39 vs 40 Ford Columbia speedometer adaptors???

31pickemup

31pickemup

Senior Member
Can anyone provide me with pictures of what the difference is between 1939 and 1940 speedometer adaptors for the Columbia 2-speeds? I just found some controls and it’s for a 40. My car is a 39 and was still going to look for the correct one.
 

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31pickemup said:
Can anyone provide me with pictures of what the difference is between 1939 and 1940 speedometer adaptors for the Columbia 2-speeds? I just found some controls and it’s for a 40. My car is a 39 and was still going to look for the correct one.
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31pickemup said:
Can anyone provide me with pictures of what the difference is between 1939 and 1940 speedometer adaptors for the Columbia 2-speeds? I just found some controls and it’s for a 40. My car is a 39 and was still going to look for the correct one.
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The '39 speedometer changer attaches to the back of the speedometer. There is a short "cable" piece that goes between the speedometer and the adapter. Then, the cable attaches to this adapter.
Proper '39 changers are super rare. If you're not getting the car point judged, I'd advise you to use the '40 changer.
 
Yeah my car is a driver. No restoration in the near future. I just wanted to see pics on what the difference is. I might be able to trade for the correct one etc. I just need to know what they look like.
 
I'll look tonight for a photo of the 39.
I have seen exactly one correct '39 adapter in all of my years. I used it on a '39 convertible restoration.
 
Look closely at the right side axle housing outer end , mine had a speedometer drive there so no adapter was used. Tim
 
Kube said:
I'll look tonight for a photo of the 39.
I have seen exactly one correct '39 adapter in all of my years. I used it on a '39 convertible restoration.
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Kube, how does the 39 speedometer adapter differ from the 37 and 38 adapters? I thought all three years were pretty much the same with the only difference being the direction the shift cable came at the speedometer adapter. I appreciate any guidance on this since I'm hoping to install correct controls in a 38 next year.
 
31pickemup said:
Yeah my car is a driver. No restoration in the near future. I just wanted to see pics on what the difference is. I might be able to trade for the correct one etc. I just need to know what they look like.
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I could not find a photo. I might suggest going with the '40 style changer. They worked much better than the '39 style.
The '39 style, having been attached directly to the back of the speedometer caused the cable to have quite a severe radius applied to it. That often caused the core to bind a bit and consequently caused the speedometer needle to bounce.
 
I think John Conelly at Columbia Two Speed has the adapter to mount the speedometer changer to the back of the 39 speedometer since this is done with the 35 & 36 changers.
 
I looked in my reprint 1935-1940 Columbia Parts list. As expected Kube is correct, the 1939 speedometer adapter is only used for 39 Ford, Mercury, and 38-39 Zephyr with dealer installed Columbia. There is a different part number for 37-38 Ford.


Anyone know how to ID these differences?
 
The 35-36 speedo adaptor attaches directly to the speedometer head. How is the 1939 different than the 35-36?
 
glennpm said:
The 35-36 speedo adaptor attaches directly to the speedometer head. How is the 1939 different than the 35-36?
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The problem with the adapter is it moves the earlier changer out even further than the proper '39 changer. That creates an even more severe curve to the speedometer cable. Subsequently, an even greater chance the speedometer needle will bounce.
 
Kube said:
I sure wish could find a photo of the one (and only) proper '39 changer I had. Most likely, I was too ignorant to photograph it.
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Mike, just curious if this is the changer being discussed here? I got this from you some years back along with the entire Columbia for my '39 Merc.
 

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