Seems like Chrysler is in the air here currently, so this 1948 Windsor posted at the Cohort by channaher seems like a good fit. Any Chrysler products from this vintage are venerable, due to their highly robust build and component quality. Although the new front end that was stuck on them in 1946, and endured with some changes until the all-new 1949s came along, are a bit odd: the front end looks like it’s from a whole different decade than the rest of the body, which is of course the reality. Or an old Dodge with a more modern Chrysler front end. Same difference. But venerable nevertheless.
From the twin exhausts sticking out the back end,
as well as what looks to be a modern steering column, this one has almost surely had its vital organs replaced. Well, that’s a bit less than ideal; the 250 inch flathead six was the king of the flathead sixes, if there ever was one, and was still being installed in Power Wagons well into the sixties. Perfect for tooling around in this old pile.
The big six was once mated with Chrysler’s famous Fluid Drive, a fluid coupling mated to a three-speed transmission. That allowed clutchless take-offs, but still meant clutching to shift between gears. A hybrid, of sorts.
Fluid Drive (fluid coupling) was also used with a semi-automatic transmission behind it, but that gets really complicated to explain when I’m being called to lunch. But the regular Fluid Drive meant that one could theoretically start in High (third) and not shift, if you want the acceleration of a GMC transit bus. Anyway, this one undoubtedly has a Torqueflite behind a V8. Where’s the fun in that?
Yea and verily, one of these is on my ever-shortening bucket list of cars to own. The 8 cylinder New Yorker is king, but one of the 6s (that seemed to comprise about 95% of production) would be fine. I would take a DeSoto in a pinch.
The Fluid Drive was interesting. Dodge got the Fluid Drive mated to the 3 speed manual. I have driven one (a 1951) and it was quite slow. Most of the DeSotos and Chryslers got the semi-automatic along with the Fluid Drive. The unit was a 4 speed transmission that would give you one vacuum-powered shift when you let off the gas.
Most driving was done with the lever in what would be 3rd gear in a stick (high range). The tranny starts in 3rd, then once at speed, let off the gas, listen for the Thunk, and step on it, because you are now in high.
For pulling stumps or for real accelleration, put the lever in first (Low range). Let off the gas and it will shift to second. Then you manually shift to high range, and do the 3 to 4 automatic shift as above. There was nothing in the second gear place for the lever. Reverse always required the clutch. All in-gear idling is just like with an automatic, due to the fluid coupling. Chrysler claimed that the system eliminated 95% of shifting. Just don’t be in a hurry.
Chrysler relied on some variation of this system into the 1954 models when the 2-speed PowerFlite finally came out. Funny how Chrysler was the No. 2 carmaker in most of that time. I suspect that the lack of a full automatic after about 1950 or so hastened its retreat into 3rd place among the big 3.
Ah yes, Fluid Drive, with the disadvantages of both stick-shift and automatic transmissions and the advantages of neither….gear ratios like first and second and fifth of a five-speed…these were meant to be dumped into high and then left there all day.
Anyway, this one undoubtedly has a Torqueflite behind a V8. Where’s the fun in that?
Do you want to drive it or do you want to look at it? That’s always been my feeling about old iron, if it is not a museum piece and you actually want to drive the sucker I harbor no ill will toward you for making upgrades, although I likely would have tried to keep the same steering column.
Don’t underestimate an original car kept in good working condition. No, the performance isn’t going to come close to anything currently in production; but the whole point of owning a vintage car is to experience what the original owner actually lived with. Not a “look at me” body on a boringly modern drivetrain.
As you can probably guess, I loathe these upgraded street rods. I’m old enough to remember when an antique car show contained just that: Antique cars, either in well cared for original condition or restored to a perfect rendition of what came out of the factory gates on a given day.
Then in the mid-70’s, along came “American Graffiti”. And suddenly, anyone who was building a vintage car had to come up with a teenage dream cruisemobile (don’t ask what the real teenagers were driving in 1962). And most vintage cars are now being hacked to death with SBC’s and other abominations.
Now, get off my lawn!
Living in the southwest, there isn’t even a continuous strech of two lane black top from Gallup to Albuquerque. There IS a continuous strech of interstate so any vehicle incapable of sustained interstate speeds will be stuck in Gallup.
I dunno about the TorqueFlite. Look closely at the steering wheel/column – it’s from a mid 70’s Chevy, very possibly a Monte Carlo (which would tie everything together nicely). Betcha it’s got a SBC/THM 350.
That thought briefly crossed my mind, but then I didn’t want to go there. You’re probably right.
I’m with you Dan. If you want a driver (and I do) take advantage of the modern technology out there and build something that combines the best of old and new.
Although I wouldn’t go SBC in a Mopar. One of the new Hemis, however….
Long-wheelbase DeSotos with the semi-automatic were the standard-issue New York City cab for years. They were noted for their absolute reliability.
Ran across one of these getting a new muffler a couple years ago. Big flathead six and IIRC a 3 speed manual. The owner drove it around just fine. Think I would prefer keeping it stock but wouldn’t turn down it or this one.
Why is that big metal sunshade so popular on cars of this vintage? That must’ve make looking at overhead traffic light next to impossible.
Anyway, too bad about the shattered windshield. It’s a split windshield but it cracked as if it was a single piece of glass.
Cars of that vintage didn’t have air conditioning. The shade was more effective than windshield tint at reflecting heat. I would still go for that but it was a no brainer back then because in flyover country (where I still live) there really weren’t very many lights.
I spend most of my time outside the city so still don’t have as many lights to deal with as most. You are right, however, you better leave some room between you and the intersection if you are going to see a light change.
