How often do you see this!

[50jetback]

Randomly plucked from various for sale advertisements for straight 8 Buicks with a Dynaflow transmission!

"when we drove it the trans shifted good"

"shifted great"

Makes you wonder what they mean seeing as how a Dynaflow doesn't shift gears!!

When test driving my 1950 Jetback Coupe I had a mate with me ( engineering workshop proprietor ) and we decided there was something wrong with the Dynaflow because it didn't shift gears. My friend rang me a couple of days later to tell me he had researched Dynaflow transmissions AND THEY DON"T SHIFT GEARS !!

So I guess if someone tells you they drove the car and it shifted good, great or at all you might be inclined to think they may be bull@#$%

Edited September 4, 2013 by 50jetback (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Lol, I often wonder the same thing when reading those descriptions. My Dad and I had a similar experience when we drove ours for the first time. We were very worried that the transmission was stuck in first gear. It wasn't until a few days later that I researched the matter and found that Dynaflows don't shift! My Dad didn't believe me at first. It took a lot of convincing.

[Pete O]

This is one of my pet peaves. Whenever you read an article about a Buick with a Dynalflow in magazines such as Hemmings, etc., the author, who you'd think should do some research before writing about any car, will unfailingly refer to the "smooth shifting dynaflow transmission". This immediately turns me off to the article and I can read no further, as this sort of ignorance is inexcusable in a magazine devoted to collectible cars.

[JohnD1956]

I am personally convinced that this attribute is the reason so many uninitiated new owners jump to have the transmission rebuilt. I did have mine rebuilt also but that was after draining flood water out, which had been in the trans for about a year before I got it, and after the new fluid burnt up within 100 miles of driving it.

[Paul from PA]

I picked up a driver quality 63 Riviera that the owner had the transmission rebuilt because "it didn't shift" only to realize that it wasn't meant to. Good for me.

[jackofalltrades70]

My dynaflow just wont "shift" into reverse. A problem that will soon be resolved with a rebuilt tranny!

[Guest BigDogDaddy]

I must be the oddball because I knew the Dynaflow did not shift before I bought my first Buick, my 1953 Roadmaster 76-R.

[old-tank]

Or "Has original 3-speed dynaflow". When questioned: "reverse, low, drive":confused:....

[Thriller]

The level of ignorance / confusion shown doesn't seem to manifest itself in asking prices though...thanks to the big auction houses and Speed channel and similar, everyone thinks they have a gold mine in their bare bones low end car because they saw one "just like it" at auction.

It's nice to see I'm not the only grumpy one here this week :cool:

[Guest BJM]

If it doesn't shift, how does a Dynaflow work?

[smithbrother]

We still LOVE you though, LOL "IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD"

Dale in Indy

[smithbrother]

Does it have VARIABLE PITCHED VANES?

Dale in Indy

[60FlatTop]

The big auction houses, Speed Channel, and the like don't know enough about cars to sprinkle the BS on just enough to enhance the flavor. Of course, being a TV personality you already have a job and don't need to sell the car. I had 3 car selling jobs in my life. The rest has just been hobby sales. AND I don't look or talk like a stereotypical car salesman.

Once I was selling cars through a national brokerage that provided all the pricing. A customer came in for a Blazer with a budget all calculated, but he had left out a $500 delivery charge. We had the exact car he wanted; color, engine, options- THE car. He was filled with angst over the extra $500. I spent about two hours with him, getting toward dusk I let him stand alone with the car under a light in the back lot.

He came back in and sat across from me, the salesman, and asked "What would you do?" I said your plan is to keep the car for its whole life, right? He answered, yes. I said if that is ten years, and it will probably be more, each time you walk up to that car you will think "That's the car I wanted, just my perfect first choice. And it will cost you $50 a year to feel that good.

Lots of people live with second choices all their life and it costs a lot more- it could even be a wife.

The guy looked me right in the eye and, without hesitation, said "I'll take it."

Selling cars is a sport. It is not for TV actors or documentary journalists.

Bernie

Edited September 5, 2013 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I particularly like the guys who advertise these cars as having a Powerglide transmission.

[RivNut]

If it doesn't shift, how does a Dynaflow work?

Copied and pasted.

