Did Oldsmobile ever offer a 4sp hydro matic

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I stand corrected on my "scam" comment.
You're correct about the NHRA stock cl***
rules at the time. Another combination that
was legal for a while but then later banned
when NHRA changed their rules for Stock
was use of the 4-speed manual trans in
'57 Chev p***enger cars.

Mart3406
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Early on a B&M Hydro was the king of drag racing transmissions,especially in g***ers. Very durable if modified properly.

 

Thats the greatest answer i ever heard! I've got tears in my eyes over here....

 

I was in the Air Force in Guam and they would have all the vehicle traffic stop beside each other until you got a green light from the control tower to cross the runway. They wanted all the trucks to cross at one time and get out of the way of the next landing airplane. The GMC M-211 which is the one with the 4 speed Hydramatic would easily beat any other 6 X 6. They would almost do a wheelie.

 

In my opinion,, they are the best automatic transmission ever made... That being said,, I'm swapping mine out for a stick setup (the best auto is still worse than the most mediocre 3-pedal design out there, as far as I'm concerned).... I like to do my own shifting.... If I ever go on a walking tour of Bosnia and lose a leg, well,, then I'll build the most bad-***ed Hydramatic this side of the Iron Curtain.... Until then, I'll be busy trying to make 3 pedals and a column shift fit in my Model A along side the 303.....

I'm in South Central PA and I've the transmission, complete from flywheel back, off of my '51 303 (this is NOT the earlier version that has the bellhousing cast as part of the block... All that **** is seperate on this unit, and up for grabs).... Any interest...???

And yes,, that thing is HEAVY... I nearly went "Challenger-mode" and blew out my O-ring lifting it onto a dolly by myself..... Good thing I remembered to lift with the back, in a sharp jerking motion......

 

"Challenger Mode" LMAO

 

I know a lot of G***ers used the 4 speed Hydra. Anyone know if any other type of drag cars used it, altereds, dragsters?

 

At one time there was only one Hyrda-Matic, so if you had one it was basically the same regardless of whet it was installed in. At one time or another that could have been a GM car, a Lincoln, or even a Rolls-Royce. GM sold them to a variety of compe***ors.

The first m*** produced, fully automatic transmission, the Hydra-Matic, was introduced in the '40 Olds. Dating two or three years prior to that there were Hydra-Matics that had a standard dry clutch and no fluid coupling. I don't know what, if anything, those clutch-hydros were installed in(could have been a test or prototype unit?), but I have seen one.

The Henry Ford Museum has a replica of a '40 Olds display ch***is that commemorates the first Hydra-Matic. To see it click the link below:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1316825&d=1304997440

 

Modified Production...... There was a period when a Chevy sedan delivery with a 327/365 engine and Hydra-Matic trans was a good choice for one of the cl***es. That combination was never offered, but back then GM would put together odd combinations(for example, the famous COPO 427 Camaros). If the combination was a reasonable theoretical possibility that could have been special ordered, it was legal for the cl***.

 

My 46 Olds sedanette came with OEM hydramatic. A big heavy cast iron unit with torus coupling. 2 x low, 2 x high, direct 4th, not OD. No park in column detent and no external oil lines. Not sure when Park was introduced but I have seen it where low detent is in a Caddy and not in the usual spot.

 

My 47 Olds fastback came stock that way.I have a rebuilt one with a 303 going in it this winter.Shifts nice.They are funny animals,mine doesnt have Park,you place it in reverse when parked.Parts can still be had and if you need a guys name to rebuild it get ahold of me. JF

 

Olds, Cadillac and Pontiac used the Hydro in various versions through 1960. Cadillac kept it through '64, as did Pontiac Bonneville. Olds I'm less sure if they had a model with the by then dual-coupling Hydro.

Park was added when they went to the dual-coupling design in 1956, they all have reverse at the far right, PNDTSLR instead of PRNDSL. Some the indicator reads D1 and D2 rather than D and a T or 3 for third.

But what a blast to drive one, for an auto, they were fun. You could wind third out to about 70 mph and fly up highway onramps with them. My two-ton Pontiac could outrace a then-new Eagle Talon if I wanted to push it.

 

Early Hydra-Matics didn't need a dedicated park feature. Placing the gear selector in reverse did the same thing as park when the engine wasn't running.

 

well, not all of them, mostly the OLDS ones would start in 1st and shift to 2nd in LO range. A lot of them started in 2nd, I know my 54 Cadillac did, my Hudson, Lincoln do too!

Push starting single and dual range hydros were never a problem. All of them had rear pumps.
The Dual coupling hydramatic, aka Jetaway, Stratoflight, Super hydramatic, flashaway had rear pumps up to 58, then in 59 GM removed the rear pump.

As far a GM, the Powerglides, Turboglides, and dynaflows (not 3t or flightpitch) could be push started even after 59.

One last thing, in DR3 or S you could wind the car out as far as 70mph, then the hydramatic would shift up to 4th, but then when you slowed down to less than 70mph the transmission would shift back to 3rd.
This also happens in LO, but the transmission shifts directly to 4th.

This feature is on single and dual range hydros, along with dual coupling units.

BTW: The hydramatics mentioned above actually locked up in 4th gear, in other words you had a hard mechanical coupling from engine to driveshaft. This was because the torus cover drove the front planetary directly, so when the car was in either 2nd or 4th the front clutch (or in the case of the dual coupling type, the controlled coupling) was engaged. In 4th the rear clutch was engaged too, thus a complete mechanical coupling front to back.

And all of this from Earl Thompson, Luke Beach, and the rest of those geniuses from the Hydramatic design group. I agree, the dual range hydro is THEE finest auto ever, given the era it was designed and developed. Chrysler was working on Torqueflite 20 years later!!! (2nd best auto)

 

I believe the automatic '49 Cadillac I had for a while was as you describe.