57 Hydramatic 3 Speed shift indicator question

[MrTucker]

Originally Posted by sam512bb

Good day MrTucker,

Thanks for the pic! Very cool! Again, I am surprised that they had autos in the early trucks! I guess one learns something everyday.

Interestingly, my shift pattern is more like a modern transmission. "P R N D 1 2". I just got the truck and have not gone underneath to check all of the casting numbers to find out if all is original.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Sam

I figured mine would be too early for you. They actually made auto's in trucks prior to '53, but they were in military trucks and large trucks. They made the Hydra-Matic as early as '38 is cars, but '53 was the first year for a truck (at least for GMC, Chevy didn't start till '54). A '53 with a Hydra-matic is pretty rare - I've been searching and searching for about a year now and I've only seen 2.