Does anyone remember a left coast company named Cal.Hydro?? Not sure if the name is correct, but I believe so. They made a finned aluminum aftermarket case for the old GM 4spd hydro. Also they, I believe, made a replacement set of gears for same that evenly spaced the ratios. I am trying to put one of these ******'s behind a 53 Merc flathead. They had a bolt on bell housing, like my MERC-O-MATIC , and I am trying to figure out a hookup. Alternately, some early flathead Ford trucks and lincolns had the hydro also, I am wondering if some parts juggling could accomplish my goal without a major expenditure. Any comments are appreciated. email------------------loosecannon39@yahoo.com TKS DAN
not to burst your bubble or anything,but any hydro as serious as you describe would be capable of holding together behind an engine making a lot more horsepower than you'll ever get out of a flattie the main reason hydros were developed was to stay together when a built Rocket Olds or Cadillac or Hemi was bolted in front of them,since the Ford 3-speed would just disintegrate the easiest way to bolt a hydro to flattie would be to get a simple '49-'64 Olds or '49-'54 Cadillac to Ford bellhousing adaptor. there are plenty out there for cheap,a lot of guys bolted a Olds or Cad into their Ford and then got a Cad/LaSalle box or a hydro after the Ford box blew up. you need the rear bellhousing that attaches to the trans too.you can use the '49-'55 Cadillac OR the 49-'53 Oldsmobile,you can't use the '54-5 Olds because it's a slant-pan. i don't have any idea of how you would get the starter or flywheel/torus cover to bolt up to the flattie,maybe you could use some of the Lincoln parts,they had the hydro from '49-'54.
We just took apart the hydramatic from my Hudson and it´s toast. Some of the aluminium parts were actually molten, must have been pretty hot... Can you give me any tips on where to find parts? Is there a company specialized in hydramatics? As you propably can guess there isn´t much extra parts laying around here.
Try here. ------------http://www.autotrans.us/-------------------- Somewhere on that web site is rebuild parts for all GM 4spd Hydro, including the Hudson version. Regards DAN
my 55 pontiac 4 speed hydro is a monster. it's behind a stock 287" pontiac motor, but it shifts harder than any th 400 with a shift kit in it than i've ever had. my 4 speed hydro is stock...and it shifts hard, and solid through all 4 gears.
When I worked at the Mercedes-Benz dealer,we used to get in several older model Mercedes 300 series sedans(52-61)that had a 3 liter OHC 6 backed up with a 4-speed automatic with a neat aluminum case.When you went to look up part numbers for the transmission,lo and behold:along with the M-B part numbers were GM numbers in parentheses! Mercedes apparently bought the licensing rights to produce the old Dual-Range Hydramatic from GM(it was pretty much an obsolete transmission to them by then)and they used their own case.I kind of doubt it would bolt up to a Pontiac or Olds and they are probably harder to find than an original GM one but it would interesting to try.
When H.A.M.B.er TwinH mentioned that his Hydra was toasted, he really knew what he was talking about... This used to be rear drum annular piston We got the necessary parts now, so rebuilt is on progress. More pictures will be available soon.
55-56 pontiac and 55 cad are the best duel-range boxes that were ever built hands down. if you ever have to rebuild it DO NOT exchange it. Rebuild that one and hope you dont need a front planetary. they are special to these boxes only
More picks as promised... And also more problems!!! As you can see on pictures 1 & 2, the REAR CLUTCH DRUM has severe crack!! That means that now we have an urgent need for replacement part. Dear H.A.M.B.ers, if anyone of you have extra rear clutch drum for sale, please PM me or TwinH. This specified Hydramatic is for TwinH`s Hudson Hornet 1953, but any year / model spares are welcome. Thanx -jupe-
wow that thing got its *** kicked........this is what happens when hydros get TOWED!!!!! problem is in my spare parts stash the parts that get smoked when towed are what i have the least of . but if your are still looking for parts pm me.
Perfect timing to take this up today. That toasted Hydra was running for the very first time today in HAMBer TwinH`s Hudson (it was also first snow in Vaasa/Finland today)... Still missing 3rd and 4th gear. Any tips what could cause this problem?
Disconnect your TV rod at the TV lever, it's the long lever on the side of the transmission. If you get 3 and 4, then adjust your TV (throttle valve) adjustment so that it's a little bit longer. It's trail and error. I would, then look for the problem in the valve body. When the Hydro was driven until it DIED!, all kinds of microscopic debris was strewn through the trany. I just finished a '52 Cad that looked just like your pictures. It was, by far, the most difficult Hydro I ever rebuilt. I dis***embled EVERYTHING, thorughly cleaned EVERYTHING, and re***embled the components, checking every phase to be sure all parts moved freely. Your problem is most likely in the valve body. You are wisest to completely dis***emble the valve body and clean it thoroughly!!!! KEEP TRACK OF WHERE ALL THE PARTS GO!!!!!!!!!!! When you ***emble it back together, make sure all of the valves work freely!!! When the Hydro shifts from 2 to 3, it uses most of the valves in the valve body, plus some in the front and rear servos. It only takes one stuck valve to keep it from shifting.
Thank you for the tips Dirts32! I have removed the valvebody from the transmission and I used compressed air to check that the clutches and bands work properly. I will check that TV rod, it was new information to me. The valvebody has been cleaned but it doesn´t hurt to go over it again.
HAMBer "backyardbeliever" tipped us about the book "Hydra-matic transmission service manual" by PAUL MARSH publication Detroit michigan, printed in 1956. I found the book from eBooks.com and that arrived yesterday. This book is worth of every $, excellent in one word. Thanks "backyardbeliever", me and TwinH highly appreciate your help.
Problem solved finally!!! We took valvebody open 3rd. time, paid more attention with it than ever. We didn`t found any stucked valves, but noticed 2-3 valve did not had the full travel. We polished the channel and valve, checked free travel, put everything back together, went for the test drive, and we have ALL 4 gears now.
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