Rusty_OToole

30W non detergent oil NOT recommended for that engine. Factory recommendation 10W30 detergent oil. DO NOT use non detergent, it will gum up the hydraulic valve lifters. Thick heavy oil NOT recommended. If you want to you can use Shell Rotella for the extra protection of zinc, for the cam and lifters.10W30 if you can get it or 15W40 if that is all you can get. The Fluid Drive is one of the first efforts at an automatic, in fact it is a cross between an automatic and manual trans with characteristics of both. It is a simple, rugged and reliable setup. Not prone to failure, but if it gives trouble usually it is something simple, easy and cheap to fix. Like low on oil, or wiring frayed, loose or broken. It requires a driving technique all its own, not difficult once you know how. Do a search on the Chrysler board for Fluid Drive, the subject has been covered extensively. There were some long threads in 2008 with much good information. The 6 volt system works well if it is in good shape. It normally turns over slower than a 12 volt. The advice on care of the cables and good grounds is good. The cables should be twice as big as on a modern car. Almost as big as a garden hose. If someone put on new cables and they are too small, there is your problem.

Body and paint is easier to get done than upholstery. If everything else is equal. Brake parts are available and not too expensive. I would lean towards the cheap one with the good interior but could go the other way if the other car had a lot less miles and was generally in better shape. Unless you know somebody it is hard to get a good upholstery job done on an old car.

You need a big 3 jaw puller to get the hub off, or the factory puller. The hub is on there real tight. The axle shaft bearing oil hole plug can be removed, a grease fitting put in, and give the bearing a shot of grease with a grease gun. This only needs to be done every 10,000 miles, do not put too much grease in or it will get on the brakes. You are right, it is best to pack the bearing with grease when you assemble it.

Take it to a spring shop. They can rearch the old springs and add a leaf for extra support if necessary. Or if they are real bad, make new springs. Having a pair of leaf springs rearched usually costs about $200 to $250, new springs maybe $50 more.

I don't know that there are any essential threads as such. If you are interested in a particular car, threads on that car might be "essential". You could look in the section for that make and find what you need. Do a search before you ask a question, there is a good chance it has been covered before and it could save you some time. Best thing is to browse around and see what interests you. Check back every day or 2, you are bound to find something interesting.

1938 or newer Buick is the only car I know with coil springs at that time. Or maybe a Nash Ambassador. But it looks like a Buick frame.

Looks to me like someone tried to design a truck to carry the maximum number of cars, for new car delivery to dealers, without contravening the length restrictions then in effect in some states. I know in the midwest and east many states restricted the length of a truck and trailer to 45 feet total. The truck is a Dodge which had a flathead 6 sitting low in the front. It would easily go under the bumper of a car in stock position. The vehicle in the photo appears to be a first effort, mockup or prototype. The steering is not connected, in fact the brakes, lights etc are probably not connected either. But they remounted the cab higher and rolled it out in the parking lot where they could test fit some cars, try out the driving position, measure height etc. They probably dropped the idea before even one truck was completed and on the road. Although, who knows, they might have had one running around for testing. The experiment most likely was by a trailer manufacturer or possibly a transport company. I base this on the fact that it is a Dodge truck but is carrying Buick, Olds, Dodge and Chevrolet cars. If it was an experiment by an auto maker I would expect to see all vehicles by that one maker. One thing that seems odd. All the cars (visible) have whitewall tires. Coincidence? I can't think of any other explanation.

I see you also own a Cadillac and a Buick of the same era. The 3 cars represent the 3 types of automatic transmission then in use: Fluid coupling plus planetary box, torque converter, and Fluid Drive plus self shifting gearbox. All 3 get at a similar result in different ways. The Chrysler is the most primitive in that it retains the clutch pedal but is also the most simple and flexible. You may come to like it, especially if you ever have to repair or overhaul the Hydramatic or Dynaflow. By comparison the Fluid Drive is beautiful in its simplicity and rugged reliability.

