{"id":2818,"date":"2008-11-15T16:24:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-15T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2008\/11\/fluid-matic\/"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:00:57","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:00:57","slug":"fluid-matic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2008\/11\/fluid-matic\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluid-Matic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1951<\/a><\/p>\n

Many months ago, the CarPort explored the marvels and mysteries of Fluid Drive<\/a>. That installment covered only through 1948, a turning point of sorts. In this episode we tell, as Paul Harvey<\/a> would say, the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

Actually, changes for 1949 were fairly minor. A new M-6 transmission<\/a> replaced the M-5 unit, but the differences were subtle: simplified valving and wiring. More significant was the extension of the semi-automatic box to Dodge<\/a>, which called it Gyro-Matic<\/a>. Chrysler and DeSoto continued into 1950<\/a> with Prestomatic<\/a> and Tip-Toe Shift, respectively.<\/p>\n

The next change was rather illusory, perhaps a marketing gimmick. For 1951<\/a>, Chrysler renamed the system “Fluid-Matic<\/a>,” and added a shift quadrant<\/a> to the steering column. The shifter operated the same way as it had before, and could still be easily handled by “feel” since it retained a modified “H” pattern, but probably the competition’s onrush of fully-automatic transmissions, like Hydra-Matic<\/a> and Fordomatic<\/a>, on which an indicator quadrant was essential, convinced Chrysler that a quadrant, however unnecessary, was important.<\/p>\n

The more significant change for 1951 was Fluid-Torque<\/a>, basically replacement of the fluid coupling with a torque converter<\/a>. Standard equipment on Imperials and optional on New Yorkers, Fluid-Torque was extended to DeSoto with the new Firedome hemi in 1952 and to six-cylinder Chryslers. In mid-1952, a new configuration<\/a> was ushered in, one that used engine oil in the torque converter. Air cooling blades were also added to the outside of the converter.<\/p>\n

For 1953, all Chryslers<\/a>, DeSotos<\/a> and Dodges offered the new Fluid-Torque<\/a>, although in the case of Dodge it was dubbed “Gyro-Torque<\/a>.” Interestingly, Chrysler kept the shift quadrant<\/a>, but deleted the name, perhaps because all models were now “torquey.” Interestingly, while Chrysler used the “short form” of “Fluid-Torque,” DeSoto clung to its Tip-Toe Shift<\/a> designation, adding “Fluid Drive” or “Fluid-Torque” as appropriate.<\/p>\n

For 1954<\/a>, this all became moot, as the fully-automatic PowerFlite<\/a>, stealthily fielded in late-1953 Imperials<\/a>, reached the “upper three” Chrysler marques. The PowerFlite quadrant<\/a> was simple and devoid of boasts, the bragging rights<\/a> being relegated to the rear of the cars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And what of Plymouth<\/a>? Ah, the frequently misunderstood Hy-Drive<\/a>, a combination so intriguing it deserves its own CarPort, sometime soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many months ago, the CarPort explored the marvels and mysteries of Fluid Drive. That installment covered only through 1948, a turning point of sorts. In this episode we tell, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. Actually, changes for 1949 were fairly minor. A new M-6 transmission replaced the M-5 unit, but….<\/span>
Read full article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2818"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3256,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions\/3256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}