58 Buick Limited on e-bay

[Guest Skyking]

Did anyone notice the photo of the gear selector. What does the "G" stand for in place of the "LOW"? Was this special on Limited models only?

[geno]

The G stood for Grade, on some GM models I think it was GR (small upper case R)for grade retard.I was just a kid when these were out but I think it was called a Tubo-glide offered in must if not all GM divisions. Maybe some one has more details.

[Guest Skyking]

I know the turboglide was offered in Chevrolet, but didn't know Buick had it........

[Pat Baysinger]

If you look at the sellers web page he talks about the "G" for grade. It's a great web page, one of the best I've ever seen. I don't remember if his site is listed on Ebay, but it is listed in the other post on here with a similar heading as yours.

[Guest]

That is one NICE 58!! With a NICE price tag too......OUCH. Don't think that is a turboglide. The bolt patterns on it are not the same as the nailhead. I would have to look it up, but I believe it is a Buick Flite-Pitch Dynaflow. <BR>Along the lines of a turboglide, but not quite it. Both are not one of GM's greatest gear boxes. A gorgeous car, none the less!<BR>Regards,<BR>Mark

[geno]

They may have had different naming conventions between these transmissions acroos div. line, but I was looking at an old Chevy diy manual and is show a virable vane convertor in a cut away.

[Guest sintid58]

My 58 owners manual lists two different transmissions available in all 58 Buicks if no one else has that info in am i will try to look it up and post it then

[Guest]

I have my 58 owners manual in from of me the stock tranmission is call a variable pitch dynaflow and they also offered a flight pitch dynaflow which is the one it the 58 on ebay. G is for grade as stated earlier and according to my manual can only be used to brake the car, In fact the book warns never to use this range for pulling and not to depress accelerator when shifting from d to g.

[Guest Skyking]

Thanks SINTID, that's interesting, I never knew they offered that in a Buick........

[Centurion]

The "Flight Pitch" or "Triple Turbine" transmission was offered only on Buick and only in 1958 and 1959. It was a completely different transmission from the Chevrolet Turboglide. <P>As I understand it, Flight Pitch was a corporate idea that Buick was asked to design and build. The transmission was enormously costly to develop and build, and, unfortunately, the performance benefits it achieved were of dubious value. Some magazine articles have termed the transmission an "engineering failure", but other articles claim that it was not a bad transmission if used and maintained properly. Evidently, there were some improvements from the '58 "Flight Pitch" to the '59 "Triple Turbine".<P>My '59 Electra is equipped with Triple Turbine. I had some concerns about the transmission prior to purchasing the car. The BCA's Technical Advisor for the '59 Buicks reported to me, however, that he had owned a '59 with Triple Turbine and had driven the car extensively without problems.<P>The Triple Turbine seems to work great in my car, and both acceleration and fuel economy seem to be quite good. Triple Turbine was optional on all '59 Buicks, and was included as part of an economy package for the LeSabre that was supposed to offer improved fuel economy. In fact, the Triple Turbine cars have a lower numerical rear axle ratio, which help improve fuel economy.<P>My Triple Turbine does make a unique "whine" during moderate-to-hard acceleration. I do not know whether this typical, but it does remind me of the sound of an early Boeing 707 during its takeoff roll.<P>The Seattle Caravan to Flint in 2003 will allow us opportunity to make some interesting fuel economy comparisons between the Triple Turbine/Flight Pitch cars and those with the Twin Turbine or Variable Pitch Dynaflow. Of six '59 Buicks that will participate in our caravan, two are Triple Turbine-equipped, and we will also be traveling with a Flight Pitch '58 Limited.

[rocketraider]

Am I right that the Triple Turbine Dynaflow was the genesis of the Turbo HydraMatic? Seems like I read that somewhere. Real HydraMatics thru 1964 were excellent units, but that miserable RotoHydraMatic that 1961-64 Olds and junior Pontiacs used, well, I can understand why corporate thought they needed something better.<P>A 58 with FlightPitch shows up at the Charlotte AutoFair Buick show most years. Can't say the same for Chev Turboglides. I had always thought they were the same transmission.

[Centurion]

Rocketraider, my understanding is that the Turbo Hydramatics incorporated some of the best design characteristics of both the Buick Dynaflow (also known as Turbine Drive from 1960 - 1963)and the 4-speed Hydramatics.<P>To clarify further regarding Flight Pitch/Triple Turbine, the transmission was similar to Buick's regular variable pitch Dynaflow in that there were no gears and there was no sensation of upshifts during acceleration. The chief virtue of the Dynaflow was, of course, its smoothness.<P>I assume that the troublesome transmission you've referred to is the one known as the "Slim Jim". I know that this transmission was used in Oldsmobile, but am thinking that it was also used in Pontiacs. Am I correct? Was this unit also used in GMC trucks?

[Guest]

Centurion you will also have a 58 Special with a three speed manual transmission on the Caravan from Seattle as that is what my car is.

[Centurion]

Sintid, I really look forward to seeing your car! I'm hopeful that we will attract additional '58 Buicks to join with your Special and the '58 Limited that will accompany us.

[rocketraider]

Yes, Centurion, the RotoHydraMatic is the infamous "Slim Jim"- so named because of its very low profile. From 1961-64 Olds used it across the board and had beaucoup trouble as in owner complaints as a result. Pontiac used it in the Catalina/Grand Prix series, but retained the Dual-Range 4-speed HydraMatic for the Star Chief and Bonneville. Cadillac would have nothing to do with the RHM.<P>I have one of these quirky beasts in a 1964 Starfire. When it's working right it's beautiful- but it rarely works right, or what _I_ would consider right. It does however work like most of them I've known. Wind up hard in 1st gear, shudder-clunk-lurch into 2nd with enough RPM drop to make you think the engine has died, and then an almost undetectable shift into 3rd. Actually, once the silly things get out of 1st gear they aren't too bad to live with.<P>Now if Olds had only made their engines lie Pontiac and had a detachable bellhousing to adapt transmission to engine, instead of having a shroud over the fluid coupling to bolt up the trans- I could go for a THM in that Starfire. My buddy's 64 GP has had a 200-4R overdrive installed that is a real good fit for that car, and has no trouble handling its 389 Tripower.

[Centurion]

Rocketraider, your comments brought back memories of the '62 Olds 88 one of my high school friends owned in about 1970. (His dad owned the local Olds-Cadillac dealership.) The one thing that has always stood out in my memory about that car was the very noticeable upshift from first to second.<P>After growing up in the backseat of my parents' '61 LeSabre (with Dynaflow) and '65 Wildcat (with Buick's early variant of the Turbo Hydramatic 400), that '62 Olds provided a very different ride sensation.