Use the clutch as little as possible. It is only half the size of a conventional clutch. But then it does not do much work, if you operate it properly. I knew one old timer (my father) who insisted on driving his car (1952 Chrysler New Yorker) as if it were a manual trans. He would rev the engine up and slowly release the clutch as if it was a standard. The car would not move, because of the slippage of the Fluid Drive. So he would rev it even more, and slip the clutch some more. Every time he took off he would rev up madly and slip the clutch for 10 yards - completely unnecessary. He would also start in low range, then manually shift to high range, revving the engine and slipping the clutch again. He also had the habit of stepping on the clutch pedal when he stopped and holding it down until it was time to take off. Then revving like mad, taking off in low range, revving again and shifting to high. The result was he burned out the clutch and throwout bearing in a few months. All this beating on the clutch and transmission was completely unnecessary and abusive. But I could never convince him that it you should not drive it like a manual transmission, that it required a special driving technique. The Fluid Drive unit is extremely simple and reliable with only one moving part, running in an oil bath. The transmission too is the simplest and most rugged of the early automatic drives. It resembles the transmission out of a dump truck and is practically indestructible. So, if you chose to ignore me, the other posters, and the factory that made the car, chances are all you will do is burn out the clutch.

C49er has been very helpful in giving the actual instructions from the original owner's manual. Disregard the top half of the first page, it applies to the conventional 3 speed and has nothing to do with the transmission in your car. Start from "The Hydraulically Operated Transmission". That is the one in your car. I make only one change from the owner's manual, and that is I prefer to put the car in gear and engage the clutch before driving off. I find this to be easier on the clutch and easier on the driver. The slippage of the Fluid Drive confused with the slippage of the clutch is disquieting. For today's drivers it is better to drive it as if it was an automatic. For a long time I wondered why they even bothered putting a clutch pedal in the car. They could easily have incorporated a vacuum clutch and eliminated the pedal. In fact, they had a vacuum clutch in some Chryslers in the early thirties. The only explanation I could think of was that drivers of the time were used to a clutch pedal and Chrysler did not want to make too radical a change all at once. So they put in a clutch but made it practically redundant.

About driving a Fluid Drive like a manual transmission. I suspect you have been misinformed. Yes you do drive it like a manual trans, then again you don't. You do, in the sense that there is a clutch pedal and a gearshift lever. But the transmission action is not like a manual trans, more like an automatic. It has a fluid coupling, which is like a torque converter, and the transmission shifts itself in spite of being a conventional gearbox to all appearances. This discussion must seem very confusing, so forget about all that. Get behind the wheel and go for a drive. Just do as I suggested and find out for yourself how it works. Everything will become clear after the first drive. Take a few days to get used to it and you will find the transmission action suits the dignity of the car perfectly and is part of its period charm.

I'm sorry if my reply seemed harsh. I understand the transmission is a strange one to a modern day driver. I have done a lot of research on it, taken them apart, studied the factory repair manuals and owner's manuals, and the instructions I gave are the best information I have. It is not a manual trans or an automatic. It needs a special driving technique that is neither one thing nor the other, but a combination of both. I am sure if you follow the instructions you will soon get the hang of it. Then you will find it has advantages of its own.

That's nothing. I have seen a quote from a Rolls Royce handbook of about 1920, saying that normal oil consumption was 200 miles to the gallon!

Did you read a single word I wrote? It is NOT a manual transmission. It is NOT an automatic transmission. It is a design all its own with characteristics of a manual and an automatic. To clarify further you can't drive it like a manual because it is not a manual trans. You also cannot drive it like an automatic because it is not an automatic trans. I hope this is clear. Follow the directions I gave and it will work grand for you. Just try it for a few days. Then go get ideas of your own if you want to. As I said, it's a very rugged transmission, there is little chance of you hurting it no matter what you do. Good luck.

They took it to a garage. Or just went ahead and did it wrong.

Up to 1 quart in 500 miles would be considered normal. Yours is on the high side. Probably leaking as much as it is burning.

