Sunday, March 14, 2021
Random auto Yno
Chrysler could have turned its 1941 semiautomatic into a full automatic easily.
The semi, called Vacamatic on Chryslers and Simplimatic on DeSotos, was just Fluid Drive plus a 3-speed with overdrive. You needed the clutch to get into forward gear, and then you drove without a clutch until you needed to park or get into reverse. The fluid coupling took care of normal stop and go, and the overdrive shifted automatically when you reached 20 or so. It was a full automatic except for the initial choice of direction. It worked well and proved to be durable.
One more gimmick could have eliminated the clutch pedal entirely, and Chrysler already had the gimmick. Around '31 to '33, they had equipped all four brands with free-wheeling plus a vacuum-powered automatic clutch. The vacuum mechanism was sensitive to movements of the shift lever. It disengaged and engaged the clutch when you moved the lever. This gimmick never works well, and Chrysler abandoned it. With hard gears and hard clutch, you can't get enough control for proper starts or proper shifts.
The vacuum clutch would have worked nicely on the selector of the Vacamatic, because the Fluid Drive softened all engagements. A solenoid on the hard clutch could have been connected directly to a switch on the selector lever so it disengaged momentarily then re-engaged.
Ford and Studebaker apparently tried to do something like this in '42, but they were starting from scratch and didn't develop or test it properly. Only a few cars got the gadget, and most of them were recalled and replaced with plain manuals. Chrysler already had most of it done in the Vacamatic, and had the engineering for the extra part left over from '31.
Labels: Alternate universe
¶ 3:36 PM
