Re: [FWDLK] Fluid Drive Shift Patterns

[Bill Watson <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

By shift pattern, I suspect you are actually referring to the semi-automatic
transmission.  Fluid Drive is just the fluid coupling between the engine and
the clutch.  Cars with Fluid Drive and the regular 3-speed transmission
shifted as per normal.  But you go stop and go in third gear thanks to the
fluid coupling.  Performance was sluggish, to be polite.   The later
Fluid-Torque Drive models, with a torque converter, were better and had the
same performance as a Buick with early Dynaflow or Chevrolet's first
generation Powerglide.

As to the semi-automatic, do you mean where the gears are on the gear shift
lever?  If so, reverse is where reverse normally is on a 3-on-the-tree while
high range is where third is.  Low range is where second gear is and the
spot where first gear should be is blocked off.

If you mean how you shift, each range has two gears.  You start out in the
lower of the two gears, pick up speeed, lift your foot off the accelerator,
wait for the 'clunk'  (Chrysler used to say 'click', but it is 'clunk') and
you have high gear of that range.

The neatest thing is that you can put it in high range and stop and go
without using the clutch.  But you must lift the foot off the accelerator to
shift from low gear to high within the range.

Bill
Vancouver, BC


----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Stragand
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 9:09 PM
Subject: [FWDLK] Fluid Drive Shift Patterns


Hi All,

I know it's a bit off topic, but if anyone has any earlier Mopar literature
that has the Fluid Drive shift patterns, is it possible you could send me a
scan (or good description) of the shift pattern(s)?

Thanks in Advance,

-Dave

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