'37 top load trans

AnthonyG

AnthonyG

Well-known member
Read recently in a thread that '37 top load floor shift trans and later will fit back to '32 and is preferred by some because it's a stronger / easier shifting, has syncro's so can down shift without double clutching? Is that the predominant thought? Does anyone have a good one they want to sell?
 
Synchro's are the same from 32-38, not so sure about 37 trans being stronger....have seen more 32-35 trans in great condition than 36 onwards.
 
I believe the '37 (#78-xxxx) case is a little deeper and will accept the later '39-'48 gear sets a little easier (especially the cluster) than the pre '37 cases. I doubt the case is any stronger than earlier cases, although there is a case that had a thicker section cast on the center of the bottom area (pu truck maybe?) that could provide a bit more strength.

Speaking of strength, if you couple enough horsepower to the front of any of these early Ford transmissions, and abuse that power, you can push the cluster gear right through the bottom of any of these cases.
 
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My transmission, which is original to my 1937 Ford Fordor, has the thicker section.
 

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Still looking for the thread where I read it. It might have been the '39 which the discussion was about. Will the '39 trans fit in a '35. The reason I researching is my ****** sounds like it's ready for a rebuild. Also discovered a long crack in the case near the upper trans to bell mounting holes. If I'm going to pull it I want to go with the later trans for ease of shifting if it is a fit and actually shifts smoother / easier.
 
The 39 with the new style syncro. shifts smoother IMO.
Some 39's had the old style syncro.
 
IMO, there is not a great deal of difference in the 1932-1952 Ford floor shift transmissions other than wear life. All perform well, IF they are in good condition and not damaged or worn out. It seems that the later designs hold up a little better to wear and that could make them better. That thicker flange on the bottom of the 37-40 doesn't ad any great strength and the cases starting in 1941 have a larger diameter at the bottom that would probably ad some rigidity. Also it is easier to work on the 39 up transmissions because there are more parts available because many of the later column shift parts are the same and parts interchange. Actually the floor shift transmissions in 1951-52 pickups probably had the strongest gears as the gears were deeper and thicker, but most only had open drives. I have a couple that were probably made for industrial use that had closed drive.
 
Tony: The 32-38 syncro should shift smoothly and there should be no reason to double clutch either up or down.
 
Loosened up trans mounting bolts to get a good look at the crack in the case, also picked up the floor boards to get a look at the clutch access window on the top. After removing the two top bolts on either side of the access opening a piece of the casting which was being held in by the access cover plate screws and the two trans mounting bolts on either side came off, but a piece was missing it was a small piece of the chunk of the casting which came off. Getting pretty good at pulling the motor. (had to find the piece and thought it was probably what was banging around on the pressure plate )
The two top mounting holes on the trans are still in tact the piece which broke off was a squarish piece which went through the access plate holes but left more about 60% of the threaded holes so the plate can still be bolted in place.
I'm thinking about putting it back in as all of the mounting are good. There are no more cracks as the piece that broke off was the crack could see some of before removing hardware.
The trans didn't really have any major problems except for the noises I was getting from what I now know was the piece stuck in the bottom of the bell housing.
What do you think?
 
I would glue the broken piece back in place (to prevent it from falling out ) since it does not contribute to the integrity of the mounting or the transmission. If you have to remove the transmission in the future you can change the case at that point.
 
Without some good quality, clear photos of the damaged parts it is hard to offer advice. If there is a crack, it may be possibloe to drill a hole at the end of it to stop it going further, but cases aren't that hard to get so why not just fix it?

What do you think caused the case to get damaged?

Mart.
 
Hey Mart, good advice if I keep this trans. As indicated earlier in the thread I was only able to see the crack partially and when I removed the access window plate it was obvious it had cracked from one of the access cover screw holes to the other and almost strait up to the mounting surface for the bell h. So in effect any crack it is already terminated at the view plate screw holes. Thinking about going to a '39 trans eventually so will probably make a new cover which goes up to the bell mount to keep crap from falling in. There is approx 60% of the dia. of the (view plate mounting) threaded hole left so the screws still engage adequately.
 
Mart, found out the cause. Went with an 11 inch clutch on the info from the engine builder that it would fit. Obviously I've done more research and on close inspection it's obvious the counter balances on the clutch fingers don't clear the bell / flange at the top on the front of the trans. On bump cranking the motor while clutching to get full engagement of the spline and the pilot bearing the counter balances banged into the area they didn't clear and busted the casting in the weakest spot around the inspection window.
Ordered a rebuilt '39 trans, ( should have this week which will clear ( I'll check anyway ) and will rebuild this one as it is original and keep it to pass along if I ever sell the car. Live and learn even at 64.
 
Gotta wonder why anyone would want an eleven-inch clutch??? It would be about the last on my list of 'desirables' JMO
 
The bell area on the '39 transmission (78-xxxx case) is about the same, if not identical, to the bell on the '35 transmission (48-xxxx case). Therefore, that 11" clutch that you have will likely have the same clearance issues. You really don't need an 11" clutch. A 10" or heavy duty 9" would work just fine. Also, keep in mind that the configuration on the top shifter tower on '36 - '39 transmissions will require a modification to the '35 sheetmetal transmission cover to fit over the tower, or you could use a stock '36 transmission cover instead.
 
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Motor Hi-perf 250 plus HP, builder suggested I listened. I should have researched it better. Listened to what I thought was experience. As indicated I lived and learned. Relatively new at early Fords, always played with muscle cars and street rods built with all new performance components. This is quite different.
 
Those early transmissions had a different casting profile inside the bell area since they had a different type clutch. When they started using the Long type clutch, they changed the inner casting profile. Some of the early ones had straight cut gears and they weren't as smooth to shift & quiet as the helical cut gears. The double detent top helped keeping things held in order better plus less tendency to get stuck in between gears & smoother shifts too. The real improvement was with the big synchronizer used in many of the 39 cars and commercials up through 1950. The 49 to early 51 Mercury cars even used this same style of gears & synchro but they had a longer tail on them than commercials & F1 pickups plus an overdrive option. 1951 was when they finally started changing all the gears to the stronger diamond profile type.
 
All this information is great. Really gaining a lot of knowledge on the early ******'s. Keep it coming.
 
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