1956 Help
June 11th, 2010, 04:41 PM
#1
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Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta
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1956 Help
I have a friend with a 1956 Olds. He wrote to me with the following. I wonder if anyone can suggest something for him. Any help is appreciated.
Ken,
When I got the car both the engine and transmission had some problems. I rebuilt a 394 engine and we changed the transmission to a 1959 and rebuilt it. The transmission shifts from 1-2 imperceptibly, and the 3-4 shift is smooth as well. Unfortunately the 2-3 shift always “hangs –up” and then shifts abruptly. The car is quite drivable but annoying. I had it in to a major transmission shop in Calgary, where they had an old timer who claimed to know all about these transmissions. $500 later it actually was worse, and he claimed “they were all like that”. I know this is not true.
Although the problem may be internal, one concern is that no one has the adjusting tools anymore, so even tho I have a good manual, without the tools I don’t know how to set the TV rod.
Other than “trial and error” which is more difficult than it sounds, does anyone have a suggestion? If not I will do a 700R4 conversion, but that is not cheap.
Any help is appreciated.
John
Ken,
When I got the car both the engine and transmission had some problems. I rebuilt a 394 engine and we changed the transmission to a 1959 and rebuilt it. The transmission shifts from 1-2 imperceptibly, and the 3-4 shift is smooth as well. Unfortunately the 2-3 shift always “hangs –up” and then shifts abruptly. The car is quite drivable but annoying. I had it in to a major transmission shop in Calgary, where they had an old timer who claimed to know all about these transmissions. $500 later it actually was worse, and he claimed “they were all like that”. I know this is not true.
Although the problem may be internal, one concern is that no one has the adjusting tools anymore, so even tho I have a good manual, without the tools I don’t know how to set the TV rod.
Other than “trial and error” which is more difficult than it sounds, does anyone have a suggestion? If not I will do a 700R4 conversion, but that is not cheap.
Any help is appreciated.
John
Last edited by 442much; June 11th, 2010 at 05:00 PM.
June 13th, 2010, 12:43 AM
#2
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: earth
Posts: 287
I have a friend with a 1956 Olds. He wrote to me with the following. I wonder if anyone can suggest something for him. Any help is appreciated.
Ken,
When I got the car both the engine and transmission had some problems. I rebuilt a 394 engine and we changed the transmission to a 1959 and rebuilt it. The transmission shifts from 1-2 imperceptibly, and the 3-4 shift is smooth as well. Unfortunately the 2-3 shift always “hangs –up” and then shifts abruptly. The car is quite drivable but annoying. I had it in to a major transmission shop in Calgary, where they had an old timer who claimed to know all about these transmissions. $500 later it actually was worse, and he claimed “they were all like that”. I know this is not true.
Although the problem may be internal, one concern is that no one has the adjusting tools anymore, so even tho I have a good manual, without the tools I don’t know how to set the TV rod.
Other than “trial and error” which is more difficult than it sounds, does anyone have a suggestion? If not I will do a 700R4 conversion, but that is not cheap.
Any help is appreciated.
John
Ken,
When I got the car both the engine and transmission had some problems. I rebuilt a 394 engine and we changed the transmission to a 1959 and rebuilt it. The transmission shifts from 1-2 imperceptibly, and the 3-4 shift is smooth as well. Unfortunately the 2-3 shift always “hangs –up” and then shifts abruptly. The car is quite drivable but annoying. I had it in to a major transmission shop in Calgary, where they had an old timer who claimed to know all about these transmissions. $500 later it actually was worse, and he claimed “they were all like that”. I know this is not true.
Although the problem may be internal, one concern is that no one has the adjusting tools anymore, so even tho I have a good manual, without the tools I don’t know how to set the TV rod.
Other than “trial and error” which is more difficult than it sounds, does anyone have a suggestion? If not I will do a 700R4 conversion, but that is not cheap.
Any help is appreciated.
John
June 13th, 2010, 01:15 AM
#3
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Southern CA
Posts: 2,212
Was the original '56 trans a Hydra-Matic or a Jetaway and which ('56 or '59) throttle linkage is being used?
Just what the Jetaway was designed to do and the first thing I noticed when I moved from a Hydra-Matic to a Jetaway.
Good example of subjectivity working against accurate communication.
"Hangs up" for how long and how "abruptly" does it shift?.
Jetaway 2-3 shift quality was much like the Hydra-Matic it replaced. Both were quite different in shift quality from more modern automatics, and I would expect anyone who does not know the difference to make the same judgement.
If the "old timer" actually drove the car in question, his would be a more objective opinion, and I would tend to agree with him.
Norm
"Hangs up" for how long and how "abruptly" does it shift?.
Jetaway 2-3 shift quality was much like the Hydra-Matic it replaced. Both were quite different in shift quality from more modern automatics, and I would expect anyone who does not know the difference to make the same judgement.
Norm
June 13th, 2010, 11:05 PM
#4
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 5
Unfortunately, the 2nd to 3rd shift does hang and then shift abruptly. There is a lot going on during that shift. My 55 hydramatic does the same. Through adjustment you can minimize it. Never worked on them but had an old friend who did and told me of this.
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