I thought the 54 still had fluid drive, but what do I know, I was driving 4 speed hydramatic Oldsmobiles back then. I always felt that this was the best automatic to come out of Detroit and probably would even be very competitive today. Low gear was a real stump puller and you could still run a 3:08 rear-end and hole shot just about anyone at the local dragstrip, lock(BM treatment) it in any gear until you wanted to shift and they were almost unbreakable. Especially if you had B&M give it one their workovers. Used a fluid coupling technique instead of a torque converter. We was running a 55 Cheby with a 394 CI Olds motor and a B&M back then, and it could run with all the big dogs on the street and most of them at our local dragstrips(Lincoln, Grand Island and Omaha). My Cheby friends hated me for doing that as of course you never replaced a Cheby engine with something other back then and it was always embarrassing to be taken down by an Olds powered anything. GM really screwed Hydramatic in the 1956 edition with their much slushier(read smoother) version, and went totally to hell with the 1961 3 speed edition. By then you were better of with a Torqueflight. I suspect that many of you, as I do, remember those days as among the best of your lives. I also suspect that is the reason that many of you all, as me to, are 300 letter fans as they were produced only in this great era of American iron from the mid 50's to the early 60's. What was the question again? Roger Schaaf ----- Original Message ----- From: Rich Barber To: pacesetter300@xxxxxxxxx ; 'Wayne Graefen' ; chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 3:38 PM Subject: RE: [Chrysler300] Chrysler WINS Daytona !!! The '54 would have had the two-speed powerflite, right? I was surprised and shocked to hear the brakes broke! I popped a front brake hose on my '50 Windsor one time in the midst of an emergency stop. Banh--right to the floor. I yanked the emergency brake and locked up the rears and got shut down, but only after doing some fancy maneuvering. This brings up the value of dual/split braking systems that retain braking to two wheels if a hose or some other failure occurs. Like accepting seat belts, I'd like to see the judging of our 300's not deduct for safety modifications such as improved braking. C-300'ly, Rich Barber 1955 Chrysler C-300 (99 44/100% pure) -----Original Message----- From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Russ Vaughan Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 8:36 AM To: Wayne Graefen; chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Chrysler WINS Daytona !!! You would think someone in professional journalism could spell brakes correctly, not breaks as in the article. Nice info though, I thought '55 was the first year for Chrysler. Russ Vaughan Wayne Graefen <wgraefen@xxxxxxx> wrote: http://www.saveourhistory.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7255 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/ Yahoo! Groups - Join or create groups, clubs, forums & communities. Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4It09A/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/8LmulB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Chrysler300-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:Chrysler300-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Chrysler300-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/