Also, cars of this vintage rarely spent more than a few minutes at speeds over 45 mph, so the tendency of the visor to catch air at higher speeds was also a minor point.
http://wheels-of-time.com/guidetrafficlightvewfinderwscrewmt.aspx
Wow, I faintly remember seeing those on big visors in the fifties. Reminds me of “necker knobs“. J.C.Whitney and Pep Boys were full of that great stuff.
Keep in mind that modern owners of vintage cars tend to look at the catalogs and start bolting on every accessory that said catalog lists. Yet, back in the day, very few owners spent lots of money on those gewgaws. I tend to laugh at vintage cars shows when I look at ’55-65 Chevies dressed up in all that stuff, and then remember my dad mentioned that all those fender skirts, fake exhaust ports, fake radio antennas, etc. sold very poorly.
There was an after-market prism (?) that mounted above the dashboard. When looking at it the driver couldn’t actually see the traffic signal, but could see the color of the signal while waiting at an intersection. Maybe someone knows more about this.
That was a mid-fifties Chevrolet accessory, occasioned by the development of wraparound windshields that gave you limited and somewhat distorted visibility. It would be handy on something like this, but I don’t know that it would be period correct.
There was one of these in a wrecking yard I worked in as a kid used for towing dead uns about mainly because of its stump pulling ability thinking back the Chrysler was in good order which is a rarity in a old time NZ wrecking yard most cars were so rusted they had been put off the road for it but this thing ran ok and was mostly complete. It got replaced by a 60 Ford wagon that had been rearended with the tailgates removed it was easier to throw parts into but even with a big V8 it didnt tow thru mud as well as the Chrysler.
In Laramie, Wyoming, in 1962, I found a 1947 black Windsor coupe in outstanding condition that a dealer wanted about $375 for. Alas, another one of my missed opportunities.
Too bad you did not get more photos of this Chrysler, i would have liked to see what the bumper sticker said. Spring and Summer in the Northeast sure is nice, all the old cars come out of hiding and drive around.
It’s from the Cohort/Flickr page; there’s more pics there.
The bumper sticker? KEEP HONKING I’M RELOADING.
My dad, in the late 1980’s, had a 1949 Windsor as a hobby. I drove it quite a lot because it was really cool pulling up to a date’s place in a 1949 Chrysler one evening and a Yamaha RZ350 the next. Really kept the ladies guessing, wondering what kind of a freak I was.
But anyway, I digress. The “Spitfire” flat head six made prodigious low end torque. It seemed that something like 90% of the torque of this smoothie was available right off of idle. With the fluid drive, all you had to do in the city was leave it in second gear. The torque of the wonderful motor would allow you to keep up with traffic with no problems at all. I can see why Chrysler engineers were so enamoured with the Fluid Drive because with the torque of the motor it really made the extra cost and complexity of a planetary gear automatic unnecessary.
That ’49 Windsor was a very nice car to drive. It rode beautifully and could roll up the Malahat north of Victoria at 65 mph without breaking a sweat. It steered and braked very well, once you got used to it; the steering was hardly fast and plenty of cranking was necessary to get you around a corner. The wheel practically whipped back to centre, too! The only thing I really didn’t like was the willowy body structure; big bumps made it shake itself like a wet Afghan hound after a bath. Best of all was the Spitfire Six; smooth, smooth, smooth. That car never made you want to go fast. Just tooling around at legal speed was relaxed and lots of fun.
I was in High School in 73-74. A friend of mine had a 48 Chrysler which he parked in front of his girlfriend’s house. The car got loose and rolled down the hill jumping the curb and taking out a tree. He couldn’t find a scatch on the car.
Absolutely gorgeous ’47 Windsor currently for sale on trademe:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/chrysler/windsor/auction-454261257.htm
Extraordinarily rare here being bought NZ-new as a Government car.
Wow, so much nicer-looking than the yellow one. Black makes a world of difference with all that fussy chrome at the front.
That thing looks regal.
I’m partial to European iron, but I have a long history with various Jeeps built by Chrysler and AMC (first ride was in a ’74 J-10 4×4 with a V-8 and 4-speed manual…no rear facing child seat nanny state stuff in 1981) so when it comes to Detroit iron, I’d happily go with a Chrysler.
That was the rumor about the one at Kaikohe Wreckers it was ex Govt.
A 1946 DeSoto was our main mode of transportation in the early to mid fifties. Had the fluid drive. The memory I take away from that car is heavy and ponderous. You did not get in a hurry in one of those cars. Of course, in those pre interstate days it usually didn’t matter. My Dad hardly ever drove faster than 45 mph anyway. Our trips from Houston to Henderson were practically an all day affair at 35 to 40 mph on the old 2 lane US 59. No air and 4 kids in the back seat. Good thing we all got along. They were also built like tanks. One one of our excursions Dad was driving along at about 30 mph. A flat bed truck going the other way lost a wheel off the duals on the back and the tire whacked us on the driver side front fender. Dad pulled into a parking lot to inspect the damage. The only thing we could find was a black mark where the tire hit the car. No dent or bent bumper. It was finally replaced with a ’57 Plymouth.
Yes, those cars were hell for stout. My mother was passing a 46-48 Chrysler coupe in the 1950 Packard, cut in prematurely, and hooked his left front bumper with her right rear. The Packard’s rear bumper was bent out at a ninety-degree angle, and the Chrysler sustained a scratch in the paint on the fender.
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I am looking for fluid drive m6 tranny parts. Any sources would be welcome. Thanks