automatic with a clutch

As a kid, I remember my cousin driving an old Plymouth (maybe a '54) that she said had an "automatic with a clutch". For some reason, that phrase came to mind today. Here is what I found on Wikipedia. Interesting.

The Hy-Drive was a Chrysler Corporation semi-automatic transmission introduced in 1953 in US-market Plymouths.[1] It was a hybrid manual transmission equipped with a torque converter, like an automatic. Although Hy-Drive cars had a clutch pedal like a traditional manual transmission, it was only used to put the car in gear. Once underway, the driver could upshift and downshift using the gear shift without using the clutch or even lifting off the accelerator.

The industry was caught by surprise by the advent of the automatic transmission in the early-to-late-1940s. General Motors' Dynaflow, introduced by Buick in 1948,[2] was a smash hit with the public, very soon being fitted in over 80% of new Buicks.[3] (GM's fully automatic Hydramatic, which debuted in 1939, was in 70% of Pontiacs that year.[4]) Chrysler had previously offered a Fluid Drive fluid coupling (not a torque converter, as it did not multiply the torque) on their manual transmissions, and the Hy-Drive was an evolution of this. It was sold by Plymouth for the entire 1953 model year, and into April of the 1954 model year, when the fully automatic PowerFlite became [5] available.[2] About 75,000 cars came equipped with this transmission.

Contents

• 1Trivia
• 2See also
• 3References
• 4Notes

Trivia[edit]

• The Hy-Drive was so large it required a complete reengineering of the engine compartment and transmission tunnel.
• Export Plymouth-based Dodges and DeSotos could be ordered with Hy-Drive.
• Hy-Drive transmissions shared the engine's lubricating oil, requiring 11 quarts (10.4 L) for an oil change.

I was expecting a discussion of the clutchflite conversion..

1953 or 4 Chrysler that my brother had with the Hy-Drive got me in trouble.
I was doing burnouts in the backyard when no one was home. Broke the pinion teeth.

53 Windsor

We had 53 Dodge Meadowbrook that had that transmission with clutch

todays lenco has planetaries but you use the clutch for 1st ....and you CAN use them for the other gears but not necessary. IIRC.

The fluid drive was available in several versions over the years. Some were just a standard three speed with an extra long input shaft and had a clutch mounted on a converter. Others had a low and hi range with electric solenoids controlling two speeds in each range. It was an elaborate wiring system which connected to the throttle linkage. Sad part, upper range in Low was almost identical to lower range in Hi. But I'd rather discuss the clutch-flite. Oh, and the 1939 GM Hydramatic was not available in Pontiacs at all that year. It was actually pioneered by Oldsmobile.

You can still find the old B&M Clutch A Matic conversions from time to time.

We had a '49 Chrysler Windser, flat head six, it had a clutchflight? Don't remember it having a low, just 2nd, 3rd and reverse. '49 Chrysler New Yorker with a flat head straight eight was the same.

They were known for getting stuck on steep inclines like parking garages. Uncle had a 53? Desoto Club Coupe with one of those things on the tree. Mohair too!

My Mom's Dad loved the damned fluid drives when I was a kid. They have no "gear" or "park." You MUST keep the (driveshaft mounted) parking brake in good condition. But my Gramma either would not set it hard enough, and it would roll, or forget it and drive off and burn it up, or not set it at all and it'd roll

They had I think three, and in the end of "that run" of some ? 10-15 years or whatever, the last one ended up a green car with a tan front clip--a combo of two of them that had been wrecked

One rolled down a steep hill up above our place. The other happened down the street, which interestingly, was the daughter of the lady which lived on the big hill where the other got wrecked. The place down the street had a narrow driveway that went downhill from the street, across a terrible little bridge over a small creek, and then sort of level to the house

Gramma was skeered of the drive in the winter, and parked near the road. She started to walk down to the house, and the car came chasing after. She got out of the way, the car went off the bridge

I don't remember the details, anymore, of what years/ models these were, all '50's Dodge flatty sixes with some sort of fluid drive The remains of the tan one lay out back of Gramps barn for several years

The X at far left is on the big hill, and the curser and arrow on the right is the place with the narrow bridge

Have to apologize for such a long post.
Dels post above reminded me of one... I had this friend named Johnny and from 14 to 16 we could get into all kinds of trouble. We were bad influence on each other I guess. So the old man (Harold) next door to Johnny didn't like us at all. Since the metal gasoline cans were the same, Johnny would jump the fence a trade a empty for a can with gas in it. About a year after Harold and his son Charles used rollers to put a fresh coat of silver paint on the chain link fence between the properties, Johnny and I decided to use gasoline to burn the weeds off the fence. Yep, we used his gas. LMAO Anyway... Harolds wife drove a big Mercury. She would park it just outside the double gates on far side of their house. One evening we went out to Johnnys backyard to throw a baseball, feck around in general, and noticed that Mercury was against the fence all the way down at bottom of their backyard. Johnny marches right up to their front door and says, "Harold, Do you know your wifes car is against your fence way back yonder?" He went mad! Even though he did find the column shifter in a neutral spot between reverse and park, he didn't want to believe we had nothing to do with this. He hadn't put a hole in the asphalt drive for the little stake that anchors one gate. The big ol' Merc' pushed it right open. Good that it was a slow downhill grade. No real harm done.
My first full time job after high school was in my uncles machine shop. Quinns Machine Works built a piece of textile machinery called a Picker. I was started in erect room ( the joke job title was pecker erector ). Guess who was the leader of erect room crew? Yep, Johnnys neighbor Harold. I worked with him for 4 years. I'm pretty sure I had convinced him that Johnny and I didn't mess with his wifes car. During my last year at Quinns, I took on a part time job in a local game room ( just trying to earn more money, get married and all ).
My coworker Harold bought a new boat and wanted a CB radio for it. Just so happens that I know of some chit heads that break into cars a steal radios ( the game room crowd ). I got Harold a nice Midland 40 channel for 25 bucks. He was tickled. He wired it up and hauled the boat to somewhere on Saturday to get the standing wave on antenna set up. Sunday night, someone stole the radio out of his boat. He swore I set him up. "You told them where the radio was". could not look at me without growling from that Monday onward. R.I.P. Harold Dubois.