Hey all! Owned my finally finished 68 conv. 18 years, love the site,but this is my first time out so be gentle. My bird has a 2spd.auto on the column. I show this car in u.s. and canada (and always send the camaro owners home crying) and after dozens of shows have never seen another. Anybody know how many autos came this way ,or how unique this may be?

mine was a 2spd auto column w/ 6cy. i don't think it is that unusual, i see it everyday

when i got my car it was a 3spd auto, now a 4spd auto. still on the column, the way i like it.

Two speed was a common base model trans on 6 cylinder and 326 2 bbls. I had a Powerglide column shift on a '70 Nova, really cool trans for racing as the engine was always in the powerband and there was only one shift

Unfortunately, the trans eventually lost Park, Reverse and 2nd so I was limited to 55 mph. I sold the car at a profit and moved on.

You don't find all that many two speeds on the road because it was popular in the pre-resto days to put in Turbo 350s and Turbo 400s along with bigger engines. A lot of two speeds were used in auto drag cars and were killed off.

If your car is a 6 cylinder or 326 unmolested, it's great that you still have your two speed. Column shift is no liability with this trans.

I see oh wise ones! My 2 spd. came on my 68 with the 350 yj code I know the car was purchased new by someone of the female persuasion,and it is phs documented to have it.perhaps she ordered it that way? And your right,from 0 to 100mph she only shifts once,at 70! Awesome! thanks to all.

I had the exact combo; 68 350 with 2-speed on the column. I think it was a standard combination when you picked the 350 without the console.
Jim

A few years back I saw an original 69 400 car with a column shift....

I knew the 326s used the two speed, I wan't sure if it carried over to the '68 350s. Glad to know it does! There is a '67 326 with a console shift two speed for sale not too far from me, though the original engine is gone.

eewwww. powerglide is a chevy transmission.

pontiac uses the st300, which i think is the same as what olds referred to as the Jetaway

both are 2 spds, and similar if not identical gear ratios.
but jetaway sounds so much cooler than slipnslide... er.. powerglide.

2spds are good for high torque motors with or without low (numerically high) rear gears, whether in racing drag or autox. they can keep you in your desired torque range. their first gear is similar to second gear in most other automatics. i have a little bitty engine, so my 2 spd is gone. i need all the gear i can give it to keep up with a v8. i think i'll tend to see ford headlights and pontiac taillights once i'm back on the road 1st gear wont last to 30mph w/ my combo.

Sorry for the nomenclature...I haven't studied Pontiacs long enough. Thanks for the correction, Scott, and I corrected my posts. But I do like the powerbands on the two speeds, and most of the Pontiacs are torquey engines, so shifting once from standstill to freeway speed is cool. Of course, once you get there, you have to slow down to hit passing gear.

Maybe it was the fact it was a Chevy 6 cylinder that made my Nova top out at 55 in first...

hear tell someone got a bit of a thrashing for advertising a powerglide in parts for sale once. i didn't do it. we knew what you meant. dont do it again

your 6cy nova must have had about a 3.23 rear gear to get it off the line, and then top 1st out at 55. Dan's v8 likely has highway gears like 2.56 or 2.78 and gets off the line fine with that. a 6 would be a dog with that combo. the 2spd, depending on model, had about a 1.76 1st gear.

here is a site i like to visit occasionally to calculate projected RPM
web page

i like the extra floor space with the column shift. i even had a car and a van with 3spd manual column. those are great. wonder if any birds had those?

I had an experience with a three on the tree...a friend had moved to Ft. Lauderdale for a job transfer. The next year I went down for spring break, I called him and he came and partied with us. He was way too trashed to drive (as were we all) but insisted he had to go home so he could go to work in the morning. Once we got him in the van and got his address (and figured out the funky Florida streets, avenues, boulevards, etc) I put the keys in the ignition then found it was a three on the tree. Having never driven one sober, it was quite an experience making my way through the spring break crowds without stalling or running someone over while learning how to drive it. He got home safely, eventually.

The '69 service manual shows 3 on the tree (Saginaw) was an available configuration with a 6 cylinder engine (code FK)

I remember the easy way to spot a two speed if you can't see the shifter panel...look at the trans tailpiece for a big weight bolted underneath. Faster than looking at the trans pan...