Re: 54 convert with 359 and overdrive

Posted by bozonono On 2010/12/4 22:59:12

i have only driven one other gear start and it was a 54 caribbean in the late 60s.. It had the final drive buzz that let you know taht the converter wasnt completely locked out. I ran into the same problem over an over on my 56 patrician. I finally gave up on that and put in the conversion for the torque flite that turned out to be even more trouble that the ultramatic

I was lucky enough to have driven the 55s and 56s new as a teenager and they were great transmissions. totally reliable and responsive. the 2 speeds were very reliable and never were ever a problem in the family. In college i had a 51 convert that i got for 100 bucks that ran like a top. the tranny was never ever a problem. the GM fluid hydramatics that came out in 56 were total dogs. when packard stopped production the family switched to caddys and the trannys were terrible. lots of rebuilds and terrible performers.