Sawzall and I went to a yard today and on the way back we stopped in by a repair shop that had a 49 4 door sitting in the lot...it was all stock...and really nice too, but i noticed that it had an automatic in it..i only saw it from the bottom, but looked similar to a fordomatic, or mercomatic... so.... When was the first auto transmissions? I thought it was first in 51 for mercury's, and fords, i know buicks had one right? anyone, with some knowledge??? Tok
Hi Tok-I had a 47 lincoln Continental here a while back at the shop that was a V16 2 speed auto ******.
Believe it or not, Lincoln used the General Motors Hydramatic transmission for a couple of years...I think '49 was the first year. Frank
toke you still thinking about going automatic? I might not use that fordomatic I'm getting from dave's '49... let me know if you want it! Tuck
****.....ahaha...no auto's for me on the merc...gonna rebuild the overdrive, one piece at a time...ya know.. thanks for asking...I just thought that it was kinda wierd cuz i never saw one before that early and appearing original..
49-54 lincolns had hydramatics, and the contintals were V-12 with no trans options. but most were changed out for one thing or another
An oldtimer told me that the Lincoln transmission plant burned down in early 1949 and they were forced to buy transmissions from GM. Early 1949 Lincolns had three speed manual transmissions.
Drop tank- Your story is a mix of 2, but both are sorta true! The 49 Lincoln (I have one, so I know all this geeky knowledge) actually came out in mid 48- Lincoln was trying get a sales jump on Cadillac. It came standard with a 3spd/OD and a 337 c.i. flathead. When the Cad appeared in early 49 with an overhead valve motor and an optional automatic, the Lincoln instantly looked much less luxurious and a bit outdated!! After a few months of FoMoCo struggling to design a heavy duty auto for the Linc, they bit the the bullet, swallowed their pride, and borrowed the Hydramatic from GM. (Later, other manufaturers used the ****** as well). A cigarette-sparked fire in 1953 burned a GM Hydramatic plant in Lavonia to the ground.. That year, 28,000 Cadillacs were built with Buick Dynaflow transmissions! There you go... jay
Olds had the first automatic in 1939 (called a semi automatic) chrysler came out in 1940 and ford brought theirs out in 1951 ford and merc and lincoln switched to the Ford unit in 1955
Hudson had a cool electric shift that actually move the clutch and shifter when you lift the pedal. it had a minature electric shifter on the column that you pre selected the gear. in the trunk was an emergency floor shifter that could be put into use when the electric unit screwed up. it was offered from 35-46 rambler offered an electric clutch up to about 1960 (only saw live one) kind of like VW'S automatic stick shift that came out in the late 60's
Buick brought the Dynaflow out in 49 but built 1500 units in 48. my 48 roadmaster sedanette was one of 1500
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