The Fluid Drive has been covered exhaustively in the Chrysler and Dodge boards. Do a search for Fluid Drive and you will find much food for thought. There are a couple of long threads from 2008 that cover operation and service. The Fluid Drive system is one of the earliest efforts at an automatic transmission. It acts like a cross between a manual trans and automatic. The driving technique is easy to learn, but not so easy to figure out on your own. Here is what I like to do, a combination of the owner's manual and my own experience. Start the engine and let it warm up a minute. Check the hand brake is set. Step on the clutch, shift the lever down into High range. Release the clutch. Release the hand brake and take off like an automatic by stepping on the gas. When you get up to 14 MPH or higher, lift off the gas. You will hear a soft *click-clack* from under the floorboards. This indicates you have shifted into High gear of high range. Step on the gas and go someplace. If you want to stop for a stop sign, just step on the brake like any automatic. The trans will shift down, when you take off, when you get to 14MPH or more, lift off the gas etc. If you floor the gas pedal at any speed below 50, the transmission will kick down like an automatic. You only need the clutch pedal when shifting into gear, or when shifting the gear lever into Reverse, High or Low range. There are only 3 positions of the gear lever.Straight up, Low range. Straight down, High range. Towards you and up, Reverse gear. You can start off in Low range and shift to High range manually, using the clutch pedal. This is not necessary in normal driving but may be useful when starting on a hill, or with a heavy load, towing a trailer or in heavy sand. The transmission will shift up to high gear (of low range) if you lift off the gas pedal at 6 MPH or higher, same as in High range. On the whole the Fluid Drive system is very rugged and reliable. It consists of a fluid coupling (the Fluid Drive unit) followed by a dry plate clutch, followed by a 4 speed transmission. The transmission is conventional synchromesh type except for the added self shifting feature. It has a small gerotor oil pump on the back. This pump supplies oil pressure to shift from Low to High gear. There is also a manual shift between Low and High range. Making 4 speeds in all. The shift is controlled by a governor, a solenoid and an interrupter switch located on the right side of the transmission. They are actuated by 2 switches built into the carburetor, one for when the throttle is closed (the up shift) and the other when the throttle is completely open (the kick down). They get their power off the ignition coil by way of a small box containing a resistor and a circuit breaker. Most times any fault in operation can be traced to the electric controls, check for loose or frayed wires, or the transmission being low on oil. 10W motor oil is recommended for the transmission and fluid drive but today we usually use tractor fluid, TDH type, ISO 22 grade if you can get it, otherwise ISO32. The tractor fluid is for Transmission Differential and Hydraulic applications and works well in the Fluid Drive and transmission.

While you are at it disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump. If there is old gas in the tank it has probably turned to varnish which will gum up your motor. Use a motorboat gas tank if you have one. Clean the points if there is no spark but don't monkey with anything you don't have to. I always start with the assumption it ran when put away, and go over the ignition and carburetor and valves but don't change any parts or settings without good reason. If an engine won't start, and somebody messes things up, then you don't know what is the matter. You have to go right back to basics and check EVERYTHING. I like to oil the cylinders and get the motor turning over. Then check if I am getting spark from the coil, and from the coil to the spark plugs. Then put the plugs back in, put a little gas down the carb and let her rip.

Drive around with all the windows open. The smell will soon disperse IF you removed all the moth balls. Do not throw them around, put them in a tin can or on a pie plate. Then remove in the spring and air the car out.

He must have felt like a king the day he drove that car off the dealer's forecourt.

Your hone will not do what you want to do. It is only meant for cleaning up a cylinder and breaking the glaze. Take the cylinders to a good auto machine shop and have them do the honing on their Sunnen hone. Find one that does Harley Davidson cylinders. Bring your pistons along so they can fit them to the cylinders. They will cut the cylinders perfectly true and fit the pistons to whatever clearance you want. There is really no other way to do this without the proper equipment.

You don't need them if your rims are smooth inside. Wire spoke wheels with the spoke nipples, or wood spoke wheel with the ends of the spokes protruding need something to keep the inner tube from chafing and getting a hole.

In a funny coincidence a friend of mine in Peterborough Ontario just bought a pink 1958 Rambler six cylinder sedan.

Your engine is low compression, low stress engine. Not finicky like a high performance engine. It will run fine on the cheapest low octane regular. It can't hurt to add a shot of Redex, Bardahl, or Marvel Mystery Oil to the gas but is not necessary. One problem came along in the 80s due to Gasohol or alcohol in gas. On some older cars the alcohol would dissolve or rot the rubber and plastic parts in the fuel lines, fuel pump and carburetor. This was cured by a rebuilt carb or fuel pump or fuel line with the new formula rubber. Most all old cars have had the carb rebuilt and fuel pump rebuilt some time in the past 30 years. To answer your next question, the same 10W30 oil you use in a new car will be fine. No special oils or additives required. If you want to be real picky a lot of old car owners swear by Shell Rotella 10W30 or 15W40. It's good oil, not hard to get or very expensive.

Could be the governor. It has points inside that can get gummed up from oil vapors over the years. Be careful when you clean the points, they are made of silver and rather soft. A shot of contact cleaner or brake cleaner and drag a strip of white typing paper between them. Do this every 50 years or as necessary. Could also be a loose wire or broken wire, etc. Does it downshift when you come to a stop? Sometimes if the governor is not working the trans will not downshift when you come to a stop.