The Evolution of Automatic Transmissions

Gary RV_Wizard said:

As I recall, the '55 Chrysler Corp cars had a vertical shift lever on the dash.  Then in '56 they went to the pushbutton shifter.

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Searching the web I see many references that say what you say, but my maternal granddad had what I'm sure was a '55 with the push buttons. My grandmother drove it until the late '80s when she quit driving (she died at 102). Still, it's possible that I was mis-informed for all those years, and it's definite that it wasn't the lever on the dash.

One version of the Chrysler fluid drive was actually a four speed.  My parents 1949 Desoto had it.  With the shifter in what on a three speed is second, you had first and second .  With the shifter in the third gear position you had third and fourth.  Could start in either from a dead stop without the clutch thanks to the fluid coupling, but needed to use the clutch pedal to go from the low range (shifter up) to high Range (shifter down).  They are commonly known as "Clunk - a - matics" because the shift that occurred when you let off the gas to go from first to second or third to fourth were both slow and noisy!

Larry, don't feel too bad about missing the year on the Dodge.  Grandparents had a 1955 with the shifter on the dash and my folks had a 1956 with the pushbutton.  The only difference between the two was the trim on the side and the "fins" on the back fenders.  Interiors were identical except for the shifters.

1956 Dodge

I had a 1942 O)Oldsmobile that had a 3 speed hydramatic transmission. The  transmission was great, but the engine kept on blowing head gaskets. I would put in a new head gasket every 3-4 weeks.

John From Detroit said:

Have driiven 3,4 and 5 speed auto's never a two. Have driven 3,4,5,10 and 15 speed sticks

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The 1954 Ford that I drove during high school had a 2-speed "Ford-a-matic" transmission.  The 3-speed Cruise-a-matic wasn't yet available.

FWIW our 2020 Subaru Outback has a CVT that "emulates" an 8-speed transmission.  It actually has paddle shifters that let you shift through the 8-gears!

One of our 'surf buggies' in Newport Beach was an old DeSoto with a safety clutch.  As I remember the transmission went out a couple of times.  Fun car though.  Back in those days a short board was 8'6" and we could get 4 of them in the trunk and back seat and still have room in the back for a passenger.  It was a big car.

The first car we bought after we got married was a 1977 Honda Civic that had a 2-speed semi-automatic. It had a torque converter so it had no clutch, but you had to shift it manually. Had a manual choke, too.
It was tiny and slow, but a hoot to drive around town. It only weighed about 1700 pounds, so the 60 horsepower CVCC engine could get it moving pretty quickly, at least up to about 30 mph.
I even autocrossed and gymkhana'd it in street trim. With the stock 2-ply bias/belted tires it understeered like a bear though. But after I put a pair of much gripper Continental radials on the front the front gripped so much better than the back I could pivot it around the cones at will, especially with a quick grab on the hand brake.
It eventually succumbed to the needs of a growing family, giving way to a 1984 Dodge minivan (another great vehicle) but we miss it to this day.

I put the 400 CID w/ "Powerslide" from an Impala in a 76 Datsun Pick up. Does that count?

I think the 8 speed transmissions are great for the urban suv crowd. For my "working" vehicles (trucks and 4wd) and sports cars I still prefer a manual gearbox and a clutch.

Ex-Calif said:

I put the 400 CID w/ "Powerslide" from an Impala in a 76 Datsun Pick up. Does that count?

I think the 8 speed transmissions are great for the urban suv crowd. For my "working" vehicles (trucks and 4wd) and sports cars I still prefer a manual gearbox and a clutch.

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Did you live in the San Jose area?  I think I saw your truck a few times.

Ex-Calif said:

I put the 400 CID w/ "Powerslide" from an Impala in a 76 Datsun Pick up. Does that count?

I think the 8 speed transmissions are great for the urban suv crowd. For my "working" vehicles (trucks and 4wd) and sports cars I still prefer a manual gearbox and a clutch.

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How did the pick up conversion work out? I bought a 73 Triumph Spitfire that had a 3.8 Buick V6 with a 5 speed conversion. It under-steered like crazy but was loads of fun going straight. I've owned many English sports cars but this one was the best daily driver. Mainly because whoever did the conversion installed the A/C off the donor car. It got over 45 mpg on the highway. Lest I forget it also got rid of the #@&% Lucas electronics.

A friend who was a British motorcycle fan once said Mr Lucas the Prince of Darkness decreed a gentleman does not ride after dark. ;D English cars were a nightmare! I have been driving over 50 years and have yet to have an automatic fail me which is something considering the abuse I have been known to hand out. Some of my standard shifts did not fare so well, thank goodness I got that out of my system.

8Muddypaws said:

Did you live in the San Jose area?  I think I saw your truck a few times.

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No. Upland/Ontario east of LA. Probably 1980-ish?

TheBar said:

How did the pick up conversion work out? I bought a 73 Triumph Spitfire that had a 3.8 Buick V6 with a 5 speed conversion. It under-steered like crazy but was loads of fun going straight. I've owned many English sports cars but this one was the best daily driver. Mainly because whoever did the conversion installed the A/C off the donor car. It got over 45 mpg on the highway. Lest I forget it also got rid of the #@&% Lucas electronics.

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It wasn't that hard to do.  There was a fiberglass kit for the tunnel. You cut back the firewall and fit the tunnel in. The driveshaft had to be cut and welded.  There were a few other odds and sods like a Hurst floor shifter. The "finish" to the conversion was to drop a new rear end in it because the Datsun gearing was pretty high but I never got that far.

"Mini Trucks" were really popular at the time and most guys went for the "look" - Mine was basically stock and I put really tall RV tires on it. I had full mufflers so while cruising you couldn't really tell anything was up.

I'd pull up next to a mini truck on the freeway and then floor it - It would flat fly from 60-75 but that poor small block was doing like 4,000 RPM at 70 - LOL... From a standstill I could burn rubber until there was no rubber... It was a lot of fun for a while.

There is a GM V6 kit for the MGB that is really popular and a lot of conversions.  V8s are also popular but one needs pretty good fab skills for that one.

I m currently turning my MGB into a "classic SCCA racer tribute" - I am putting a belt driven under-hood blower (about 5 psi and a 50hp gain), 5-speed and maybe 5 link rear end on mine. Probably also going to convert the front end to coil over IFS.  It's probably my last car project and will end up as my toad in a couple years when I retire.

8) I'm envious! That sounds like a lot of fun.