GM Automatic Transmission

Chevy Powerglide

How many automatic transmissions can you name that have been around since 1950? Your winner is the Powerglide automatic transmission. First made in 1950, the Powerglide is a 2 speed automatic transmission that we first used in Chevrolet cars of the day and has now become a staple drag racing transmission among enthusiast straight liners. The Powerglide is simple and strong, which explains why drag racers like it so much. Around 1960, GM began making aluminum Powerglides. They were first introduced in cast iron. Powerglides were usually put behind small-block Chevrolet V8s and inline six cylinder engines. By the late 1960s buyers were demanding three-speed transmissions.

Performance Automatic Racing Transmissions

In 1969, the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic 350 or TH-350 was introduced as a replacement to the Powerglide on Chevrolet cars and trucks with six-cylinder or small and medium sized V8 engines. You could also find it on vehicles of other GM divisions. The Powerglide hung around as a low-budget automatic transmission option mostly for six-cylinder and four-cylinder engines. The Powerglide finally met it’s demise from the GM lineup after 1973.