i have a 303 and a 324 Olds motors with hydros. what other type of trannys can i mount up to it with out an adapter plate? i've been told by plenty of people that hydros are the best to use but would they withstand the L.A traffic everyday? i'm really looking for reliabilty. thanks
Foiled again looked into this, PM him. Lots of drag racin aftermarket components an parts. A very expeienced Vincent motorcycle engineer I know, with a very well equipped machine shop, rebuilt a Hydramatic a couple years ago..."It was the most complex and technically challenging thing I ever did"
[ QUOTE ] i have a 303 and a 324 Olds motors with hydros. what other type of trannys can i mount up to it with out an adapter plate? i've been told by plenty of people that hydros are the best to use but would they withstand the L.A traffic everyday? i'm really looking for reliabilty. thanks [/ QUOTE ] I drove a '55 Olds in LA traffic for 12 years in the 70's-80's run fine blow the doors off anything off th line. Just make sure you have your idle set at EXACTLY365 rpm and the Transmission Throttle Valve rod adjusted correctly and it will be just fine. I lived in Pasadena up Ave 64 from Highland Park back then so, Yea, it's the same sorta hood.
DrJ would you know of any good shops that know how to rebuild hydros? also do you have links to any web sites i can check out? i'm gonna drop that 324 in my 1935 Olds. i work in Pasadena on Colorado bettween Lake and Hill. you went from one end of the fwy to the other.
[ QUOTE ] A very expeienced Vincent motorcycle engineer I know, with a very well equipped machine shop, rebuilt a Hydramatic a couple years ago..."It was the most complex and technically challenging thing I ever did" [/ QUOTE ] You are kidding, I hope? I'm just a dumb old millwright and I've managed to stumble my way through a couple of Hydros over the years. IMHO its one of the best and simplest automatics ever designed. It was as easy to work on as a more modern C4 and a lot better than all of its contemporaries. Only disadvantages are weight and lack of a torque converter. Get some good shop manuals for the era of Hydro you're working on; a set of band adjusting tools make life easier but are only absolutely required if you're working on very late Hydros without an external band adjustment. Rebuild parts are still available but pricey. The comment about idle speed and throttle valve linkage adjustments are right on. As far as reliability goes, I've heard it said that if the Hydro is in good condition and properly set-up you won't break it with anything you drive on the street. Drag racing with a LOT of horsepower is another matter, and requires modifications ala the old B&M Hydrostick
[ QUOTE ] Embarrassed pause...50 Pontiacs DO have Hydramatics, don't they? [/ QUOTE ] Ramblers and Rolls Royces did too
lets say you guys where in my shoes and had a 1935 Olds with a 324 rocket and stock 56 Holiday rear end. what year and make of trans would you use to push you around town? just looking for some different ideas. the whole drive train came out of a 56 Olds Holiday. i'm a becoming a rocketeer in training. i know about chevy and fords but olds i'm doing a lot of reading on. can i get some links to some sites for parts.
anyone know of somone in socal who could check out my slim jim in my 61? no one ive talked to has a clue about em wes
..........and Nashes and Hudsons... Hey, Olds' in '56 came with 2 different trannys. Most of the 88's and super 88's were fitted with the left-over 4 speed slant-pan hydros but the ninety eights had the new tranny that had a real-live "Park" position instead of just popping the shifter in reverse after shutting the engine off. If I had a 35 Olds and I was gonna use that '56, 324 engine, I'd use the early [88] slant pan hydro but I'd never use another late '56 tranny....ever again! I blew mine up in a 56 Olds 98 convertible, back in 1965 and even then, nobody would work on it.I had to part the car out...used the 324 in a $10 cherry-pie 50 ford 2 door sedan with the stock ford tranny behind it.....gave new meaning to the phrase,"blowing a transmission"......spectacular! ps, I got a buddy back here building a black 35 Olds 3 window coupe using the flathead 6 engine with a few tricks.A very nice car!
low springs, we should hook up again and ill show you the schematics for that tranny will send those links to you tommorow... slipped my mind the hydra-matic had a real *park* position, came out of a 56 holiday 88... heard a couple opinions on this type of tranny. 1) better than a dyna-flow 2) old trannys suck... too expensive and difficult to rebuild
[ QUOTE ] ps, I got a buddy back here building a black 35 Olds 3 window coupe using the flathead 6 engine with a few tricks.A very nice car! [/ QUOTE ] thanks for the info. would you have pics of your buddys 35. thats the exact same thing i have same color also. does he have the suicide doors too? what kind of tricks did he put on it? i was wondering if i should put the 324 or rebuild the flat 6. LMK
"Lot's of aftermarket and race parts for the early hydro's"??? News to me. If ya ain't blowing smoke, fill us all in. Some of us are figuring that we'll have to have all our race parts for the early hydro's made custom...
low springs, DrJ & Rocky are absolutely right. The slant pan hydro was a better transmission & adjustments after installing it is a MUST!! Hydros are not that hard to rebuild by any qualified rebuilder, but parts are getting pricey & hard to get. Give us more info on what type this is & we can help more. PS, this is not a transmission a back yarder should tackle. Dave
Lost rings......I'll snap a photo or 3 of the olds. All 35 GM cars used suicide doors except hold-over 34's, like the 35 Chevy standard models. All 35 masters and big GM's had suicide doors for 35 only.. then back to rear opening doors for 36... Donnie used 36 Olds rods in his engine for better oiling and he had the head shaved a bit..that's all so far. His has the front clip off for cleaning and engine work. I think he's got the engine back in the car now. Oh yeah, he fabbed his own front mount because he used a 36 front cover which had a different front motor mount bracket...
Go with the early hydro, if in fact that's what you have with the 324. Some of the 56's had Dynaflows Geez, I must be a hell of a lot smarter than I think I am, as it didn't seem they were that hard to work on. While I wouldn't want anyone to get in over their head; someone with a little transmission experience, some patience and a little mechanical apptitude should be able to go through one if he takes his time and follows the book. Just MHO, however. As far as cost goes; yeah parts are more expensive than for a 350 TH, but you'll have something a little more unique when you're done.
The ones to use for hot-rods are the '52-up dual-range units, not the '51-back single-range units. That tidbit comes from B&M (old tech not nutech).
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