Most of the praise for the Powerglide revolve around use in lightweight cars with high horsepower motors.........usually beefed up for racing. Nothing wrong with that. You plan to drive yours mainly on the street. Things are a lot different there. Will you be making extended (50 mile+) drives on an expressway? Or 99% on city streets? Will you expect to drive at higher speeds (60-70) or seldom exceed 50 ? The T bucket is very light.........lighter than most other street vehicles. It can get away with 2 gears......but would it be more enjoyable to drive with the engine purring along rather than screaming ? Do you really want to go from high gear to low gear at 60 mph ? I'm just posing questions that you might want to consider. Take the vehicle for an extended drive and put it thru some paces. Get on an expressway and pass a few cars. See how YOU like its performance. If the trans turns out to be an issue, replace it with a 2004R. If its satisfactory to YOU, then enjoy it.
Nothing wrong wih the PG on the street! The 2 speeds don't limit cruise speed, 2nd gear is 1:1 like any other non-OD transmission. Speeds >60 - 70 are a breeze, I'll crusie my A pickup at 80 - 90 for miles on end no problem; and the down shift to 2nd makes for a great passing gear. It overtakes traffic as quickly, or quicker, than it would with a TH350 or 400. It is on the bottom end that they lack acceleration, but not really a problem with a light vehncile; and as mentioned by others, a loose convertor makes up a lot of the difference on the bottom end.
What do you consider " screaming" ? Passing cars on an expressway normally involves little , if any ,change in speed ?
I've got a Powerglide in my coupster because I could afford free. Stock 327 in front of it and 3.55 gears behind it. When it was on the road I could get any kind of ticket I wanted, anytime I wanted one.
In an 1/8th mile race, that 660 feet comes up pretty fast. I can do well in the 1/8th with the 4-speed, but I'm not doing sub-6 second runs.
Short answer - use a stall speed 1000 - 1500 RPM below your HP peak RPM. Another PG advantage - they are short for packaging in a FED, especially with a shortie output shaft / housing. Your FED sounds intrigueing. Why not start your own thread on the build?
Your right, I should have started one. I’m working on the hauler now and it’s taking me more time than I thought it would. This thread has some good info and got me thinking. I’m hoping to tackle the FED next summer and I’ll post up some questions/pictures. It’s not going to be breaking any speed records. Just trying to have some fun on a budget and use what I have laying around my garage.
Will not be a problem in a FED, I have run glides with 1.82 six cylinder first gear in many drag cars including a FED and my current altered. I use mostly all stock parts and have run hundreds of 8 and 9 second passes without issue. Space in a FED is always a concern , the pic below is cockpit of my dragster , it has a floor in it but you can see how short it can be with a shorty glide. Huge selection of aftermarket parts including complete cases and converters available. Light weight easy to build
327 powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery Hello, Our project 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery had a 327 4 barrel carb motor that was as stock as could be. The Powerglide was not our choice, but it was not to be a street race or drag race hot rod, so reliability was the key. Our 58 Impala with a modified 348 motor was a true dual purpose cruiser/racer and it had the original version of the C&O Stick Hydro installed in 1960. From that point on, the value of the Stick Hydro was not wasted on a teenager during his “fun” days. But, the time had come to sell the Impala and go off to college. So, many years later, my wife and I were in the market for a hot rod project. Living on the beach was important as well as good for the soul. But a reliable hot rod was our goal. So, we found a 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery with a 327 hooked up to a Powerglide. It started on the first crank, ran well and sounded very smooth. The transmission shifted when it did and did not cause any worries for us. But, it was the suspension and rest of the hot rod that caused us plenty of safety issues. The good thing was, my wife loved driving around and doing some individual driving of the 327 powered sedan delivery. Once we got the whole front end repaired, replaced and adjusted everything from true round new tires to new brakes, it was safe. Now, it was a driving hot rod good for any starts, in any weather condition or location. We were lucky. My first Flathead powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery was so reliable as a thousands of miles of “no worries” although it lacked pulling power with the Flathead motor. The 327 took care of the latest version and did it wonderful smooth cruise to any location without any problems for another 6 years of driving. It was the most consistent car that looked good, but needed some love and care to get it right. The 327 and Powerglide made the day many times over. Jnaki Our hot rod drag race days were over and now it was reliability that called us to this combo of 327 and Powerglide. So what that it was not a Cal Hydro, B&M or even another C&O Stick Hydro. The reliable, ever consistent Powerglide was one smooth transmission. Just stick it in Drive and go anywhere in any weather. We were sad to see it go, but we moved on in our next level, married family lifestyle. The young couple that bought it from us was just starting their hot rod adventures and loved that the sedan delivery was in such great condition. The fully upholstered insulated back cave was all ready for camping, beach activities or just hauling stuff from the local hardware/garden shop. It did hold a lot of photographic equipment, ladders, coolers and portable seating for our photo adventures, too. History has treated us well…
My 66 C20 pickup came with a power glide, and still has it. so for those saying only in a light car, I use my truck for a truck. It is 57 years old and still going strong. I think it's a good transmission for your T bucket.
