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Please Help Me with My 1950 Windsor


Windsor50

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Hello. I have a 1950 Chrysler Windsor with a spitfire flathead. It runs well and the trans works great too. I recently had an amputation of my left leg. So i can no longer use my tip toe clutch and transmission. I want to keep my flathead, so is there any type or kind of automatic transmissions. Please help and thank you all

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4 hours ago, Windsor50 said:

Hello. I have a 1950 Chrysler Windsor with a spitfire flathead. It runs well and the trans works great too. I recently had an amputation of my left leg. So i can no longer use my tip toe clutch and transmission. I want to keep my flathead, so is there any type or kind of automatic transmissions. Please help and thank you all

I am guessing/hoping  a 55-59 Mopar automatic transmission will work. I bought a 55 Plymouth parts car last summer than has a 230 and a two speed automatic with the shift lever in the dashboard in case I need it for my 42 Dodge coupe. I also have a good-running 251 DeSoto flat 6 that I might use if the 230 in the Plymouth turns out to be cracked or I can't use it for some other reason. I am ASSUMING the 230 auto trans will bolt to the 251 engine if I have to go that route.

 

Also try to buy the carb with the dashpot and the linkage from the firewall to the carb  from the donor car if you can.  I am not sure if the 51 semi-auto uses the same final gear ratio as the later model 2 or 3 speed autos or not. Maybe someone else can chip in on this that does know for a fact. If the gear ratio is different you will need to try to buy the original rear from the donor car,or the correct ring and pinion gear to install in your car so the speedometer works correctly. I am GUESSING a EARLY 50's Chrysler or DeSoto with the flat 6 and 2 speed auto PROBABLY uses the same gear ration as your 51 Chrysler with the semi-auto,but could be wrong. Find out BEFORE you buy so you can maybe buy it all in a package deal if you need it, and save some money. It is even possible the early hemi's with auto trans used the same ratio.

 

If you buy one,do your damnedest to buy one complete with the dashboard controls and the most especially,the shift cable. Many/most seem to have been pulled from the cars in scrap yards that just cut the cable to pull the transmissions,and the shift cables are very hard to find and expensive. 

 

Also,measure how long your driveshaft is,and find out how long the driveshaft is on any possible donor cars in case you need to buy that,too.

 

The 55-56 transmissions use the 2 speed auto with the chrome shift lever that sticks out of the dashboard,and if you can find one chances are it will be a lot cheaper than the later 3 speed versions that have the push-button controls on the dash. Due to lesser demand,not because the 2 speed is inferior or faulty.

 

The VA has been wanting to amputate my left leg for 10 years or more because it keeps getting infected due to a botched operation at a VA hospital that killed the circulation,and one day if I live long enough,that is an argument they are going to win. Because of this I have been trying to plan ahead.

 

If all this seems to be too complicated or too much work for you,you might want to consider selling your 51 and just buying a early 50's version that came from the factory with the 2 speed auto. The 53 and 54's probably sell for roughly the same amount as your 51,and even the 55 and 56's aren't that much more expensive unless you go for a convertible or stationwagon. The 2dr ht's will probably be a little more pricey,but if you can live with a 4dr sedan,you can probably sell yours for enough to buy one.

 

Maybe someone else that knows more and doesn't have to do so much guessing will chime in to help you?

Edited by knuckleharley
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Here in Oz Chrysler used both the 23" and 25" engines sometimes BOTH in the same year but depending on whether you ordered a standard 3 speed, with overdrive or an automatic then that determined which engine you got, the reason I mention this is that from at least 1957 here in Oz, the Australian Chrysler Royal which was based on a 1954 Plymouth body & chassis with the 25" 250 cube engine had firstly the 2 speed Powerflite operated via push buttons then the 3 speed Torqueflite was used till the end of the Chrysler Royal production.......the use here in Oz would have been via the importation of US sourced bellhousings and the relevant transmissions........there MUST be someone in the USA who knows for certain which bellhousings fit what.......for my money I'd be trying to fit a 3 speed Torqueflite with its square shaped push button setup from a 57 onwards Dodge or Plymouth, neat and relatively easy to adapt to another car.............Knuckle..........have you tried to fit the 55 Plymouth trans & torque convertor to the 250/251 De Soto engine?............the reason I suggest the T'flite trans is that it has the simple to mount square selector button arrangement............when I 1st installed the 318 Poly& T/Flite in my 1940 Dodge in 1973 the square push buttons were easily mounted in a home made box so I know it works that way........lol...........andyd     

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34 minutes ago, Andydodge said:

........Knuckle..........have you tried to fit the 55 Plymouth trans & torque convertor to the 250/251 De Soto engine?............the reason I suggest the T'flite trans is that it has the simple to mount square selector button arrangement............when I 1st installed the 318 Poly& T/Flite in my 1940 Dodge in 1973 the square push buttons were easily mounted in a home made box so I know it works that way........lol...........andyd     

No,I have not.  My plan is to use the original 42 230 engine if possible. It only has 30k original miles on it. If that doesn't work out,I plan on using the 55 230 unless it turns out to be cracked. The 251 is just something I happen to have handy that is another possible option. I knew it ran good,and the guy that owned the 51 DeSoto it was in decided to part the car out,knows I am a fan of flat 6's,and owes me a couple of favors,so he called me on the phone and asked me if I wanted to buy the engine for 200 bucks. How could I NOT want a good running 251 for 200 bucks? For one thing,the original flat 6 in my 33 Dodge 4dr is worn out,and the 251 DeSoto would make a fine replacement engine to get it on the road.

