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Push Button Trannies

Not sure when Chrysler phased them out, but my '64 Plymouth Valiant 2-dr hardtop coupe has the transmission controls on the dash, to the left of the steering column. It was basically my first car, the one I really learned how to drive with, and I usually would find myself stabbing the dash with my left hand when driving a car with a more "normal" transmission control location. That transmission, by the way, is an early A-904 Torqueflite. It has a rear pump so that it can be bump started - which back in the day came in useful when it was experiencing charging/starting issues. I remember using the bump start feature more than once when parked at the top of the hill above the UCSF med center where I worked.

Fifteen years ago it cost all of $300 to have that transmission rebuilt. Today, it would be more like $800, but still a bargain. Still have the car, and it runs fine, but I parked it about 10 years ago to save on registration/insurance. Legendary slant six motor.
 
Chrysler Push Button Drive

Chrysler introduced push button automatic transmissions (in both PowerFlite and TorqueFlite versions) starting with the 1956 models. (They replaced a dashboard lever just right of the steering wheel.) But by the early 1960's, there was resistance to the Chrysler push buttons, even though they worked well in normal use. Plus, the federal government was putting pressure on automakers to adopt a PRNDL transmission quadrant to prevent accidents (which happened with automatics that put Reverse next to Low, as in PNDLR). Chrysler adopted lever-controlled automatics (either on the steering column or between the bucket seats) starting with the 1965 models.
And Sudsmaster is right: Those Slant Sixes were indestructable. So were the 318, 360 and 383 V8's, and the marvelous TorqueFlite--the best automatic transmission ever! Even if the trim and small pieces fell apart (a frequent occurence with late 1960's and 1970's Chrysler products), the drivetrain would run on and on.
 
The Edsel was an unusual car. I remember as a kid, asking my dad why Ford dropped the Edsel line. He said the public did not like the styling, plus the fact that the car was named after Fords son did not help either.
 
Sudsmaster

You have one of my dream cars. 1964 was the last Chrysler pusbutton tranny. I so want a Valiant or Dart, with a pushbutton Slant 6!

Mr. and Mrs. Ahern had the little house next door built for them, when we got here in '61, they had a two tone blue Plymouth Fury 2dr hardtop with a Flightsweep rear deck. They left rather quickly, because Mr. Ahern got sick of watching the new houses being slathered with paint out of a wheelbarrow.

112561++2-1-2010-08-34-22.jpg
 
Growing up we had a '57 Lincoln Premiere 4-door hardtop. It was quite the car, but also the world's biggest lemon, however as was stated above, Lincoln never had a push-button transmission control. The '57 did have A/C with a vent in each of the four corners of the ceiling and the two big clear plastic ducts coming up out of the rear dash. My dad had traded in the '51 Cosmopolitan coupe for the '57. After the '57 he swore off Lincolns for a few years until he came across a cream puff of a '65 and bought it for his commute car. He never owned a more faithful vehicle than that one. It's with a collector in Michigan now. I think those Kennedy series Continentals from '61 through '65 were the height of modern day Lincoln quality. I'd like to get my hands on a '63 someday. They're a little more sporty, shorter, lower, with the earlier version of the "Continental" brightwork on the rear quarter panels and have the curved side window glass.

Dan, is your '59 Pontiac by any chance a Bonneville? I'd like to see it sometime regardless! We had family friends who owned one in metallic aqua and still have home movies showing them pulling up to our house in it when it was brand new.
 
Edsel Failure:

One of the big reasons (not the only one) that Edsel failed was that its styling ran directly counter to styling trends current at that time. The most successful cars then had low, horizontal grilles, and high, vertical taillights. Edsel had a vertical grille and horizontal taillights. Many people cannot decide if something unusual is good or not; they pass up things that are distinctive and buy something like everyone else has. In the recession of '58, that was a real problem.

