37 ton and a half

SJCormier

SJCormier

Junior Member
Did Ford offer two speed rear axles for the pre war ton and a half trucks? I’m weighing options for increasing the top speed for my 1937 flatbed. Not expecting anything wild but I’d like to be able to cruise comfortably around 55. Is that asking too much?
 
SJCormier said:
Did Ford offer two speed rear axles for the pre war ton and a half trucks? I’m weighing options for increasing the top speed for my 1937 flatbed. Not expecting anything wild but I’d like to be able to cruise comfortably around 55. Is that asking too much?
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Yes they did but not sure what year they became available. But from what I know the two available ratios were low and lower. If so it won't do you any good to increase your top speed.
 
I agree with you about the low and lower. That's what a 2 speed rear was for in those days. Not going faster, but being able to haul more potatoes over the pass in one trip. I HAVE heard of people using old 4wd truck's transfer case backwards to become an overdrive. There were also some Watson auxillary transmissons (and perhaps some 'Brown-Lipe' aux trans) that were 3 speed. Over-regular-under. The enclosed driveline on your '37 might make an aux a bit of a challenge. And at 55 mph, other factors can start to weigh in. Front end, tires, brakes. Now I'm sounding like my father. Look into something overdrive and work it into tour driveline. Maybe Chuck at 'Chuck's Trucks' in Conneticutt could fix you up with taller gears in your diff. Multiple ways to skin this cat.
 
I used to have a '40 1 1/2 ton with a Watson under, direct, & over auxiliary divorced trans BUT it was open drive shaft. As GB said your closed drive shaft would make installing a similar auxiliary unit a challenge. How about some photos? We love photos.
 
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Here’s a picture of my truck. Just put new 7.50-20’s on it back in the spring. A friend of my dad mounted them for me. He used to work at a tire shop when he was a teenager and wasn’t the least bit concerned about the old lock ring rims! “There ain’t nothin wrong with those wheels” he said. It needs new kingpins and bushings which I have and plan on replacing myself. It has a later flathead in it, I think an 8RT, that runs well. The bed is factory with the Ford scripted on the back. Looks like it’s hauled some heavy loads in its time because the bed rails are bent downward at the back corners. I realized after posting that any two speed rears were probably low and not overdrive. I should know this because I’ve been around plenty of 60’s-70’s farm trucks. My brain just gets a little overwhelmed sometimes when I start thinking about these things. Long term I’d like to restore it because it does have some rust issues, not bad though. For now I’d like to use it as a hauler on our hobby farm but being able to get on the highway to attend shows and parades or the local farmers markets would be nice.
 
That truck is a thing of beauty ! Wow, and a script bed too. I fully agree that multi-piece wheels are fine, but not ALL are. Our big fords up until some time in the early 50s used an acceptable style of lock ring wheel and many agricultural based tire shops willingly deal with them. I have changed more of them than I want to recall. There are examples of truck wheels such as the firestone RH5 that nobody will touch, (or should). You have landed in a good place here and we can help you along your way to a happy and safe, maybe even 'lifetime' adventure with the old fords.
 
Ford sold a majority of mid-1930's 1 1/2 ton trucks with 6.6:1 rear end gears. This gives about a 45 mph top speed. These were the "optional" gears and the "standard" gears are 5.14:1. The "standard" gears were primarily put into production 1 1/2 ton panel trucks and trucks intended for light loads and normally only upon customer request. Big trucks still only had 85 hp, so speed was considered secondary to load-hauling. The "standard" rear end gears will increase top speed by about 10 mph.
Other than changing the rear end gear ratio, the other way to increase speed is to install an auxiliary transmission with a high range. This can be done with the enclosed driveshaft in your truck.
Send me a PM if you want details.
 
Model51 said:
Ford sold a majority of mid-1930's 1 1/2 ton trucks with 6.6:1 rear end gears. This gives about a 45 mph top speed. These were the "optional" gears and the "standard" gears are 5.14:1. The "standard" gears were primarily put into production 1 1/2 ton panel trucks and trucks intended for light loads and normally only upon customer request. Big trucks still only had 85 hp, so speed was considered secondary to load-hauling. The "standard" rear end gears will increase top speed by about 10 mph.
Other than changing the rear end gear ratio, the other way to increase speed is to install an auxiliary transmission with a high range. This can be done with the enclosed driveshaft in your truck.
Send me a PM if you want details.
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Thanks for the input. Since posting this I’ve started leaning towards a Brown Lipe or some other form of auxiliary transmission. I’m only guessing that it has 6.6:1 gears because the speedometer driven gear is stripped and I’m using a speedometer app on my phone to determine how fast I’m running. I’ve seen other posts where it’s mentioned that the rearend ratio is stamped on the speedometer gear but I don’t see it on mine. Is there another way to tell without taking things apart?
 
If you lift up the rear end so the wheels spin freely and you have a way to see the driveshaft at some point, you can rotate the wheels at the same time (two people required) and have someone else watch the driveshaft turn and count how many times it spins with one full rotation of both tires (in the same direction). This will give you the final drive ratio. 95% chance it's 6.6:1 based on my experience. I can't remember if putting the transmission in 4th gear will allow you to see the revolutions through the fan on the engine. Sliding back the front cover of the coupling shaft immediately after the transmission will allow you to see the driveshaft spin with the transmission in neutral.

I've pasted the table of the speedometer gears. You should be able to read the part number or count the gears on the driven gear and match something to this chart to help figure out the final drive ratio, but there are lots of options based on tire size for the purpose of correct speedometer calibration. The only place the actual final drive ratio is stamped is on some, not all, rear end casings. The number is either 7-36 or 5-33 (see the attached image).
 

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mfirth, I fully second the motion. I told him how much I love the truck, but like you, I feel the home is a perfect match. I have been accused of 'Creating a Scene'. Like there's something wrong with that? Movie directors get awards for 'creating a scene'....Anyhow, love the house!
 
The green bible has info about the early two speed rear axles, Ford started to offer the 2-speed in 1938. I think Eaton or Eaton/Ruckstell made them but I'm not sure. They were operated with a lever and linkage rod set up. A later type came out for 1940. The parts book lists them for all but the 122" wheelbase models.
 
GB SISSON said:
mfirth, I fully second the motion. I told him how much I love the truck, but like you, I feel the home is a perfect match. I have been accused of 'Creating a Scene'. Like there's something wrong with that? Movie directors get awards for 'creating a scene'....Anyhow, love the house!
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Yupper, nothing wrong with "the scene". Henry Ford sure created "a scene" when he introduced THE V8 !! Keep on truck'n .......
 
GB SISSON said:
mfirth, I fully second the motion. I told him how much I love the truck, but like you, I feel the home is a perfect match. I have been accused of 'Creating a Scene'. Like there's something wrong with that? Movie directors get awards for 'creating a scene'....Anyhow, love the house!
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Thanks for the comments on the house guys! I drew up the plans for it myself. Built it in 2022. I was going for 1920’s farm house look inside and out. Yes….. I’ve been accused of being an “old soul”.
 
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