 

I may very well be wrong,but I think the 54 and later auto-trans will bolt right to the 51 251 with no problems.  Right now the 55 230,auto trans,shift lever,driveshaft,and auto trans geared rear end are conveniently stored securely in the 55 Plymouth body and chassis,and I can't think of a better place to store them until I need them. Not much chance of anything getting misplaced or mixed up with other stuff there.

Edited by knuckleharley
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29 minutes ago, Andydodge said:

...for my money I'd be trying to fit a 3 speed Torqueflite with its square shaped push button setup from a 57 onwards Dodge or Plymouth, neat and relatively easy to adapt to another car...........

BTW,I happen to know for a fact that the 56 DeSoto's also has similar push-button shift box for the 2 speed auto transmissions they use. I have one sitting out in my yard in the 56 DeSoto parts car I bought as a donor car for my 33 Plymouth coupe. It has the 330 hemi,and the 2 speed auto trans with push-button controls.

 

The 55 DeSotos used a lever gear selector in the dash like the Chryslers. Since the Powerflite trans first came out in 1954,it MIGHT also be a bolt on to the 251 flat 6's.

BTW,it SEEMS the 54 Mopars with automatic transmissions used a gear selector dial mounted on top of the steering column,like Ford and GM. If you were to buy one of these you might have to get the steering box also,or try to find and buy either a 2 speed dash selector and cable,or a floor shift conversion. Cars with automatic transmissions and gear selectors on the column had longer steering shafts and columns than the standard shift cars.

 

According to All Par,Mopar used the 2 speed auto trans in different applications right up to 1961.  https://www.allpar.com/mopar/powerflite.html

 

 

Edited by knuckleharley
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my choice would be a 54 or 55 Powerflite  from a six cylinder car with the lever shift which could be connected to the column shifter.  Some sort of throttle position linkage would also be needed.

There is a kit out there which will allow a GM 350 trans to be attached but I am not sure what can be done about the rear engine mounts.

 

Also, you might consider a hand control for the clutch.  There was a 52 Chrysler around here which worked out very well for the owner.  I cannot supply a picture but I do know that there were many such arrangements following WW2 which enabled disabled vets to drive cars which were at that time mostly standard shift.  Such an apparatus could be used for the clutch only.

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3 hours ago, dpollo said:

my choice would be a 54 or 55 Powerflite  from a six cylinder car with the lever shift which could be connected to the column shifter.  Some sort of throttle position linkage would also be needed.

 

Won't work unless you get the whole steering box or at a minimum,the steering shaft and the column from the donor car. They are longer to accommodate the gear selector.

An option would be to use a floor shift conversion if you can find one that could be made to work,like maybe one intended for a Powerglide or a Fordomatic.

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You only need the clutch for starting off, waiting for a long train, and for shutting down.  If you had to, you could use a cane to work the clutch.  Or come up with a Rube Goldberg contraption.  Or find out what is available commercially.  It sounds a lot easier than putting in an automatic transmission.       

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That's true, but then with the tip toe, unless low range is needed, should be able to use one leg for operation. A working parking brake to hold car while shifting to reverse or forward, and beyond that it's automatic.. No reason not to try and see if it can be driven like that

 

Also an option to add a VW Autostick diaphram, with a vac servo. Push button clutch. swap the horn ring for use as the clutch switch, and hide a horn button

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22 minutes ago, JerseyHarold said:

I'd be very careful about making my own clutch-operating tool.  If there were ever an accident, the lawyers would zero-in on an 'unproven' design and it could cost a lot of money if the jury agrees.

Then go to the experts and have a handicap clutch installed there are double amps from the iraq war driving clutches out there. 

 

 

http://www.heartlandmobility.com/driving-aids

 

Google is your friend........Good luck

Edited by Frank Elder
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40 minutes ago, matt167 said:

 

 

Also an option to add a VW Autostick diaphram, with a vac servo. Push button clutch. swap the horn ring for use as the clutch switch, and hide a horn button

VERY clever idea!

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Also if you don't particularly like the Torqueflite push button setup as I did after a couple of years you can find any Mopar or late 60's Valiant auto console as I did and modify the shifter to have a small pin on it to move the inner cable and make a bracket to hold the outer cable and the Valiant shifter works the push button cast iron gearbox & has done so for 40 yrs..........I ended up getting a shorter custom made cable after a few more years as the original cable was just too long and kept getting in the way but its possible to adapt/modify or change to suit your needs............andyd   

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