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41 hydramatic

Started by Greg 18360, January 09, 2007, 07:34:13 AM

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Greg 18360

Does any one know if a 48 hydramatic will be a direct bolt into a 41 like the 46 and 47 will.
          Thanks Greg

Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397

Without a doubt, Doug Houston will know the answer to that question. He has post-war Hydramatics in at least one of his 41 Cadillacs as well as his 41 Oldsmobile. If he hasnt seen this post in a day or so and replied to it, look him up in the directory under Michigan or find one of his earlier posts and send him an email.

Paul Flykt CLC # 18899

The search option on this forum is a great tool to find past discussions on many subjects. Type in Hydramatic and scroll down to May 23,06. You will find some info from Doug Houston and others in this regard. A more or less detailed search may provide more threads about this potential swap.

Doug Houston

You mighta known it!!

The answer is Yes, of course. Youll need the following parts to do it:  46-48 flywheel. 46-48 bell housing. 46-48 fluid coupling; all pieces. 46-48 transmission from Cadillac. U-joint yoke from that transmission. Keep the 41 control levers, and re-use. All mounts fall into the same places.

By all means, open the transmission and re-do all the seals. Dont just hope that it will be O.K., because it worked in the other car.

You can use a later transmission with the bell housing and fluid coupling as described above, but in 1949, the front pump was changed, and protrudes from the front face of the transmission a bit. It is necessary to machine a counterbore in the bell housing 1/4 deep, and 4 inches diameter. Ive done it on all of the ones I have. The 1952 transmission can be used also, but it has an additional drive range to hold in third gear for climbing hills, etc. Ive always preferred 51 and earlier, simply because they match the selector quadrant exactly. The51 had a cone clutch reverse selection, and you can snatch it into reverse as soon as the engine fires. The one on my 41 convertible coupe is a little harsh on the 2-3 upshift, but I can live with it easily.

Two of the 41 Cadillacs have 49 Cadillac transmissions, and the 41 Olds has a 50 Olds on it. If theyre adjusted properly, youll never want to drive a better shifting transmission. On one occasion, the assistant general manager at Hydra-Matic division, rode with me in my 41 club coupe, and he said  Weve come a long way.....the wrong way!! That was about 1971. He really loved it.

Jack Hoffman #7042

I might also add that I have used the `41 bell housing by grinding clearance on the cast ribs inside the housing to provide torus cover clearance. Also, you can remove the spring loaded detent pin in the shift lever quadrant as the detents are in the valve body on the later transmissions.
If you go to a dual range unit it requires some linkage modification for the carb to trans valve body control.

Greg 18360

Thanks guys for the info, Im going to take a look at a 48 parts car this weekend.
                          Thanks Greg