Re: twin-ultamatic

Posted by Loyd Smith On 2009/6/9 15:23:40

Same story as Eric's except that my '55 Pat had a '56 aluminium cased T/U when I got it. Never any trouble in hard, daily use since 2005 except for initial tendency of direct-drive clutch to slip that cleared up after a couple (or was it three) fluid changes and switching to B&M Trick Shift transmission fluid. Just as an example of the kind of daily use it gets, I've been driving it back and forth from Orlando to Palm Coast, Ormond Beach, Daytona and Port Orange on I-4 and I-95 for the past two weeks at average speeds of between 70 and 80 mph.

Like Packard V8, I'm not in any hurry to depart traffic signals or standing stops. The Ultramatic (nor almost any other automatic transmission of its day) was not designed for such and the Ultramatic (including its T/U incarnation)- in particular - will not long tolerate it.

Fuel mileage would improve greatly with an OD set-up of some kind, of course, but the T/U is a smooth, serviceable and dependable transmission (for its day) if respected for what it was designed for.

I know whereof I speak, being personally responsible for the early (and sometimes catastrophic) failure of at least one example of almost all known domestic '50s era automatic transmissions.