Powerglide
The current cliché du jour being used by a certain political campaign about "powering through" their difficulty, caused me to wonder if some people really know what power is...
Having grown up shifting gears, I entered the world of “automatic” transmissions with a “Powerglide” coupled to a 283 c.i. V-8 in a 1960 Chevrolet. Looking back, that transmission was one rugged piece of gear; it took a lot of abuse, with never as much as a whimper, during the 90,000+ miles that I put on that car. Gas mileage? That’s another issue…
There were two primary versions of the Powerglide transmission: the "Cast Iron Powerglide", the type that I had in my ’60 Chevy, was marketed until 1963, and later the "Aluminum Powerglide" where the case and several of its other parts were made of aluminum.
The Aluminum Powerglide is still used today as a racing transmission of choice, mainly for the fact that it shifts only once — and for its extreme durability. It is also possible to purchase all the parts needed to build an Aluminum Powerglide, from scratch, from most racing parts vendors.
Powerglide transmissions still have a strong following in drag racing due to their strength and simplicity. They are also popular in mud racing and monster truck racing.
Robert Campisi set the World Record for the fastest run using a Powerglide transmission, clocking 5.95s at 260 mph in September 2011.
The best ability is reliability… The ‘old' Powerglide can handle it. And, there isn't anything political about it!
/fl