My Vintage Car Aquisition Odyssey

[Gray Ghost]

Nice

Very nice. I am very happy for you. Glad that you also enjoyed our great State of North Carolina. I can't believe that car was practically in my back yard and did not know it. I need to go and have myself a look at his collection. I am alway up in that area. I go through there on my way to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. When I head your way, I will definetley look you up.

Congrats,
Gray Ghost

 

[Mr. 'H']

I really enjoyed the hospitality of the people in NC. I think it is a great place to visit. Mr. Jenkins has an amazing business and a great collection.

 

[Mr. 'H']

Hey Scotrace, I have just watched Pearl Harbor again. Now I can definitely appreciate the Maroon 1941 convertible that the two guys were driving....



Well spotted!

 

[scotrace]

Personally, I'd really like to get my hands on the 1941 Oldsmobile in the background when she tells him she is expecting.

 

[Fletch]

I really enjoyed the hospitality of the people in NC. I think it is a great place to visit. Mr. Jenkins has an amazing business and a great collection.

One of my nicest vacation experiences was in the mountains of NC. Hopefully Mr. J has a few more cars to sell, so I can have an excuse to go see him.

Mr. H, your car is not to be believed. I looked at those pix with my mouth hanging open in awe.

 

[Samsa]

I really need to set foot in "The Display Case" more often, that car is amazing!:eusa_clap

 

[Cracker]

Personally, I'd really like to get my hands on the 1941 Oldsmobile in the background when she tells him she is expecting.

I fell in love with a '41 Oldsmobile a year or two ago. It was for sale, perched on a trailer in a vacant lot on my commute to work. I have no idea if it was in running condition, but it had a very nice maroon paint job. I'll post some pics when I get home tonight.

 

[Cracker]

Here's some pics of that '41 Olds I was talking about this morning. I've dreamed of that car since, and wish circumstances were different so I could've bought it. But one day, though, one day...

I had a nice shot of the great Art Deco grill, but can't find it, except for the detail below.

 

[David Conwill]

Mr. J had had a little toggle switch fitted years ago so theat a wire ran into the glove compartment.

He used to plug in a little 8 track player and beam his 40s music out through the Sonomatic radio.

I looked at the wire in the glove compartment and it was a normal "aux" wire.

So I plugged in Mrs H's iPod. All of a sudden I was listening to my tunes over the original radio!!!

I would love to know how this was done. I have a tube radio in my Falcon that needs an auxiliary jack so I can plug in my iPhone (and get rid of the ugly ‘90s am/fm/cassette under the dash).

My brother the electronics engineer says it’s just a matter of hooking into the amplifier - as if I knew how to do that!

-Dave

 

[Forgotten Man]

That's right! The all new 1941 Olds offers the new Hydra-Matic Drive! A true automatic transmission! No clutch in the new '41 Olds!

 

[dhermann1]

Just curious, regarding the Olds automatic transmission. Was that the same as offered by Cadillac that year? I read somewhere that aside from being a little wonky, the Caddy transmission gave a consistent 12 to 13 mpg, no matter how you drove it.

 

[David Conwill]

The same.

-Dave

 

[Forgotten Man]

Geez, I'd say that manual can save on gas... My Plymouth is said to have gotten 20-21 mpg new!

If one knows how to drive a standard, it can prove to get better mpg.

 

[David Conwill]

Olds in the thirties could do things that more-conservative Cadillac could not, so after the Hydramatic had proven itself in the Oldsmobile lineup (along with the earlier "Safety Automatic", which I believe was a type of semi-auto), it was extended to the Cadillac brand. It was also used in tanks and tank destroyers during WWII. The basic design changed only slightly through 1955. Handicapped vets returning from the war appreciated the Hyrdo as it allowed Olds to offer its "Valiant" hand controls.

-Dave

 

[Forgotten Man]

Interesting, Olds Hydra-Matic was more of a true automatic tranz VS Chrysler's Fluid Drive yes? Chrysler's Fluid Drive still had a clutch that was used for first gear I believe. My land lord has a '41 Chrysler, has the Fluid Drive... that lasted all the way into '46-'49.

Fun stuff huh?

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

The Fluid Drive was a conventional 3-speed manual with a clutch, that had a fluid coupling ahead of the clutch. You use the clutch to put the car in gear, or to shift gears, but the fluid coupling allows you to come to a stop and take off again without pressing the clutch. Handy on hills or in stop and go traffic.

The fluid coupling allowed you to start from rest in second or even third gear, but starting off in third won't set any acceleration (or fuel economy) records.

 

[scotrace]

And Olds' Hydramatic Drive was a true automatic transmission. No clutch to press or gears to shift. Press on the pedal and feel the flashing power!

 

[Forgotten Man]

And Olds' Hydramatic Drive was a true automatic transmission. No clutch to press or gears to shift. Press on the pedal and feel the flashing power!

And that's what's amazing about the '41 Olds... it really was a true automatic... and '41 was the last full production year before the war.

Wonder why the others didn't try and develop a full automatic in '41?

 

[David Conwill]

FoMoCo had a troublesome full-auto transmission in '41 or '42 called the Liquimatic. It has a poor reputation, though, and I believe most were recalled and replaced with conventional 3-speed transmissions. It did not reappear after the War and Ford was without an automatic of its own until the 1950 Ford-o-Matic. Lincolns used Hydramatics at one time, as did most of the independents.

Interesting factoid: The Hydramatic plant in Livonia, MI burned in 1952 or '53, so most Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles used the Buick Dynaflow that year. Pontiac (which had picked up the Hydro after the War), switched to Chevy's Powerglide temporarily.

-Dave

 

[normanpitkin]

my 48 chrysler new yorker has the fluid drive transmission ,i must say ,i love it!! It is the only automatic that puts the driver in charge,I can choose when to change or ,if feeling lazy ,let the fluid drive take the chore.Not only that,the never ending thrill of the car changing gear by itself!!!God help me if it goes wrong as my mechanic took one look and said no thank you......