Hydramatic (Hydro Stick) Builder in Houston?

Can anyone near Houston build a Hydramatic to or near B&M Hydra Stick street-strip specs? Real B&M Hydrasticks are few and far between, and expensive as Hell.

 

Call this guy. TST Performance 823-492-7031. This guys work on trannies is outstanding. If he can't, I'm sure he'll know someone who can. Plus, he drives an old school truck. '59 Chevy, I think.

 

Buddy Herron he is retired now, lives in the lake houston area you might him in the phone book. back in the 60s/70s he could build them as good as B&M

 

Most of the old hydro builders are no longer active in any capacity at all. I wouldn't limit myself to just one small area. I'd ask for leads to builders in an entire region...

 

Or ask for a B&M hydro, I think I know of one that could be had.

 

I was hoping an old timer would apprentice me....

 

In the '50s, HRM printed a very in depth article about what modifications B&M actually made to hydramatics for racing purposes. It would be worth your while to dig it up and read it. Of course, it had you ordering parts from G.M. that were probably discontinued forty years ago.....

 

I have a book telling all about how to do it...but not the tools nor skills.

 

All tough stuff to get.

I've got a gentleman who's supposed to be buying all my special tools and literature for these trannies. I could let you know if he doesn't come through (though he probably will).

 

That would be great if the right person got your tools and literature somone who could use it and provide the service. Not to hi jack RichardD `s thread but i would get in line and be interested in them if the other deals fall through. I have 2 trans 1 good 1 bad parts are going to be the major problem IMO

 

I asked my trans guy ,a traditional hot rodder , and all he could do was tell me how much better everything else was and the better choices to use.
Only for the most extreme period gotta be perfect race cars according to him. Not for winning races or street dependability.

 

Talked to a guy a few years back that used to build them, he told me they only used them until stall converters came out, you couldnt give them away after that. What are you building that needs one ?
EDIT_my bad, I was refering to clutch turbo, TH400

 

Vicky,
There are no doubt a 100 better options for a modern car.

I am not sure that I agree with the dependability aspect, that hydro is a big old pig but they are basically unbreakable. I have driven them stock and modified several times in a span of about 45 years give or take and never ever broken one.

If someone is trying to get it right on an old gas class build, I do think that the slant pan hydro is a very good option. They are not any harder to work on than any other transmission but they are something that you don't see everyday so it can be considered to be lost talant in the modern world. They do require specialized tools that you don't find in most transmission shops but nearly all of them can be adapted from other tools or tools that can be made.

Here is something interesting that no one has hit on, way back when the transmission was popular with racers both stop light and 1320 bandits, you could by literally everything that you needed straight from B&M to build a B&M style hydro. Granted they were not a B&m any more than a turbo 350 full of TCI parts is a TCI transmission because they were not assembled by B&M but they would do the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

 

try Trannyman on here. he has 2 AAMCO shops. did a good job for me on a DD

 

31 Vicky; Your Tranny guy just jerked your chain. Quote" Not for winning races or street dependability". There was only 1 problem with them> They weighed a Ton. Once G.M. came out with the light weight Turbo style the Hydro was doomed. Weight on the track meant faster or slower with the same given H.P. The turbo trannys became the small block Chevy of the time. Cheep and everywhere if you wanted an automatic plus everyone knew how to fix them because they were always going up in Smoke.
The Wizzard

 

Maybe he did jerk my chain ???
Weight = faster or slower and they weigh a ton . ( not for winning races then right ? )
But probably exactly what you want for a " serious period race car" where period is more important than "race car".
Super low 1st and can't comparison to a modern torque converter . Dependability and drivability go hand in hand.

I went in there with every intention of putting a B&M hydro stick behind my blown hemi, I left with a different way of looking at this.

 

Vicky,
They drive real well believe it or not. The weight thig is going to be a wash, compaired to what you can get today they are a heavy pig, but they were no heavier than the competition back when they were being run in competitive cars.

If I were shooting for a modern type of transmission I would be after a lenco, I have always wanted one and drove one once and that ruined me.

If I didn't have a lot of cash I would opt for a C4, they are light and lots of hop up pieces for them these days.

 

I'm not knocking them
Maybe something is getting lost in the translation here ?

