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Member
Posts: 6
Location: Western Canada | Hi folks, I'm new here. Also new to vintage cars. Not new to wrenching. So I recently picked this up.
My 1953 Windsor Deluxe. Built in Detroit. Fluid drive tranny with clutch and torque converter.
Semi-Auto I guess you could call it. L-Head 6 cylinder. I hope to meet fellow Windsor Deluxe owners here.
Cheers! - Keith
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Expert 5K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | Congrats Keith. Nice car.
Looks like you could be Lower Mainland? If so or regardless, do you want a local connection to New Old Stock (NOS) Chryco/Mopar parts? If so I will PM you here.
Dave F. (in New Westminster) |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 7207
Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Hi Keith, Nice car indeed. You probably won't find many others on this site who have a car like that. This site is dedicated primarily to 1955-1962 Chrysler Products, which are designated the "Forward Look Era", of cars designed by Virgil Exner. So please enjoy yourself here anyhow if you like the site. I live over in Victoria. |
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Member
Posts: 6
Location: Western Canada | Ahh, I see. 1955 to 1962. I missed role call by 2 years. Ah well, we share lots in common. I will frequent here anyway and meet some other enthusiasts.
I got excited when I found this forum. Not knowing that Forward Look meant, I jumped right in. Thanks for setting me straight. There seems to be some
real decent folks here. Maybe I should buy another later 50's Chrysler.  |
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Expert
Posts: 1309
Location: Comox,British Columbia | Welcome
I've been away for awhile but getting back into it.
Erik
Comox
Vancouver island |
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Expert
Posts: 3480
Location: Montreal, Canada | Welcome here from a French-Canuck out in Quebec!
You got a beautiful car, and even though it's not a Forward Look, it certainly looks great! As I grow older, I tend to prefer older cars, personally and I might someday "graduate" to a pre-1955 vehicle myself!  |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | I really like those early Chryslers and the green color looks really nice on it.
So how do you like the 6 cyl motor in that car? To my inexperienced eyes, it looks like a lot of car for such a small motor. Do you know what the rear gear ratio is?
Edited by Powerflite 2017-05-24 4:49 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 782
Location: Edmonton, Alberta | You have a stunning car there. Enjoy the site...welcome aboard.
I know little about the fluid drive stuff..can you tell us more? Is it true you can shift to 3rd gear and not have to shift the car anymore?
Edited by sconut1 2017-05-24 8:29 PM
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Location: The Mile High City | Awesome, Keith!  It may not fit into the strict range, but I appreciate a great car when I see one. Wonderful images!
The Windsor just oozes luxury!
Edited by Lancer Mike 2017-05-24 9:48 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1819
Location: Vancouver, BC |
The car is in beautiful shape. Would be a great car to go for a drive on warm sunny day.
A couple of things to remember on the Fluid Drive - it is NOT the transmission. The fluid coupling is placed between the engine and the clutch and has the starter ring gear on it. If you are ever looking for information on parts or service on the fluid coupling you will find it in section 9 - Clutch.
The torque converter was originally available only on V8 DeSoto and Chrysler models. It has a torque converter in place of the fluid coupling and the unit was call "Fluid Torque Drive".
Chrysler called their 4 speed semi automatic Fluid-Matic. You can start the car, place it in any gear and it won't stall if you lift your foot off the clutch pedal. But you need the clutch to shift between neutral, reverse. low range and high range. Your can shift the transmission gear from low to high in either low or high range by lifting your foot off the accelerator. You will hear a clunk and the unit will shift gears. It will downshift automatically to the lower gear in the range when the rpm drops low enough. Parts and service for the semi-automatic are listed in the transmission section.
The cars with Fluid Drive are leisurely, at best, while the Fluid Torque Drive cars do have better pick up.
The whole units are generally easy to maintain with few breakdowns. And they are quite a conversation piece when you go through the motions and show your passengers how it works.
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Member
Posts: 6
Location: Western Canada | Chrycoman summed it up pretty good.
The car has no park. It must be in neutral to start. Once engine is running you can put car in either Low, Reverse, or Drive. Low is 1st and 2nd. 1st is bull low. 1st or 2nd are rarely needed in day to day driving conditions. Put it in drive, thats 3rd and 4th.
You can drive most anywhere, starting out in drive (3rd), except maybe a steep hill. The gearbox will shift from 1st to 2nd, or 3rd to 4th by lifting your foot off the throttle momentarily.
If needed, you could start in first, lift throttle, semi-auto shift to 2nd. Then clutch in, put lever in Drive to shift to third. Accelerate. Lift throttle and semi-auto shift to 4th.
You cannot semi-auto shift from Low to High. (2nd to 3rd). You must clutch in and move console mounted gear lever manually from L to D.
When cruising in 4th, if you need to pass for example, you mash the throttle to the floor. The engine power stalls quickly, the gearbox auto shifts down to third and off you go.
You cannot manually down shift from high range (D) to low range while in motion. Not that I have figured out yet.
The flat head L-6 engine is more like a tractor engine. 264.5 cubic inch, 119 hp. There is not a ton of power there, but gets the job done. I was cruising at 70 MPH on the hi-way recently. Driving around town is all I use it for.
Nice evening cruises, down for an ice cream or walk in the park. The 6 is fine for our needs. 30-35 MPH is all I can get out of it climbing a fairly steep hill. The car purrs at idle and sounds silky smooth.
It's a nice comfortable ride. It feels like you are driving around in a room with the family, when we all jump in for a cruise.
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New Member in Wester Canada. '53 Chrysler