Five basic components are the heart of Dynaflow Drive. They are contained in a sealed drum, completely filled with oil. The Pump is connected to the flywheel of the engine and turns with it. The Turbine fits inside the Pump, facing it. The Turbine is connected with the drive shaft, which turns the rear wheels. As you speed up, the Pumps turning action throws a solid, cylindrical sheet of oil against the blades of the Turbine, causing it to revolve and move the wheels. In this manner, the unit acts like a fluid coupling (the motor can turn while the car is standing still, and oil, rather than a clutch, starts it moving). More than just a fluid coupling, however, Dynaflow is a torque converter; it multiplies the turning effort of the engine. The Stators and Secondary Pump fit in between the Pump and the Turbine, and they redirect the oil as it flows from the Turbine back to the Pump. Oil flows from the Pump to the Turbine around the outside, then returns through the openings at the center of the Stators. The Stators are free to spin in one direction around the shaft on which they are mounted, through a free-wheeling arrangement, but they can not turn the opposite way. This means that during initial acceleration, when the engine and the Pump are turning faster than the Turbine and drive shaft, the Stators are locked in place, redirecting the returning oil into such channels as will multiply the thrust of it, giving the effect of first gear. As the car picks up speed, then each Stator in turn ceases to re-angle the flow of oil, floating idly on the shaft because less conversion of the engines turning effect (torque) is needed. The need now is for a more direct transfer of power at a higher speed. Upon reaching the free-wheeling stage of the Stators when cruising speed has been achieved and the driver eases off the throttle, the Pump and Turbine are turning at nearly the same speed--approximately one revolution of the drive shaft for each revolution of the engine. When more power is needed, for passing, of for maintaining speed on a hill, all that is required is to press harder on the throttle. As the engine speeds up to a point where the Pump is turning faster than the Turbine, the Stators lock up again, redirecting the flow of oil to convert its speed into extra torque. All this means that you now have an infinite number of gear ratios and you don't have to select them, since the proper degree of torque multiplication is always in operation automatically. This self-adjustment is controlled by the difference in speeds between the Pump and the Turbine, and by the resulting difference in oil velocity upon the Stators.

Ed

[Guest BigDogDaddy]

In essence, it sounds like it is a CVT ( Continuously Variable Transmission ), before anyone knew what a CVT was.

[Glassesguy]

Thanks for the explanation Ed. You said it much better than I could have. Agree with your comment on the "Powerglide" advertisers.

BigDog - Modern CVT is just picking up where Dynaflow left off.

[JohnD1956]

In it's basic form, this is the forerunner of the hydraulic transmissions on things like John Deere Tractors and other similar vehicles. Even my 22" lawnmower has a dynaflow.

[RivNut]

In essence, it sounds like it is a CVT ( Continuously Variable Transmission ), before anyone knew what a CVT was.

Since the CVT transmissions have been around for a while, it's easy for me to explain to anyone who has never heard of a Dynaflow what it feels like to ride in a Dynaflow equipped car. What goes around comes around even though it took almost 50 years.

Dave: I cannot take credit for the explanation; I just copied and pasted it from something I Googled.

[variablepitch]

If it doesn't shift, how does a Dynaflow work?

I appreciate RivNut's post on the operation of the torque converter in the Dynaflow/Turbine Drive Buicks. It's simply true that when they are in Drive, there is a direct clutch that locks the planetary gearset in the transmission in direct drive, and the torque converter takes care of the drive. In Low Range, the low "front" band is applied to a unit in the planetary gearset that creates a reduction. In Reverse, the reverse "rear" band is applied to a different unit in the planetary gearset causing the output shaft to rotate in the opposite direction of drive/low. I went to auto mechanics school 45+ years ago, but only worked in the trade about five months. I spent the rest of my working life in the offset printing industry. I'm always careful about placing my '60 Invicta in low or reverse on fast idle. It's really tough on the anchors of the low and reverse bands. Drive is a multiplate clutch pack, it stops the planetary transmission unit. You may notice a whine at twenty or so miles per hour, that is the planetary gearset in the torque converter which is different from the one in the transmission. It was used to increase the pickup from a stop and began in about 1953. It speeded up the pump significantly for quicker getaway from the stop lights. My '53 Special whined just like my '60 Invicta does. That's a normal occurrence. Just my two cents worth. I'll be in Portland next summer! See You There!

[Guest ole buick]

Everything old is new again.