I used to watch guys blow apart a stock housing trans, replace all the parts and have it back together in under an hour. Before the aftermarket housings you had to use stock in your racers and wrap em in a blanket or have a full shield. The low buck street racers would shag Vega converters for a cheap high stall alternative. I like to thank (blame?) N20 for the end of that habit. Watching a trans blow in a late night street race looked like a nitro blower explosion sometimes.
I had an aluminum glide with Vega converter in a Model A. Was fine up til you want overdrive. Replaced it with a turbo 350. Not much difference.
I had one in a ‘65 ElCamino, real tired 283. Transmission didn’t slip or slide. I didn’t beat on it, just drove it. Always wondered if that was a Ford vs Chevy thing.
I have an Aluminum Powerglide that needs a rebuild $200 OBO. Pick up in Los Angeles Sunland Ca 91040 Email jwillia100@aol.com Ph818 951 0435
We used to do "front jobs" on them. It was an easy way to get a sick one back up and running. We had an Ammco that sold us the parts and gaskets.
Hello, We are/were in the same camp. We drove it for plenty of normal city drives and added in our long distance adventures to boot. The Powerglide was as reliable as any on the market and we had no worries in the dry desert environments or cold icy mountains, either. We already had years of experience with a Dynaflow on our dad’s long line of Buicks. That was a slider if there ever was one. But, it was reliable and nice for the “old folks” back then. Also, our experience with the C&O Stick Hydro in the 58 Impala was an impressive conversion done by the guys in Torrance/Gardena area in 1960. For us, those were special situation cars, daily drivers and for a teenager’s hot rod/drag race experiences. But, the capper was my new 1965 Chevy El Camino. I sold the Flathead sedan delivery and the 58 Impala to separate teenagers, ready for their own adventures. My new 65 El Camino was going to be one heck of a car with all the new stuff I had been reading about for months. 396 c.i.motor, 4 speed, bucket seats and Positraction that was available on the 65 Chevy Malibu Sedan. So, my El Camino was going to get the same treatment straight from the factory… NOT!!! Jnaki After going ten rounds with 4 local Long Beach/Lakewood Chevy dealers with the slogan… “We can get any car from the factory you want… come in and order now!” All I can say is that it was a sales ploy and they just wanted to get you in the showroom. NO 396 c.i, NO 4 speed at all, NO bucket seats, but I could get a 4:11-4:56 Positraction. Great! What I got was a 327, 4 barrel, Powerglide, bench seat and of course, 4:11 Positraction. What happened to my wanting the super El Camino in 1965? Well, it was all there, but not for the factory order sheet, El Camino model. The S/S Malibu got all of the marbles and no one else. But, one year later, my friend ordered a 1966 El Camino with bucket seats, 4 speed and a 4 barrel 396 motor. Yes, 4:11 Positraction was available. Now he had a cool car for our desert motorcycle racing adventures and we switched off from one El Camino to the other. Why did he get all of what I wanted one year earlier? Who knows? So, when I sold it the 327 and Powerglide they were the most reliable combination of any car owned or driven by me. A 125,000 miles of pure pleasure from local surf spots, Baja Mexico forays, a ton of “up the California coast” to the S.F Bay Area for music, photos shoots and car shows with my college age girlfriend, who later became my wife to this day. All good things have side effects that last a long time. It was a pleasurable cruiser and not a race car or a car that gets bashed around. It was a good city car, long distance cruiser and the only thing was lack of secure space for storage. The Powerglide, who could dispute untold happy cruising miles without a worry about repairs... YRMV
They're actually a good transmission; despite the "Slip and Slide with Powerglide" reputation they had. I remember the first time I saw one in a race car; a Chevy II at SIR. Light goes green and he takes off... I'm listening for the first shift and it just keeps winding up. Finally shifts at about the 800 ft. mark and I thought he had a transmission problem until I checked it out in the pits and discovered he was running a PG.
Had a '57 chev when I was in high school with a 283 automatic. I found it to be very sluggish with that 2 speed auto. Tried out a '56 chev with a 265 standard and wow.. what a difference. That car was really perky. So I am not a lover of Powerglide transmissions. They belong in a really light car.
I had a power glide in a 66 c10, factory 327, 4 barrel, power glide, 3.73 posi. It worked ok. I put a turbo 350 in it, it worked much better. I had a cast Iron power glide from a 57 Chevy, I scrapped it. I got another, aluminum one, it got scrapped after trying for years to sell it. I have no love for 2 gears, although I can see it's advantage in a T bucket.
Bringing this back up as I just brought a Powerglide home yezterday. I forgot just how small and light they are. The only thing I have to consider now for the Whatever project is can I adapt the unique firewall/rear engine mount/bellhousing support to it. Good thing the front engine mount just floats right now...
I have one now in a '66 Belair I picked up. It was a little low on fluid, topped it off but it still has a slight 1-2 shift flare to it. It has improved since I have been driving it more. I'm going to drop the fluid and filter next. My last one was in a '68 Chevy Impala Custom Coupe. I should have saved it when I scrapped it around 1990.
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