Ultramatic or Manual?

Posted by shadetree77 On 2016/12/10 16:57:38

Ok guys, finally got to dig a little deeper into my new project. Car is a 1952 Patrician 400 with Ultramatic. When I got the car the head was off and missing and there was a mangled and broken piston lying under there. So, I'm going to pull the engine and trans. and rebuild if possible. I got under there to remove the trans. and got to the step where you remove the drive shaft/propeller shaft and noticed something odd. In the manual, it states there are 2 types of shaft. Ultramatic type has snap rings at the axle yoke. Manual trans. has a type of screw in plug. My car has an Ultramatic. But it has the manual trans. type of yoke retainer. Hmmmm?

A few further oddities I've noticed.

1. There's no Ultramatic script on the side of the car nor any holes where one would have gone. Did they stop putting that on in '52?

2. The column shift lever looks to be a manual trans. type. It's not straight out, it goes out and turns back towards the driver.

3. I pulled the nasty carpet out and noticed there is an extra hole in the panel that the pedals go through in the floor. It's completely open to the underside of the car. Wouldn't they have left this hole plugged for an auto trans. car?

Lastly, if someone at one time tried to retro-fit an Ultramatic into this car what does that mean for me? What kind of differences are there between an engine with manual and one with auto? Or am I wrong in some way in all of my suspicions and everything is as it should be?