at the first chance. Otherwise it's type A as said. If you go way back it was whale oil.
I would think it would have fallen at bit more down the line than "B/SR". A 1971 B/SR record was 10.70 @ 118.42, BBC powered. Another B/SR was 426 Hemi powered setup from the same time frame. That info comes from my 1974 copyright of, "The Sox and Martin Book of Drag Racing". There were TWO different Hydro gear ratios, and the "guts" could be swapped from one trans to another, was done so frequently back then, and completely legal by the rules. That's been mentioned several times in the various Hydro threads posted here on the HAMB. If I'm not careful here, I could wind up dabbling in the Hydro's again. Butch/56sedandelivery.
That plus, John Kilgore was making hydros that didn't have that big drop by mixing and matching and making new combinations of existing gear sets. He's still around, and he might even do an old hydro if offered enough $$$. He's pretty busy doing turbo 400's now.
I tried to post scans from an old Pop Rod mag, they won't upload. If anybody wants 'em, PM me and I'll e mail them to you.
Are you trying to post Stick-Shift Hydro's from the Feb 1960 HRM? If so, I have them and can post them. They are already posted in one of my picture albums and on the Hydro group: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=791 I'll PM you anyways though.
Probably already mentioned but here is a starting place for you or you could also use the search function there is a lot of good slant pan/B&M info on here. Anyway start your search here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=791
I did. Emailed you back with thanks. Those are great, and I'll get them posted up ASAP. Thanks Beaner! I've been compiling a list of all the HAMB threads discussing Hydros. It should be up on the group one of these days...
I just happened to run across this today after i saw this thread. http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/trans/Hydramatic/1946-55%20Hydramatic%20On%20Car%20Adjustment%20Service/index1.html
You are correct. Time and old age have a way of fuzzing the facts. In the picture it clearly shows that Joe's street roadster was a C/SR. McGurk
Speedy Canuk do you have TSi in addison Il on your list as he was a Hydramatic stick builder here in Chicago for years
This is what I love about the HAMB.....a ton of guys are jumping in with info on our 60 yr old transmissions,to help us young guys get these things back up and running and keep this stuff alive. On any other forum,you'd instantly have 99 gold chainers or other 'experts' flaming the shit outta ya,and ridiculing you for not using something 'better' like a 700R....... People on here just 'GET IT'.....!!! Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!