Talking about the older, non electronically controlled ones, like the TH 350 and Torqueflite. I never really looked into it, but I don't recall ever reading about it being done anywhere. I know there are manual valve bodies available, but it seems those were intended for drag racing. What I'm thinking of would be pretty much a clutchless manual that could be driven in traffic. I have no plans on doing this, I don't even own a car with an automatic, but it's something I've wondered about.
I have known plenty of folks who have driven a manual valve body equipped "automatic" on the street. As I recall, the shifts were harsh, and nobody was too thrilled after a few weeks.
Most automatics can be driven manually, the only thing is you can't upshift sooner than the transmission wants to upshift. Get a manual valve body if you want to upshift early
I drove a Torqueflite with a manual valve body on the street. It's not terribly streetable, but neither was the rest of the car. That didn't stop me.
If you're just talking about a manual valve body. I drive mine all the time on the street. And I love it. I spent a lot of money on my trans and convertor to do it right. The convertor flashes like I'm side stepping a clutch. And as far as the shifts being harsh they're not at all. Yes nice and firm but not harsh. Of course that depends how hard you're on the throttle. 😀 Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
^^^^^^, X 2. I have a full manual valve body in my th350 in my OT Chevelle. I love it, and don't see any reason it is not streetable.
Circle track guys have used "Manual" Power Glides for years. They use a coupler between the crank and the input (no converter) and a rerouted pump output-it pushes oil to a valve which is operated by a dummy clutch pedal and from there back to the transmission servos. Fire up the engine, select low gear and open the valve with the pedal, and off you go. And, of course, there were the Clutchflites-a Chrysler Torqueflite with a mechanical friction clutch replacing the torque converter.c
My last two automatics were manual shift, and mostly street driven. My Austin g***er is a TH350 with manual shift, and works great. There are peculiarities that you accept, such as forgetting to downshift when you take off. I've also found that letting off when shifting will usually cause a harder shift than staying steady on the throttle, or being aggressive on the throttle. But I'd much rather have a manual shift automatic than a standard automatic in a hotrod. I personally have never gotten tired of shifting a car, which is why my present build got a 4 speed. I'd just rather choose when to shift, even if it's slower ET than an automatic.
If you use the transgo kit you can change back to auto if you get tired of shifting or tired of replacing burnt clutches if you keep forgetting to start off in low.
You can control an automatic with the gear lever if you want, with no changes. Shift down to hold a lower gear and shift up when you want. Some economy cars like Chevy Nova and Rambler offered a cheaper version of an automatic with manual shift. It cost a few bucks less than automatic. More or less a waste of time because it was just an auto with a different valve body. They also made a few Twin Stick shift cars in the sixties. I know AMC had them and possibly others. You could select full automatic or manual shift. Hudson had a real weird one from the late 30s to about 1950. It was called Hudson Drivemaster. There were 3 push****ons on the dash. Press the first ****on and you have a straight 3 speed standard. Press the second ****on and you have automatic clutch, hand shift. Press the third ****on and you have full automatic shift. Early ones with floor shift ******s, had a detachable shift lever you could pull out of the floor when in full automatic mode. So ya, you can have a manual shift auto if you want one.
I always intall a B/M transpak on level 2 when I use a TH350, allows full manual operation or automatic shifting if left in drive.
i drive my manual powerglide on the street, actually the manual powerglide is a lot more streetable that a auto powerglide. The auto powerglides seem to always shift to early anyway.
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