Technical Anybody doing a 32 ford with a dual range hydro?

I'm looking to install a '59 Pontiac 389 stroked and bored to 417 backed by a dual range hydra matic. Anybody doing any kind of dual range hydro behind anything in a 32 Ford?

 

I had one in a 55 Chevy. The low first gear was great fun. The hydro must weigh ten thousand pounds. I would not think the gearing or the weight would work in a 32.

 

I'm running a single-range Hydro behind a Cad in a '31 roadster... the gearing and weight work just fine in it.

 

59 Pontiac and a Dual Range my avatra, been running great.
Pontiac torque and a 55 hydro-dual range, hydro stick great combo.

 

I'm trying to find an adapter for a 331 hemi, but my hydro isn't stock, the coupler probably only has 1/4" of fins!!!

 

so.... is feasible. of course. nothing really tricky about engine or trany mounts? I'm looking at an offy 5028 intake set up for the 97's and a halibrand quick chang rear, Lincoln juice brakes and a dual master cylinder, other wise it will be a Brookville roadster body like the vic edelbrock roadster.

 

Mike, those factory Hydros (single and dual range) were heavy, and Pontiacs and Oldses used side bellhousing mounts in addition to a tailshaft mount as well as frontal engine mount. (center) There was a torque factor...

I have seen, improved, retried, and replaced drivetrains comprised of Hydra-matics and Cad, Olds, Pontiac, and SBC (from '58(?) GMC pickups...all installed in any and everything from Model A's thru '32, '34, up to '53 Fords. (and some late '30s thru '52 Chevs!)
I voted to keep the great old 4-speed Hydros in some cases, there was a '32 Hiboy I re-did with 402" of SBC, really lit up the 'Ol' Time Drags' at Baylands (Fremont)
The weight of the tranny was in the center of the car, made that Deuce feel like it was on rails on the twisty Highway 9...(Porsche territory back then)
B&M had a beefed version of the 4 speed dual range hydro...that, fitted with their own valve body and shift linkage..."Hydro-Stick" was the heart of many gassers in the mid '60s. Out of the hole like gangbusters, the shift points were adjustable...you could see/hear between adjustments that they weren't 'quite there'...but the next run?
Out of the hole on rear wheels, then the shift...Zow! Back up on the rears, the drone of the engine pitch when shifting?
Everybody wanted a Hydro-Stick!
Really sounds cool on the street...High throttle pressure, positive shifts...Sure sounds like there's 'something in there that doesn't belong'...
LOVED the Hydro Sticks!

 

Mike...remember to grind the edge off the crank flange when bolting the engine-half of the fluid coupling up. If you don't do this to a 389 crank flange, the coupling [think two piece torque converter] the coupling won't fit flat against the crank and the fluid will fall out. Worse case scenario is front pump will destruct.
Only takes a minute to do this grinding ....you'll see when you hold the coupling up against the crank flange....
The back of a manual trans bellhousing is made the same as a hydro when it comes to rear motor mounts. I wouldn't even think of using the old original style mounts if it was me. Here's a photo of how I made rear mounts to bolt my 370 Pontiac [57 Pontia c 347 punched to 370] /4 speed stick in my 34. I also used a Hurst mount on the front.

 

I've got a hydro backed Olds in my 34. It can easily be done. Just a bigger transmission hump than you'll find with some other transmissions.

Pictures here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/albums/candys-hot-rod-supply-chassis-build.37845/

 

thanks everybody, keep these ideas coming, excellent set up Rocky and Atwater mike!

I love the hydro's and have about every tool needed to rebuild them. I cleaned out an auto parts store that openened in 1927 and closed its door in around 2004. has NOS tools out the ass.

and about 15 various types of manuals on them from factory service manuals to the Chilton/ march/ snapon books and some used in voc ed high school programs back in the day and an original edition of that how to hot rod and beef up the hydro book published back in '64

I built a few back in high school (1980) when everybody else was doing 350/400's and a few over the years since then but none in the last 20 plus years,. I got 3 '57 gmc's. with hydro's in them... more .....or less. and a '61 Gmc hydro drive train and hydro's out of a 53 and a 54 pontiac as well and have been scoring heavy duty NOS GMC/ Caddy parts for about 8 years.

next question....

Halibrand quick change or a 57-64 old/Pontiac rear? Transverse leaf springs or front to rear leaf springs?

 

love the DR Hydro. Needs to have a Pontiac/Olds rear axle behind it. I don't think the Halibrand could take the power/torque of the Pontiac and a harsh first gear launch from the DR Hydro

 

If you're talking about the Halibrand "V/8" series quick change, it's not strong enough in my opinion but the big "Champ" series is. The Pontiac rear ['57-64] is too but I like the 9 inch ford better with it's fore and aft pinion bearings.
I'm using the Winters champ-size quick change and after being inside that thing, I'm not worried about reliability issues. I didn't measure the ring gear but it looks like a 9 inch ford size to me.
Both spring setups have been run on old fords for years.. If you use the parallel leaf setup you'll need to leave the rear frame rails long for the rear shackle mounts. I chose to bob the back of my 34 frame rails so there's no place to mount parallel leaves. The quick change is more visible that way and I really don't want my gas tank hanging off the back of my car between the rear rails for safety and aesthetic reasons.

 

I'm running a '49 caddy with its single range hydro in my '32 5 window hooked to a '40 column shift. A little harsh on 2nd to 3rd shift but the extra weight in the middle and low DOES make the car feel solid! If I can smooth out that shift a little I'll be very happy with it. '49 Ford rear end too, all's good.

 

There's a lot of info on the Hydro Group. There's some documentation on adjusting the linkage to fine tune the shift points as well...

 

Speedy..couldn't get the link to work.

 

whats the Hydro group? I click on it and get "hydro tech" but there's nothing there. whats up with that?

 

I've got an Olds backed by a Hydro in this guy, it works great. Go for it !

 

is that channeled? grille looks short, like it might be..or optical illusion..?

is it an old build?

 

You have to join the group to see all the threads. "Hydro Tech" is the name of the group that all the info is contained under.

 

Thanks speedy, I'll check out the group. Bubba, you're roadsters looks great.

 

Nope I am not doing it but if I had a deuce I would be.