We are talking about The " B&M Hydo-stick" transmissions modified for competition usage right ?
Or am I alone on that

 

Yep they drive just fine. They shift a little harder than say a stock T-350. Lots of guys drove them on the street back in the '60s and even into the '70s. They don't drive any worse than a manual valve bodied hot rod tranny.

They will not ever compair to a modern transmission, they are a performance part from the old days, a little on the crude side, a lot like our brakes ans suspensions.

I know that you are not knocking them, we are just discussing like we would in the garage over a cognac and slice of pizza.

Hell even if you were knocking them it wouldn't change anything, you would still be you, I would still be me and we are allowed to disagree. I would still come get you if you broke down near me and I am sure that you would do the same.

 

I think the biggest thing is that the fluid coupling does not multiply torque like a modern torque converter does. That's why they needed a 3.8x? First gear . You use it up before you pass under the traffic light

I think they are cool as hell and so much history is attached to them.
I still want one.

 

Actually I was told by an old guy when I was a young guy that you put them in second and let the transmission do the 1st second shift on its own. There is no way you could shift one fast enough to be able to use first gear manually in a race.

 

Cognac and pizza? If I find myself in MO with my Hydro shifted 34, I'm definitely stopping in for a garage chat!

They're around and they're cheap. Hell, guys will give them away. Just find an Olds with a hydro near you for sale, and once it sells, talk to the new owner. Often times they just scrap them for a modern transmission.

 

Let me rephrase -
I still want a B&M hydro stick built by B&M with a B&M tag on it

 

Ah yes, the smart route!

Instead of just trying to find the pieces like I am..

 

Geezzzz, didn't mean to start a argument. I know you "Vick" wasn't knocking the Hydro. But to hear a tranny guy say not to go there was Odd. I have them all and they all have there place. (Not a real B&M) My 51 Vicky has a 700-r, my T coupe has a turbo 350, My 50 Ford Convert has a Hydro that's been "Fixed" but it's also behind a 324 Olds motor. I wouldn't trade any of them and I don't think any are a weak sister. Ask any one that's been with me and they will tell ya I beat my stuff pretty good. I dig period correct stuff even if it's not totally efficent. I was just surprised to hear a trans guy tell ya not to go that way. My next project is also getting a Doc Floyd 392 with some Snot in it. It's getting an Overdrive Torque flight just because it looks like a 727, not a new generation overdrive. I hope we're all on the same page with just some general B.S. going on.
The Wizzard

 

Guess the old hydro is too heavy. Hmmm, well the funny thing is that they are good enough to take on 727 torqueflites just fine, and this is in stock form. Yes there are newer transmissions that work well behind high performance engines, but given 300-400 hp engines, the slant pan hydro will hold up just fine.

Back in the day, the hydro hole shot was unchallenged, mainly because torque converters had not evolved to what they are today. The first gear of the hydro provided higher torque than the torque converter, and lasted longer than the converter could. Today, it probably will be a little different, what with the newer converters and all.

The old hydro is still a good transmission that have a limited amount of good rebuilders out there. I would keep on looking, you will come across a builder that can do the B&M mods. The hydro stick valve body is probably something that, IMO, is not really needed. As was pointed out, you cannot shift 1-2 fast enough, so why bother being able to hold the transmission in first? The only thing I would do is to modify so that the LO range will not shift up out of 2nd. The stock valve body has this mechanism, which is also used in S range, but in that range it is fine. The operation in S range allows the transmission to shift to 4 only when the governor and TV are maxed out.

When I ran my old slant pan I would start in LO (1st and 2nd), then shift to S and leave it there when racing.

Hydros are a favorite of mine, as I have at least 10 of the oldies. My point, stay with your choice.

 

On a related note, I've been working on putting together a base of knowledge. Find the Hydro group here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=791

 

That's a grate group. Thanks for the invite, yes I joined.
The Wizzard

 

Kinda of ot... here's my friend Leon.When he lived in California,he worked for Art Carr.He and Art would go to the track and spend weekends there repairing trannies for the racers.He was the Last of the Mohicans here in Fairbanks when it came to working on Hydramatics.He had the tools and the knowledge.The other pic is of the floor shifted Hydramatic in my '50 sedan delivery behind a big Jimmy engine.

 

Love my hydro. The 1-2 shift is a real kick in the ass. For street racing
a good stock Hydro with a spark plug washer behind the pressure relief spring
will get rubber on the 2-3 shift. If you run other then the stock carb the TV
linkage will take some engineering. Wastedchildhood