Ultramatic normal behaviors

Posted by kevinpackard On 2023/10/17 22:13:26
My '54 Panama has an Ultramatic (non-gear start). I assumed that it's operation and behaviors were normal. Then I drove my brother in law's '52 200 and noticed differences right away. That is the extent of my experience with Ultramatics, so I really have no idea what they should be like when they are operating normally.

What I noticed:
-My car seems sluggish/anemic when accelerating. It's not the engine as that seems to have plenty of power. But it seems to take much longer to get up to speed compared to the other car. The 200 seems to have much more pep to it, and that's with a dead cylinder and semi-functioning carb.
-My car will drop into direct drive around 35 mph. It will drop in at lower speeds most of the time if I'm letting off the gas. The 200 drops into direct drive quickly at any speed even on light throttle. It will hold until 35 mph when accelerating hard, but at lighter acceleration it drops at 15, 20, 25.
-The shift in my car feels more pronounced. Not a "slam" but definitely harder.

What's normal on these? Do they typically feel sluggish, or are they supposed to be a little more peppy?

Just looking to see if mine is having issues. Pan was cleaned out, all fresh type F put in. No other additives.

-Kevin

This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=263059