I wrote an article about Edsels some years ago that is still online. To see it (it's free, and no registration or anything), click on the linkie:

 
Great article!

I read it three years ago or so, but I don't retain a lot, so it was nice to see it again. If I had been a buyer in late 1957, I would have fallen in quickly! There was an even less complimentary comparison to the horsecollar grille, as well as the classic "Oldsmobile sucking a lemon". It is unprintable here. At least though, in ten years or less, people started the Edsel Owner's Club.

(West Palm Beach Edsel Dealer)

112561++2-1-2010-15-10-30.jpg
 
1955 Lincoln Futura

112561, the Lincoln Futura prototype which appears in the picture you posted was later used as the Batmobile car in the Batman series of the '60's. They just simply painted it black with red stripes; the car used in the series was this very same prototype, basically "untouched" from a mechanical aspect.
 
Dan, is your '59 Pontiac by any chance a Bonneville? I&#

It's a Catalina Safari (wagon). It isn't much to look at as it's currently undergoing a frame off restoration. I've been trying to locate a specific interior guy for nearly a year now (VERY meticulous about his job) and am having no luck. I may have to find another so I can get on with the restoration. Here's a pic of what mine looks like. It's identical to the gold wagon, down to the trim package and paint color, except mine is a 6 passenger (no rear facing seat) and I have the same gold-ish interior color as the outer body color.

It was a blast to (illegally) drive it around the neighborhood for the short time I had it running, after reviving it from its 27 year nap. They say a frame off restoration starts with an oil change. Yeah, that's kinda how it started with me, lol.

1959 Pontiac - The Old Car Manual Project

The Old Car Manual Project page for our DVD, Sixty from Sixty.
www.oldcarmanualproject.com

qsd-dan++2-1-2010-18-59-22.jpg
 
Batmobile . . .

Thor, you are correct about the original Batmobile having been created from the Lincoln Futura. Generally American show cars such as the Futura were scrapped once they were a few years old, or in some cases kept by the manufacturer. Quite a few of the show cars now in private ownership were sent to be scrapped but sympathetic employees arranged for them to be sent to salvage yards that would then sell them to collectors as scrap metal; this way there was no title so the collectors wouldn't be tempted to drive them or cause trouble with the manufacturer.

The Futura was an interesting case as once it had become too old to show it was mothballed, and then sent to the customizer George Barris as part of a deal for some work he did for Ford. It sat around his shop for awhile in the early '60s until he was hired to create the Batmobile. He realized the Futura would make a great base to work with, and proceeded to make many small changes to the bodywork. The final product was so well accepted that Barris eventually made several copies for promotional work, which is why there are authentic Batmobiles in more than one collection today. As with most all Ford showcars, the Futura had no advanced engineering at all, just regular FoMoCo underpinnings to enable it to run and drive. That was a real boon for Barris, as the rigors of a TV show would have made a car full of one-off mechanical bits impossible to maintain.

As a child I trained my mother to call me in from playing outside just before Batman started so I wouldn't miss seeing the Batmobile shoot flames out of its rear end and then blast out of the Batcave. That flamethrower was one of Barris's changes - arguably the Futura was prettier as originally built, but for a small boy the Batmobile rocked!
 
Jon - great thread, and great photos too! I can't say that I was a part of it, but life seems like it was a joy seeing the photo of you and your father working on the car.

I love the retirement invite - back in the day of 4 digit extensions!

Ben
 
SMS in Oregon can do the embossing too, and they were cheaper than Just Dashes, but I haven't checked in 6 years. They also have reproductions of the Edsel fabrics.

www.smsautofabrics.com

SMS Auto Fabrics - The Largest Selection of Classic Auto Interiors

Suppliers of quality classic auto interiors since 1977. The largest inventory of Auto Upholstery Cloth, Vinyl, Headliners, Carpets, Vinyl Tops, & Door Panels.
www.smsautofabrics.com www.smsautofabrics.com
 

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