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Saw a 1969 Cutlass 4 dr sedan that had only P R N D L on the column indicator, meaning Jetaway?
THM400 had P R N D L2 L1... what was the pattern for THM350?
Could that have been a early build '69? I thought the TH350 replaced the Jetaway across the board in '69. PRNDL (no "S" or "L2" between "D" and "L") is a pretty solid indicator the AT under the floor pan hump has only 2 forward gears.
The TH350 was not released until part way through the 1969 model year. The Jetaway was offered until then. Jetaway cars got a PRNDL shift quadrant. Three speed Oldsmobiles (TH350 and TH400) got the same PRNDSL quadrant. What Chevy did is irrelevant. "S" is sometimes called Second and sometimes called Super. The name is irrelevant. The function is to only allow the trans to access first and second gears. There is nothing magic about the "S" position.
The TH350 was not released until part way through the 1969 model year. The Jetaway was offered until then. Jetaway cars got a PRNDL shift quadrant. Three speed Oldsmobiles (TH350 and TH400) got the same PRNDSL quadrant. What Chevy did is irrelevant. "S" is sometimes called Second and sometimes called Super. The name is irrelevant. The function is to only allow the trans to access first and second gears. There is nothing magic about the "S" position.
Oh yes it was, Joe. When you were a 13 yr old and you were riding in a new Oldsmobile, and the driver said watch this: and floored it in "super" it was "magic"!! Ha Ha..
And what Chevy did was quite relevent to those of us who own both! lol
My '68 Caprice has 327 4 bbl and THM400, not real common.
I've seen 2 '69 Cutlass 4 drs with Jetaway recently. Was Jetaway different from Chevy's 2 spd Powerglide?
My wife's Dad had a '69 Malibu coupe with 250 six and Powerglide. Olds used the Chev 250 in '69, so was it Jetaway or Powerglide that was standard with it?
Last edited by holidaysedan; December 17th, 2019 at 11:06 AM.
Also known as the Super Turbine 300. Used by Buick, Olds, and Pontiac starting with the redesigned 1964 A-body cars. Buick and Olds used a switch pitch converter for the 1964-67 model years.
Ah yes, thanks, that one I know....remember driving the neighbor's '65 Skylark when it was about 2-3 yr old, you could sort-of hear it do it's whining thing. Switch Pitch worked very well, wonder why they eliminated it - probably the usual: $$$
So whose 2 spd auto did Cutlasses with Chev's inline 250 six get? Seem like they could go either way, that is if a Jetaway would actually bolt up.
Last edited by holidaysedan; December 17th, 2019 at 01:20 PM.
OK research reveals the Super Turbine 300 aka Jetaway was produced only with a BOP bellhousing, therefore Cutlass models that got the Chev straight 6 after the Buick V6 was nla suffered the ignomy of being saddled with Chev's PowerGlide (which actually was a pretty tough transmission!) lol
OK research reveals the Super Turbine 300 aka Jetaway was produced only with a BOP bellhousing, therefore Cutlass models that got the Chev straight 6 after the Buick V6 was nla suffered the ignomy of being saddled with Chev's PowerGlide (which actually was a pretty tough transmission!) lol
Sorry, but that is not correct. ST300s used behind the Chevy I6 came with a dual pattern bellhousing. This is shown in the Product Information Manuals (aka Assembly Manual). Oldsmobile NEVER used a Powerglide trans, ever. Here are photos of a Jetaway/ST300 with the dual pattern bell. Also note the drawing in the lower RH corner of the page from the PIM below.
Here is the Super Turbine 300 wiki that I based that last post on, which says it was drilled for Chevy but not used as such. I have no stake either way, but good to know what's what in any event:
"From 1967-1969, the Super Turbine 300 was also available on the sporty Pontiac Firebird with the overhead cam inline six (230 and 250 cubic inches) or small V8 engines (326 and 350 cubic inches). Some of the rare later ST300's had a bell housing that was cast like a "multi-case", but was never drilled from the factory for the Chevrolet pattern in the United States other than the two lowest bolt holes that are shared, and never installed on any Chevy engine from the factory in the United States. It conceivably could have been drilled for the Chevrolet but there was never a reason to do that as the Powerglide was a strong transmission."
I've seen plenty of misinformation in factory manuals, and in wiki's for that matter, but as I said I have no dog in this hunt, just curious for curiosity's sake.
Last edited by holidaysedan; December 17th, 2019 at 02:13 PM.
Oh, if it's on the interwebs, then it MUST be true...
Here's a hint when doing research. Don't just rely on stuff you read on the web.
I'll go with an Oldsmobile document from 1965 and my own eyes. I will also challenge you to find any reference to the PG trans in any Oldsmobile factory service manual. The manuals tell you how to rebuild the Chevy motor, but the only automatic transmissions are the JT or the TH.
My friend has an original 1969 F-85 with the Chebby I6 and a Jetaway. 'Nuf said.
Um...thanks you for that profound advice. II'm not trying to "challenge" anyone. And I specifically stated I've seen plenty of misinformation in Wikis (ie the internet), but you just couldn't resist the snark, huh Mr Know it All?
Um...thanks you for that profound advice. II'm not trying to "challenge" anyone. And I specifically stated I've seen plenty of misinformation in Wikis (ie the internet), but you just couldn't resist the snark, huh Mr Know it All?
I sure don't recall that last line in your prior post the first time when you first posted it...
Feel free to point out "plenty of misinformation" in the factory literature. Correcting mistakes to the record are important in my opinion. Are there typos in the literature? Sure. They are also usually corrected in subsequent dealer information bulletins. I still don't understand why people choose to believe something online written by a nameless person with no backup documentation provided. As an example, my admittedly unscientific survey of Oldsmobile forums on Facebook shows that 80% of responses to technical questions are flat wrong. Not great odds. We do quite a bit better than that here.
Joe, about 30 years ago I worked at Coan Engineering. I tore down thousands of Powerglide cores (when I worked there Dave Coan had a huge warehouse stacked floor to ceiling with core transmissions). I also built all the racing valve bodies for the Powerglide, TH350 and 400 transmissions, and all the sub-assemblies for the Powerglide builds. I can tell you I know for a fact the Powerglide was cast with a BOP bellhousing, and the Chevy/BOP bolt pattern. Needless to say, they aren’t nearly as common as the Chevy, but they are out there. I have no idea what vintage they were, but I don’t recall any having the rear pump ( no push starting those!). Next time I’m at Coan I’ll take a picture.
Im well aware of the difference between the Jetaway and the Powerglide.
Joe, about 30 years ago I worked at Coan Engineering. I tore down thousands of Powerglide cores (when I worked there Dave Coan had a huge warehouse stacked floor to ceiling with core transmissions). I also built all the racing valve bodies for the Powerglide, TH350 and 400 transmissions, and all the sub-assemblies for the Powerglide builds. I can tell you I know for a fact the Powerglide was cast with a BOP bellhousing, and the Chevy/BOP bolt pattern. Needless to say, they aren’t nearly as common as the Chevy, but they are out there. I have no idea what vintage they were, but I don’t recall any having the rear pump ( no push starting those!). Next time I’m at Coan I’ll take a picture.
Im well aware of the difference between the Jetaway and the Powerglide.
I had heard about the dual pattern PG transmissions. The fact remains that Olds never used a PG, only an ST300. I claim no knowledge of what other divisions may have used. And I have personally verified that the trans behind the Chevy I6 in my friend's 69 F-85 is a dual pattern ST300.
December 17th, 2019, 08:00 AM
