Plymouth's Hy-drive Transmission Was Half-manual, Half-automatic, And Totally Confusing

From awkward transmission designs to a agelong history of automakers astatine re-inventing cogwheel shifters, post-war cars had this beautiful but quirky charm that seems to person successfully wooed respective classic-car enthusiasts. However, not everything was nosy and dandy astatine nan time, and location were bits of engineering that'd genuinely time off you asking: why did personification spell to nan problem of making this? And that brings america to Plymouth's Hy-Drive transmission.

To Chrysler's credit, nan conglomerate tried to democratize an automatic transmission (or semi-automatic, rather), but failed. Although nan PowerFlite existed, it was allocated – initially, astatine slightest — for nan corporation's higher strata. The budget-brand Plymouth desperately needed a type of its ain arsenic title started offering automatics. So, engineers decided to shoehorn Plymouth's monolithic clutch successful betwixt a torque converter and nan company's Synchro-Silent three-speed transmission to get astatine an exceptionally-smooth shifting strategy among cheaper vehicles. Although it whitethorn person sounded revolutionary, nan transmission only managed to enactment successful accumulation for 2 years and was discontinued for nan 1955 exemplary year.

Operating nan Hy-Drive transmission is beautiful easy. You commencement nan car successful Neutral, slot nan shifter into Drive while depressing nan clutch (similar to a manual), and simply thrust off. Since it tin idle without disengaging nan clutch, nary further ft gymnastics are required erstwhile you travel to a stop. It isn't a sprightly point to drive, though, arsenic Hy-Drive-equipped Plymouths return astir half a infinitesimal to deed 60 mph from standstill. You can, however, statement your ain gears and amended nan 0-60 times, which proved to beryllium 1 of its highlights — but doesn't that conclusion nan intent of an automatic?

The Hy-Drive's demise was unsurprising fixed really costly an action it was comparative to its innovation. At $146 (which is astir $1,800 successful today's money), nan semi-automatic transmission pinch a foot-operated clutch only saved $32 (about $400 today) complete Chevy's Powerglide, which was a existent automatic. For a budget-conscious caller car buyer, optioning that connected a '53 Plymouth Cranbrook, which had a guidelines MSRP of conscionable nether $1,900 (around $23,000 today), would not person made overmuch consciousness unless they really wanted nan latest and greatest.

Although it was a elemental concept, nan execution wasn't. Engines for nan Hy-Drive cars needed abstracted lipid passages since nan transmission, dissimilar a accepted torque converter automatic, did not travel pinch an lipid pump of its own. The torque converter was fundamentally moving disconnected nan engine's lipid reserve, which is why Plymouth doubled nan model's lipid capacity and recommended lipid changes astatine slightest doubly a year. The gears wrong nan three-speed transmission were besides made stronger to grip nan other torque from nan converter. All this near Chrysler nary prime but to value it connected nan higher side. The corp managed to undercut its rivals, but were its consumers really checking it retired for themselves?

Estimates, arsenic pointed retired by Curbside Classic, show nan institution managed to displacement hundreds of thousands of these transmission units complete its comparatively short two-year accumulation run. However, an overwhelming mostly of Plymouth customers went pinch nan modular three-speed manual — aliases nan two-speed PowerFlite erstwhile that became available. You could telephone nan Hy-Drive a failure, but it possibly wasn't a resounding one.