I'm half way thru a build up of a steel '32 roadster with a '49 331 Cadillac motor. I had originally planned on using a 4 speed Muncie but keep looking at the hydromatic already behind the 331. Any thoughts on which would be the better way to go, M20 Muncie or the old Cadillac Hydromatic?
'52-'55 Dual range is the hydro you want. Bellhousing, flywheel and linkage you'll need for manual trans can be expensive and hard to find, at least for stock Olds/Cad parts. 302
If you're the type that thinks a hot rod HAS to have three pedals go with the Muncie. If not, give some consideration to the early Hydro. As another poster said the 52-55 dual range Hydro is the best of the bunch, but the 49-51 single range will work OK. My roadster's had one of the single range ******'s in it for at least 40 years. Rebuilt once and it stills works good, though I just picked up a '52 Olds ****** to replace it. I would look for the Olds Hydro simply for the shorter (a lot) tailshaft. And the Olds should be a direct bolt-up behind that early '331. Parts for the Hydro aren't cheap, but then finding the clutch and bellhousing parts to put a Muncie behind the Cad won't be cheap either.
Thanks for the thoughts. As I already have the '49 single range it would be the one I use. Any ideas on a floor shifter?
I've heard that one of the major companies (Gennie Shifter or the like) would custom build a Hydro shifter, but again, that's just hearsay. I built the one in my roadster; bought a shifter of unknown origin or application at a swap meet for $5 and salvaged the pivot and lever. Added a neutral-start switch, built the mount and linkage, and had to modify the shift lever on the ******. It turned out well, though I'll probably have to modify it some when I go to the later dual-range Hydro. Other than building your own, I'd keep an eye on E-bay in hopes one would turn up.
here's some stuff so you can read up on hydros. www.rodnkustom.com/rocketeers/hydramatic/index.html me and my brother both run'em,they're plenty stout.
Listen to Yorgatron about Hyrdo's- He knows his stuff! He was kind enough to help me set mine up. I was in the same boat as you- Bought a 55 Cad motor for my 29 roadster, and it came with the Hydramatic already attached. To save money and time, I ran it- They are tough, tough ******s, and will shift when you want them to, once you disable the TV (throttle vac.) linkage. I miss stick shifting though...
not me. i got stuck in traffic at the 80/580/880/bridge traffic b.s. a couple weeks ago in a stick shift dodge van,around rush hour. made me miss my hydro
I'm a little unsure of how to setup the linkage. Looking at the Cadillac shop manual it shows a shifting rod that goes to the carb. I have that linkage and figured I'd rig it in place to the dual quads. I'd be a whole lot happier not having to do this. BTW I bought a trans adapter for the Muncie to fit the 331 from Wilcap. They hadn't done one before but managed to make one in a months time. Real good guys to work with.
The trans adapter, lower clutch cover, new flywheel and hydraulic clutch package was around $750 total.
So you are saying you had a real hotrod at the time built in the time with an auto?there you go guys if that ain't traditional i dunno what is.Any pics?......Marq
So...Do I need to hook up additional linkage between the Hydro and the engine? Or will the transmisson shift without the throttle valve hooked to the motor?
Didn't read this whole post.I like pictures. We did a turbo 350 Gennie shifter behind a early Cad. Worked out great.
You have to have the throttle valve hooked up or you CAN fry the ******. You could hook a choke cable up to the throttle valve lever on the ****** which would give you some control over the shift points, etc. Pull it out just before you leave the stoplight, then push it in as you pull up to the next light. My roadster came with a Mickey Mouse setup like this which I promptly changed to a throttle/****** connection. Seriously, low throttle pressure (meaning hyd. pressure in the trans valve body) will cause early, slipping shifts, while too much throttle pressure, while making the shifts to come at a higher RPM, will make for some rough downshifts and possibly even broken internal parts. Mine took some experimentation to get right, the combination of dual-quads and a much lighter car than the original Cadillac mean I had to dial in more throttle pressure to get the shifts where I needed them.
Marq, I HAVE a real hotrod, '31 A roadster built in SoCal in the late fifties/early sixties era. '331 Cad, early Hydro, '57 Chev. rear end and etc. When I tore the old interior out, I found the doors had been stuffed with Long Beach, Ca. newspapers dated in Dec. 1965. Believe I'm the third owner since it was hot-rodded. While its not exactly like it was back in the day; wheels and tires, interior, paint and steering gear have been changed, its mostly like it was in 1965. Mostly traditional, anyway. I used to have some pictures on the HAMB, but don't have a photo hosting account set up any more.
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