Motoring Weekly

I first heard about the Torqueflite gearbox being used in the Jensen FF and other European cars that used large Chrysler Hemis for power. The gearbox was suitably mated to the Hemi because both came from Chrysler.

The first Torqueflite was released in 1956 as a 3-speed auto replacing the Powerflite which was a 2-speed box. Variants of the torqueflite can be found on Jeep and other Chrysler brands today, some 52 years later!

Early models had push button selectors in the dashboard instead of column mount or gear lever action. A “Park” lever was added from 1960 that put the box in Neutral, locked the shaft and buttons. Chrysler switched to the column shift to standardise their boxes with General Motors and Ford as the PRND21 sequence in the gearbox was defined by the Society of American Engineers to stop drivers selecting the wrong gear when driving an unfamiliar car.

The Torqueflite used the Simpson Gearset which consisted of two identical planetary gearsets linked together. The design was such that most of the gear components were identical thus reducing manufacturing costs as well as being very smooth to use. Howard Simpson had spent most of his life designing planetary gears, initially for the Ford Tractor Company and then the Ford Motor Company. It was after he had resigned due to ill health that he designed his 3-speed gearset that was licenced to Chrysler.

Chrysler subsequently started to sell the gearbox with or without engines to a wide variety of American and European manufacturers such as Jensen and AMC used it on their commercial and Jeep ranges before they were acquired by Chrysler.

The gearbox, or its descendants are still being built and used on Chrysler models today. They are now called by model numbers rather than Torqueflite, but if you drive a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge and it’s an auto, chances are its a Torqueflite!