the aftermarket race transmission companys is what made the PG a transmission worth talking about. for those of us that was there driving these cars as is from the factory in the 60's and 70's knows that every body called them slip and slide. mopar's torque flight's and fords were so much better it wasn't even close
As a Ford guy, I can remember a "favorite car" that belonged to a Guy from WV; Lane Rader. 55 Chevy 2 door HT. Had a highly modified {secret stuff} 283 4 bl. PG trans. It could keep up with a 57 FI Pontiac that had been converted to a masive 4bl. carb or even beat it on a good day. Stayed with a few 327 Chevys too. Just say'n......
Is that true, or was it just your perception? Maybe it was when they proved to work so well at the track that the bad rap they had wasn't justified? Again, it all depends on the application. An Impala with a mild small block wasn't going to win many races anyway. The tall gear ratio 1st gear, heavy weight and low power (and low stall speed converter) wasn't designed for lightning fast get aways. Put that same power train in a little Chevy II and it worked a lot better. BTW, we called 'em a Powerslide.
my perception has nothing to do with the facts. i said as from the factory street racing and running a car down a track a quarter mile at a time has very little in common and that is where the powerglide got it's reputation nothing stock inside built for a 1/4 mile
I've had 'em in a '63 Impala and '64 Nova....took a lot of abuse.We used to call them,with affection," good old slip and slide powerglide".
Hello, The idea that countless folks in the stock classes going at each other with stock Powerglides in the automatic classes vs. the faster guys in the stick shift classes was a tribute to the reliability of those automatics in all sorts of racing. It was not just the modified transmission folks that came years later from 60-65 and beyond. Prior to the modified transmission additions, the stock transmissions were very good and reliable for dual duty. Reading all of the results in the stock Automatic classes from 1955 to the time they were all eliminated has something going for the people with Powerglides. The 265, 283, 348 and even larger motors with Powerglides did well against the other companies automatics. But, most of the winners were Chevrolet in those automatic classes. We had a 3 speed in our 58 Impala and did fairly well in the A/Stock class. But, when it was time, we needed an automatic so our mom could drive the 58 impala when it sat in the garage during my brother's racing burn recovery time period. So, that is/was the best move to get a C&O Stick Hydro in 1960. It made the Impala so much faster. At the time, they were not using Powerglide transmissions for the modified conversions. The industry changed in the later years. Jnaki But, those automatic Chevy guys continued to win in the Stock Automatic classes. So, perhaps, your experience is from the later time after 1964 when countless shops began modifying all sorts of transmissions, including Chrysler and Ford. By then, the stock classes were fading out and around 1970, Gone... except for the S/S and experimental classes. Powerglides were a part of those modifications for drag racing, in the later years. YRMV
I need a powerglide rebuilt. Anyone from Northern California in the Sacramento-Bay Area have a guy? Just need a stock rebuild nothing fancy. Going behind a stock 283.
when i bought my '53 chevy, we simply pushed it in neutral to about 30. i dropped it into drive and it started right up. the newer ones don't do that...
All of the cast iron Powerglides and the first few years of the aluminum ones were capable of being push started.
What is the difference in internals that makes this possible please? The early Aussie GMH cast-iron Glides (from '65, sourced from St Catherines and perhaps elsewhere) will not push start. Cheers, Harv
That was true of most automatic transmissions up until about 1965. That's when the manufacturers did away with the rear pump which was driven from the transmission output shaft.
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