3:27 or 3:54 ??

Neil Mylar LakewoodCA

Neil Mylar LakewoodCA

Well-known member
I am buying a 1928 Tudor Sedan, soon.

I plan on putting a high compression police head on it (B on the head).

I have the option of adding either a 3:27 R&P or a 3:54 R&P.

In an earlier thread I asked if the police head would be enough to propell the 3:27 R&P in a light weight pickup truck. The concenses seemed to be yes.

As you know a Tudor is a heavier body. Would it be better to use a 3:54 in the Tudor or would the police head be enough to propell the 3:27?

Also, most parts houses sell a speedometer gear for the 3:54. No one seems to have the correct speedometer gear for the 3:27. As a default, some recommend the same speedometer gear as for the 3:54, which probably means that the speedometer would be off a little. Can anyone comfirm this?

Thank you,
Neil
 
Bert's has the correct speedometer adaptor for the 3.27 ring and pinion, and that's the gears I'd like to put in my 29 Tudor.
 
I am seriously considering putting a set of 16" wheels on my A with 195 - 80 tyres. That means they will be smaller than the originals but to compensate, I'm also considering changing to a 3.54 diff. Any comments/recommendations?
 
Neil Mylar LakewoodCA said:
I am buying a 1928 Tudor Sedan, soon.

I plan on putting a high compression police head on it (B on the head).

I have the option of adding either a 3:27 R&P or a 3:54 R&P.

In an earlier thread I asked if the police head would be enough to propell the 3:27 R&P in a light weight pickup truck. The concenses seemed to be yes.

As you know a Tudor is a heavier body. Would it be better to use a 3:54 in the Tudor or would the police head be enough to propell the 3:27?

Also, most parts houses sell a speedometer gear for the 3:54. No one seems to have the correct speedometer gear for the 3:27. As a default, some recommend the same speedometer gear as for the 3:54, which probably means that the speedometer would be off a little. Can anyone comfirm this?

Thank you,
Neil
Click to expand...
Neil, I have 31 tudor and have been running 3:27 gear since 2001. This was when my car had orig head and only modification was electronic ign. and alternator. I was running this gear when everyone was saying it was to high of a gear. I was still able to pull off from a stop sign in 2 nd gear. This was the first major change I did and I'm glad I did. check on my avatar and see the other changes I made. You will only get 7 mph more speed and not the 10 mph they all advertise. The new speedometer gear you will need is the 17 tooth gear. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA
 
Based on my experiences installing several 3.27 ratios, it is not the head that makes or breaks the deal. It is the cam. I have installed one 3.27 ratio with a stock head (milled only to true it up) and an IB330 cam and it did fine in a '30 Coupe albeit not as agile as one with better breathing and more compression. I have also installed a 3.27 in a '29 Roadster that had a rebuilt engine with a Brumfield head and a 'touring' cam. It was a 'slug' IMHO.

Those two cars and their drive train were not totally comparing apples-to-apples, but it has allowed me to form an opinion that camshafts create better driveabilty than what a hi-compression head does. Note I did not say more horsepower, just better driveability.
 
I had a 3.27 in a 29 roadster pickup with 750x16 tires. Engine was a B motor, C crank, Cook 4 port head and two Winfield carbs. Ran great. Could still kick but on a Porsche 914 that I encountered on way home from work. He hated me.

Tim
 
modelAtony said:
Neil, I have 31 tudor and have been running 3:27 gear since 2001. This was when my car had orig head and only modification was electronic ign. and alternator. I was running this gear when everyone was saying it was to high of a gear. I was still able to pull off from a stop sign in 2 nd gear. This was the first major change I did and I'm glad I did. check on my avatar and see the other changes I made. You will only get 7 mph more speed and not the 10 mph they all advertise. The new speedometer gear you will need is the 17 tooth gear. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA
Click to expand...

Yes, the speed difference is only about 16%, ....which equates out to 60 MPH with the 3.27 when previously driving 52 MPH.
 
"What is an IB330 cam?"

it is a thing of beauty. we have installed several of them, including my own car. really wakes the motor up. Stock motor breathes very poorly, and labors going thru the gears. With the IB330 the car just wants to go with hardly any throttle; you can hear and feel that it is not laboring. It is a takeoff on what Ford did for the Model B engine, only better still
 
tbirdtbird said:
"What is an IB330 cam?"

it is a thing of beauty. we have installed several of them, including my own car. really wakes the motor up. Stock motor breathes very poorly, and labors going thru the gears. With the IB330 the car just wants to go with hardly any throttle; you can hear and feel that it is not laboring. It is a takeoff on what Ford did for the Model B engine, only better still
Click to expand...

Here's a thought, ....what do we do for cams should these ever become unavailable?
 
Jim Brierley has masters that he has regrinds done from. He just posted some of his specs on a couple cams. We have installed a couple of his cams and they are very nice also!
 
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I would think it depends on terrain as indicated above as well as if you are planning on doing any "Parade Crawls".. You'll wear out your knee constantly taking it in and out of gear in a long parade.. Touring on the flats would be a hoot though ;)
 
I've been running 3:54's in my 31 S/W Town Sedan with a stock B motor (soon to be built up for touring). We have put thousands of miles on it and it's good for flat roads but not for long hills with the current power situation. Once the new head and downdraft are on, I'm sure it will be much better on the hills. The Tudor is a little lighter than our S/W Town Sedan which should help.
 
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