@Renegade. I believe you are correct. In 1952, GM modified the Hydramatic had two “Drive” positions. One position let the transmission start in second unless the accelerator was floored and shifting all the way to 4th gear. The other position allowed the transmission to start in first gear, but did not let the transmission shift into 4th unless the speed exceeded 70 mph.
However, there was no “Park” position until 1956.
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Funny story about me and automatic transmission’s I was in my early 20’s the first time I drove one I can’t remember why but I going to use my grandmother’s car that was an automatic I got in the car got it started reached for the clutch that was not there I got her to show me how to drive it and everytime I stopped for any reason I would put it in neutral when I got back she asked me how it went I told her what I had done then she told me I did not need to do that
Mom’s 1965 Galaxie also had two Drive positions. One was just a letter “D” and the other was a letter “D” inside a big green circle. She bought the car used so no Owner’s Manual and she always put it in the “D” in a green circle. It seemed to run and drive fine.
@davepsinbox_157004. As I remember, one “Drive” position allowed the Ford automatic transmission start in 2nd gear while the other “Drive” position allowed the transmission to start in 1st gear. The Ford transmission back then was a three speed unit. The original Ford automatic transmission started in 2nd gear when the transmission was in “Drive”. To start in 1st, one had to manually select “L” on the transmission shift quadrant.
The original GM Hydramatic was a 4 speed unit which received its power through a fluid coupling. The Ford automatic, introduced in 1951 was a 3 speed unit which received power through a torque converter. The difference between a fluid coupling and a torque converter is that a fluid coupling does not multiply torque while a torque converter does multiply torque.
I believe it was in the 1970s that the four speed and later multispeed transmissions became popular. The top gear was an overdrive. The lockup feature that locked out the torque converter was implemented.
I should note that the Studebaker automatic transmission, introduced in 1951, had the torque converter lockup feature. This was a three speed unit. Here in Indiana, we have always been ahead of the times. (The Studebaker was manufactured in South Bend, Indiana).
Thanks. I’m also pretty sure that’s correct but back when mom bought the car none of us knew.
I liked ours too. I went to prom in it. (Dad wouldn’t let me drive his Opel wagon.)
So did Packard’s automatic transmission.
There were a lot cases of the independent automakers being ahead of The Big Three when it came to technology.
Also, an interesting factoid regarding Studebaker’s automatic is that Ford offered to buy the rights to manufacture it, which would have saved Ford a lot on development costs for their own transmission. Studebaker refused that offer, which is just one of MANY very poor business decisions made by Stude’s management.
@VDCdriver. George Mason, who was the president of Nash-Kelvinator Corp. wanted Nash, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard to merge to.competr with Ford, GM, and Chrysler. I often think this would have been great.
Definitely!
I’m not claiming that this combination would have survived to the present day, but I am fairly confident that REAL Packards would have been made for several more years, and that Studebaker would have made it past the mid-60s.
I think it’s obvious that some models would have been cut, in order to eliminate competition w/in their own ranks, but this combination could probably have been successful… for at least another decade.
On the early hydramatics, the parking pawl was held in the off position by line pressure in the transmission. When the engine was shut off with the selector in Reverse, a heavy spring pushed the pawl into engagement with the output shaft. This was made obsolete with the introduction of the dual coupling hydramatic in 1956 which had a park position on the shift lever.
@VDCdriver. Had the merger that George Mason proposed taken place, the Studebaker would be the competition for Ford, Chevrolet,and Plymouth, the midline models would have been Nash and Hudson which would have provided competition for Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Mercury, Dodge and DeSoto, while the Packard would have been the luxury car to compete with Cadillac, Lincoln, and Chrysler Imperial. Don’t forget that Studebaker also had a truck line and had, in my opinion, the nicest cab of all the pickup trucks at that time. The Studebaker trucks had the gas tank under the cab unlike Chevy and Ford where the gas tank was in the cab.
George Mason had good ideas in my opinion. When he introduced the Rambler compact in 1950, it came out as a convertible.and a station wagon. These Ramblers came with a radio and heater as standard equipment, which was not true of the Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth. The price was above the low and even higher trim lines of the Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth, but the Rambler convertible, station wagon and the Country Club hardtop coupe a year later did have a touch of luxury. George Mason knew what buyers wanted and were willing.to pay for. Henry Kaiser missed the boat (and he was a ship builder) with the Henry J. The Henry J interior made a school bus seem luxurious. Even an exterior trunk lid was an option. Yet the Henry J cost about as much as the low trim line Ford Mainline or Chevrolet Standard. The Chevrolet Standard didn’t come with a passenger side sun visor or an ashtray. Most of the Chevrolets sold were the Deluxe trim line and the Fords sold mostly the Customline models.
I think that expanding.the big 3 to the big 4 would have forced more competition and been healthy for all the manufacturers.
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@old_mopar_guy. This made sense. At that time, we were supposed to put the manual transmission in reverse when the car was parked. This made the Hydramatic more intuitive.
So look at it this way. If the OP had used the parking brake every time he/she/it/them would never know there is a problem with the park engagement. Better to know than not know.
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The left drive position started in first and shifted through each gear to fourth at normal road speeds. The right drive position ( super in Olds and Pontiac) started in first also but upshifted at much higher speeds ( it didn’t shift into fourth until 75 mph) as well as providing engine braking in 3rd. This position was intended for in town or mountain driving.
@old_mopar_guy. You may be right. I did try out a 1953 Pontiac with Hydramatic and also a 1956 Rambler with Hydramatic. I also remember seeing a 1953 GMC pickup with Hydramatic. The shift quadrant was marked N, 1-4, 1-3, 1-2, R.
This would correspond to N D S L R on the Oldsmobiles of that time period.
It’s interesting that the Lincoln from mid 1949 through the early 1950s used the GM Hydramatic as did Hudson, Nash, and Kaiser.
And let’s not forget Rolls Royce😀
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Also, I think the Sherman tanks in WWII used two GM Hydramatic transmissions. It developed into a very rugged, tough transmission. When I was replacing my 1947 Pontiac, I looked at a 1953 Pontiac with the Hydramatic transmission and straight 8 engine. I opted instead for a 1955 Pontiac and manual transmission. The V-8 engine which was new to Pontiac that year gave me all kinds of problems and I had to have new bearings in the transmission. The shift linkage didn’t allow for smooth shifting. The tried and true Pontiac straight 8 with the Hydramatic would have been a much better bet.
BTW, did you know that in 1942, Lincoln produced their own automatic called Liquimatic? It was such a POS that almost everyone so equipped was refitted with a manual. I believe there are two extant cars with Liquimatic transmission. Lincoln then used Hydramatic until the 1953 fire in the Hydramatic factory.
You guys are a wealth. I had to look up what the 1950 Rambler looked like. I couldn’t remember.